Paradise is a German dystopian science fiction movie, now streaming on Netflix. Directed by Boris Kunz, the premise of the movie revolves around the discovery that years of life can be transferred from one person to another. This process is monetised by the AEON corporation. A terrorist organisation – Adam – led by Lilith seeks to kill all who benefit from the AEON de-aging.
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Beef is an American comedy-drama television series created by Lee Sung Jin for Netflix. It stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two people whose involvement in a road rage incident begins to consume their lives. Appearing in supporting roles are Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, and Patti Yasutake. Beef was released on Netflix on April 6, 2023 to acclaim from critics who praised Yeun and Wong’s performances, as well as the writing and directing. (Wikipedia)
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a 2022 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. It is the sequel to the 2019 film Knives Out, with Daniel Craig reprising his role as master detective Benoit Blanc as he takes on a new case. The ensemble cast includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista. (Wikipedia)
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Troll is a 2022 Norwegian monster film directed by Roar Uthaug. Starring Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Gard B. Eidsvold, Pål Richard Lunderby, and Eric Vorenholt, it follows a ragtag group of people who must come together to stop an ancient troll that was awakened in a Norwegian mountain and prevent it from wreaking havoc.
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All Quiet on the Western Front (German: Im Westen nichts Neues) is a 2022 German epic anti-war film based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. Directed by Edward Berger, it stars Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Daniel Brühl, Sebastian Hülk, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic and Devid Striesow. Set in the closing days of World War I, it follows the life of German soldier Paul Bäumer, who, after enlisting in the German Army with his friends, finds himself exposed to the realities of war, shattering his early hopes of becoming a hero. (Wikipedia)
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1899 is a German multi-lingual epic period mystery-horror streaming television series created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar. As this series was the following project from the creators of the sublime time travel series, Dark, we were greatly anticipating the release of the series by Netflix. Suffice to say that 1899 more than lives up to its promise!
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Inside Man is a drama-thriller television serial developed by Steven Moffat. The four-episode series premiered on September 26, 2022, and was broadcast on BBC One. It was released on Netflix in the US on October 31, 2022. The series stars David Tennant, Stanley Tucci, Dolly Wells, Lydia West, Lyndsey Marshal and Dylan Baker. Is the series worth your time? Well, that depends.
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The Crown Season 5 is the fifth season of a historical drama television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix. (Wikipedia)
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FIFA Uncovered is a 4-part Netflix documentary TV series chronicling the rampant corruption that is part and parcel of the governing body of world football. Netflix describes the series as follows – “From power struggles to global politics, an exploration of FIFA reveals the organization’s checkered history and what it takes to host a World Cup.”
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Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is an American horror anthology streaming television series created by Guillermo del Toro for Netflix. It features eight modern horror stories in the traditions of the Gothic and Grand Guignol genres. Two are co-written by del Toro himself, while the others are written and directed by various filmmakers. (Wikipedia)
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The Playlist is a docu-drama miniseries inspired by the book Spotify Untold written by Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud created for Netflix. Directed by Per-Olav Sørensen, the series tells a “fictionalized” story of the birth of the Swedish music steaming company, Spotify along with its early challenges. (Wikipedia)
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The Sandman is an American fantasy drama superhero streaming television series based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. A Sandman adaptation has long been in the works but considered by many to be ‘unfilmable’ – so does this first adaptation succeed? Is The Sandman worth binge-watching?
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The Umbrella Academy season 3 is the third season of an American superhero streaming television series based on the comic book series of the same name. Created for Netflix by Steve Blackman and developed by Jeremy Slater, the series revolves around a dysfunctional family of adopted sibling superheroes who reunite to save the world from an apocalypse.
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Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is a 4-part true crime documentary TV series that examines the rise of Warren Jeffs in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and his shocking criminal convictions. The documentary TV series demonstrates once more how easy it is for religious leaders to abuse their followers even in this modern day and age.
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The Silent Sea is a South Korean science-fiction horror TV drama series streaming on Netflix. The series is an adaptation from the 2014 short film The Sea of Tranquility written and directed by Choi Hang-yong, who also directed the series.
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The Witcher Season 2 is the second season of a fantasy drama streaming television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The first season – despite its narrative flaws – ranked as one of the most popular on Netflix when it was released in 2019.
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Don’t Look Up is a 2021 American satirical science fiction black comedy film written, produced, and directed by Adam McKay. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two low-level astronomers attempting to warn mankind, via a media tour, about an approaching comet that will destroy Earth.
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Hellbound is a South Korean dark horror fantasy streaming television series directed by Yeon Sang-ho, based on his own webtoon of the same name. Yeon, of course, is the film-maker behind the hit zombie flick Train to Busan and its sequel, Peninsula. Consisting of six episodes, season 1 introduces viewers to the basic premise of Hellbound, and the several characters caught up in its events.
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Squid Game Season 1 is the first season of a South Korean survival drama streaming television series written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The nine-episode series, starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo and Wi Ha-joon, tells the story of a group of people who risk their lives in a mysterious survival game with a ₩45.6 billion (US$38.7 million) prize. It was released worldwide on September 17, 2021 by Netflix and has been a popular hit for the streaming platform.
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Turning Point : 9/11 and the War on Terror is a documentary miniseries chronicling the 9/11 terrorist attacks and America’s subsequent military response — that has defined the last twenty years. With the total withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, this miniseries provides a timely retrospective assessment of America’s foreign policy failures.
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How to Become a Tyrant is a Netflix documentary series based on The Dictator’s Handbook and narrated by Peter Dinklage. The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics is a 2011 non-fiction book by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, published by the company PublicAffairs.
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Fear Street Part One 1994 is a 2021 American slasher film directed by Leigh Janiak, with a script co-written by Phil Graziadei and Janiak, from an original story by Kyle Killen, Graziadei, and Janiak. Based on the book series of the same name by R. L. Stine, the film was released by Netflix on July 2, 2021 as the first installment in the Fear Street Trilogy.
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Army of the Dead is a 2021 American horror action drama film directed by Zack Snyder, with a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, based on a story by Snyder. The film had been in development hell at Warner Bros since 2007 before being picked up by Netflix in 2019. Army of the Dead marks Zack Snyder’s first new film since Justice League and the release was accompanied has been accompanied with the attendant hype from the buzz over The Snyder Cut and so on.
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Jupiter’s Legacy Volume 1 is the first season of a superhero action-adventure streaming TV drama created by Steven S. DeKnight. This adaptation is based on the comic book series of the same name created by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. Jupiter’s Legacy Volume 1 recounts the origin story of the Union of Justice – set in 1929 – and develops the generation gap threatening to tear apart the contemporary group of heroes.
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Outside the Wire is a 2021 scifi war thriller streaming on Netflix. The film is set in 2036 and stars Anthony Mackie (who also serves as a producer on the film) as an android officer who works with a drone pilot (Damson Idris) to stop a global catastrophe. Our short take on Outside the Wire is that it is possessed of both an interesting premise and a strong underlying message but certain narrative choices turn the third act into a unsatisfying cliché.
Please note that there are spoilers in our analysis of Outside the Wire that follows.
