Netflix NEWS 11.27.2018

Netflix NEWS

Updates on Netflix original content releasing this week and the announcements from last week. You can always read more about what's coming out this week and in the future on our Upcoming page.
Netflix Originals Releasing This Week

Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attel (November 27)

Netflix Comedy Special

Veteran comedians Jeff Ross and Dave Attell roast each other, the audience and special guests.
Watch the trailer

1983 Season 1 (November 30)

Netflix Original Polish Language Series - 8 episodes

Shot in Poland, this alternative history Cold War spy thriller is set in a world where the Iron Curtain never fell. In 2003, twenty years after a devastating terrorist attack that halted the race of the Soviet Union and marked their downfall, an idealistic law student and a disgraced police investigator stumble upon a conspiracy that has kept the Iron Curtain standing and Poland living under a repressive police state.
Announcement 
In Production and Coming in 2018
Date Announcement
Watch the teaser
Watch the trailer

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (November 30)

Netflix Distributed Movie

A year after helping Richard secure the crown, Amber's getting ready to walk down the aisle with him. But she's not so sure she's cut out to be queen.

A sequel to the 2017 Netflix movie A Christmas Prince. 
Watch the trailer

Baby Season 1 (November 30)

Netflix Original Italian Language Series - 8 episodes

Babyis a coming-of-age story that explores the unseen lives of Roman high schoolers. Loosely inspired by a true story, the Baby Squillo scandal, the series follows a group of Parioli teenagers as they defy society in their search for identity and independence against the backdrop of forbidden love, family pressures, and shared secrets.
Announcement
Details
Watch the teaser
Watch the trailer

Death by Magic Season 1 (November 30)

Netflix Reality Series

British magician Drummond Money-Coutts, or DMC, is on a mission to uncover the stories of magicians who died performing the most dangerous stunts ever attempted. He travels the world to track down where the fatal performance took place and exactly what went wrong. Spanning four continents and eight cities around the world, DMC will recreate the stunts where others have failed.
Announcement 
Watch the trailer

F is for Family Season 3 (November 30)

Netflix Original Series

This animated series portrays the middle class Murphy family in the '70s. Frank is the short tempered patriarch, a Korean war veteran working in the baggage department at an airline. His wife Sue is a stay at home mom. They have three kids Kevin, Bill, and Maureen.
Read my Season 1 review - Skip it
Announcement
Announcement: Vince Vaughn is Chet Stevenson video
Date Announcement video 
Watch the trailer

Happy as Lazzaro (November 30)
Netflix Exclusive Movie - Available in North America & Latin America
Winning the best screenplay at Cannes 2018, this is the tale of a meeting between Lazzaro, a young peasant often mistaken as simple-minded, and Tancredi, a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Life in their remote pastoral village Inviolata is dominated by the terrible Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes. Tancredi asks Lazzaro to help him orchestrate his own kidnapping. This strange and improbable alliance is a revelation for Lazzaro. A friendship so precious that it will travel in time and transport Lazzaro in search of Tancredi. His first time in the big city, Lazzaro is like a fragment of the past in the modern world. Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher.
Announcement 

Nicky Jam: El Ganador Season 1 (November 30) - EXCLUDES the U.S.

Netflix Spanish Language Documentary Series

From his origins and past in Boston, through really difficult times in the streets, to becoming the king of one of the most popular musical genres, this story is not only about the life of Nicky Jam, but about the history of reggae itself.
Announcement 

Date Announcement video 
Watch the trailer
 

Rajma Chawal (November 30)

Netflix Distributed Indian Language Movie

Set in the chaotic, vibrant Chandni Chowk area of Delhi, Rajma Chawal captures the relationship between a father attempting to reconnect with his estranged son through social media, a new world for him.
Announced on September 26, 2018.
Watch the trailer

Spy Kids: Mission Critical Season 2 (November 30)

Netflix Kids Series

An animated series based on the feature film franchise, Juni and Carmen Cortez must battle the evil organization S.W.A.M.P., without the help of their super-spy parents.

The World Is Yours (November 30)
Netflix Distributed Movie
A small-time mobster in Paris accepts one last job to escape his life of crime.

Tiempo compartido [Timeshare] (November 30)
Netflix Distributed Spanish Language Movie
In this drama two men join forces to rescue their families from a sinister tropical paradise.

Memories of the Alhambra Season 1 (December 1)

Netflix Distributed Korean Language Series

A suspense romance drama that revolves around an investment company CEO Yoo Jin-woo (played by Hyun Bin) who visits Granada, Spain, for a business trip and gets involved in a mysterious incident after staying in an old hostel run by Jung Hee-joo (played by Park Shin-hye).
Announcement 
Watch the trailer

Netflix Trailers
Perfume trailer - December 21
Tidelands Season 1 trailer - December 14
Memories of the Alhambra Season 1 trailer - December 1
Selection Day Season 1 trailer - December 28

Netflix Previews & Videos

The Final Table - Come to Your Senses
The Christmas Chronicles - Featurette: True Believers 
New to Netflix US - December 
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Gavin Leatherwood Basting a Turkey 
Love Actually - A Narration 
The Princess Switch - Vanessa Hudgens: Wrapped Up with Netflix 
Tidelands - Featurette: What You Need to Know 
Maya and the Three - Creator Interview 
Ugly Delicious Season 2 Announcement 
A Christmas Prince - Rose McIver Reacts to Fan Tweets

Netflix News & Announcements

Battle - December 1
Crossroads: One Two Jaga - December 1
Hero Mask Season 1 - December 1
The Sound of Your Heart Reboot Season 2 - December 1
5 Star Christmas - December 7
Bad Blood Season 1 - December 7
Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas - December 7
The Ranch Part 6 - December 7
Vir Das: Losing It - December 11
Back Street Girls: Gokudols - December 12
Wanted Season 3 - December 13
Cuckoo Season 4 - December 14
Dance & Sing with True: Songs - December 14
Inside the Real Narcos Season 1 - December 14
Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons Season 3 - December 14
Prince of Peoria: A Christmas Moose Miracle - December 14
Baby Mama - December 16
Baki Season 1 - December 18
3Below: Tales of Arcadia - December 21
7 Days Out - December 21
Back With the Ex Season 1 - December 21
Bad Seeds - December 21
Derry Girls Season 1 - December 21
Last Hope Part 2 - December 21
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski - December 21
Tales by Light Season 3 - December 21
The Casketeers Season 1 - December 21
Wolf (BÖRÜ) Season 1 - December 21
Sirius the Jaeger Season 1 - December 21
Hi Score Girl Season 1 - December 24
Alexa & Katie Season 2 - December 26
Instant Hotel Season 1 - December 28
La noche de 12 años - December 28
When Angels Sleep - December 28
Yummy Mummies Season 1 - December 28
Hymn of Death - Tragic K-Drama Love Story - Excludes U.S.

Hype List
Black Mirror Season 5 (2019, projected)
The Witcher Season 1 (2020) 
Stranger Things Season 3 (2019, summer)
The Umbrella Academy Season 1 (2018)
Bojack Horseman Season 5 (September 14)
Disenchanted Season 1 Part 2 (2018)
Altered Carbon Season 2 (2019, projected)
Dark Season 2 (2018, projected) 
Ratched Season 1 (2019)
Mindhunter Season 2 (2018)

Sorry to Bother You Movie Review

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Rent Sorry to Bother You on Amazon Video
Written by: Boots Riley
Directed by: Boots Riley
Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer, David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Lily James, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.

Verdict
Wildly inventive and original. This keeps getting crazier, but it's also commenting on society, continuously exaggerating it's point so much that you could miss it. You can read incredibly deep into every detail of this movie. It's a crazy ride that gets even crazier when you realize every scene and detail might indeed be commentary on society. This is a snapshot of current culture, but it's also expounding on universal and timeless conflicts.
Watch it.

Review
This is set in a slightly alternative world, poised to comment on society. In the first scene Cash has had a fake employee of the year plaque and trophy made just for a call center job. As with everything in this movie, you can ask yourself is this commenting on the job market or what it takes for Cash to stand out from other applicants.

Cash gets the job and when he makes the calls, he transports into people's homes, which isn't far from what he's doing. He's not excelling, but he gets sage advice. "Use your white voice." The voice that sounds like you have no cares in the world, no bills. It's suggesting, well all but screaming inherent racism. I have to wonder how many people think, that's not me.

 

There's also so much going on in this movie, from the violent game shows to child labor. The underlying thread is Cash's secret to becoming a power salesman which flies in the face of unions.

The visuals are impressive. From the earlier call scenes which show how awkward Cash is to the later scenes where he has no problem talking to people in very intimate moments. He's accepted what's weird as normal. His house shows his success, becoming more opulent. Visually the house physically expands and appliances upgrade. There's just a lot of creativity with the concept and how it unfolds on screen. There's a picture of his father that reacts to what's going on. While I assume it's in Cash's imagination, it makes this world just a bit surreal.

When Cash starts the job money is elusive, then it becomes attainable but he's sacrificed who he is and his friends to get there. Money corrupts.

From the beginning I would wonder if what I was seeing was reality, and this only gets more extreme towards the end. This movie is different for a variety of reasons but also because of how people react. It's strange but it also gives this movie style. Cash attends a party of a rich CEO and Cash is basically put on display. It's dehumanizing, but dehumanization only gets more extreme.

I couldn't help but compare Cash to Edward Snowden. Cash goes to extremes to reveal the truth. Cash thought he was dropping a bombshell, but ultimately people don't care. This is a powerful movie, managing to seem surface level crazy while still bringing up so many societal issues. The craziness isn't without reason. This is absolutely a movie you could pick apart scene by scene and analyze what it's trying to say about society. It's incredibly relevant to current culture, but I suspect it will also stand the test of time. The conflicts are universal. Having written this review and thinking about the movie again, I like it even more and I already was a big fan.

DAILY CALL SHEET: NOVEMBER 26, 2018

The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960) Made for TV stinker has aliens possessing the dead to disrupt the U.S. space program. Basically, Plan 9 1/2. TIL: Gaudium et Spes explains that our drive to master outer space requires the same selfless, redeeming spirit as all human endeavors.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of House of Horrors (1946) - "The Default Male Gaze does not just dominate cinema, it looks down on society like the Eye of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings." - Grayson Perry

Papillon (1973)

Last December I finally bought and read Henri Charrière's autobiography Papillon. I wasn't crazy about it at first and I only kept reading because it was damn expensive and I didn't want to waste money like that. Eventually, it grew on me and I ended up loving it. So when I learnt there was a movie based on it, starring no less than Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, I knew I had to watch it. I've been putting it off ever since because of its length. I wouldn't have missed much if I kept putting it off as Franklin J. Schaffner's Papillon isn't that memorable. 

The film follows Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), also known as Papillon, who, wrongly convicted of murdering a pimp, is sentenced to life and imprisoned in the penal colony in French Guyana. On his voyage there, he meets Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a forger who sold fake government bonds. Degas has enemies, Papillon vows to protect him and, over the years, with Degas's help, he attempts to escape many times, despite solitary confinement being the punishment.

Whether you believe it to be true or not —I tend for the latter as they are a lot of inconsistencies and fabrications in his "autobiography"—, Papillon's book arguably is a fascinating and compelling one filled with many interesting adventures. It's obvious that it's not possible to fit 500 pages in a two and a half hour movie, and I was not expecting the film to even attempt at that. Unfortunately, the adventures it tells aren't as interesting as they were in the book as the film tends to drag a little and is tremendously slow paced at times. In addition, the many things left out from the book —Papillon being befriended by strange people all the time, from leppers to cannibals, for istance— make the film quite confusing for those who haven't read the book. 

But while the story isn't nearly as entertaining as it was in the book, it still manages to capture the meaning of it. It is an ode to the human spirit, its strength and its desire for freedom; it portrays the weakness of human nature but also how much a man can endure; most of all it is a harrowing portrayal of the horrors of solitary confinement —arguably one of the worst things a human can do to another— and what it does to a man. 

If Papillon is as effective as it is, the credits go entirely to the cast, specifically to the leading actor, Steven McQueen. Other than being exactly as I pictured Papillon while reading the book, he gives one of the best if not the best performance of his career, as he delivers the Papillon's struggles, both physical and psychological, to perfection, in a way that we, the audience, feel them, and whether it's happiness, hope, depression or insanity, you can read it on his face. Also noteworthy is the performance from Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega. The character, who only plays a minor role in the book —he isn't even sent to Devil's Island—, is very compelling because of Hoffman's excellent performance. The chemistry between McQueen and Hoffman, on the other hand, isn't that great —apparently they did not ge along on set— and because of it they fail to convey a sense of loyalty and friendship. 

Allied Artists, Columbia Pictures

Ultimately, while it captures the meaning of the book, McQueen and Hoffman give excellent performances and it's gorgeous to look at —the cinematography is both breathtakingly beautiful and brutal at the same time—, Papillon is quite a mess. It feels slow and rushed at the same time, it isn't very entertaining as most of the funny moments don't work, and it's extremely boring. 

Ralph Breaks the Internet Movie Review

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Watch the trailer
Written by: Phil Johnston & Pamela Ribon (screenplay by), Rich Moore & Phil Johnston and Jim Reardon & Pamela Ribon & Josie Trinidad (story by) 
Directed by: Phil Johnston, Rich Moore
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jake Johnson, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Courtney B. Vance, Russell Crowe
Rated: PG

Plot
Six years after the events of "Wreck-It Ralph," Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.

Verdict
It's a sequel that falls victim to typical sequel issues. It's the first movie but bigger, yet not as inventive. At one point this felt like nothing more than a Disney commercial. This just isn't interesting. It only offers the same old internet jokes heard before without even trying to offer new insight.
Skip it.

Review
I've seen Wreck It Ralph, though I don't remember it in great detail, I recall it being clever with some nice plot surprises and definitely worth a watch.

The sequel is nothing more than a cash grab. This time it's parodying the internet, but it never really says anything about the internet. Ralph becomes a viral video sensation, but the movie never goes deeper into viral videos. There was potential to comment on viral videos with the coordinator that  pushes them, but that character's only role is to push the plot forward.  We see Google and Amazon depicted as large buildings, but the movie says nothing.

This takes the easy jokes about the internet and goes no further. There are pop up adds and auto-search suggestion, but there is nothing inventive. Even the plot doesn't manage to drum up much interest.

If you're hoping for something as ingenious as Inside Out (read my review), this isn't it. That's the difference between Disney who made this and Pixar. Pixar has more than just a premise. They dive deep into the story to offer insight and make the characters unique.

Ralph Breaks the Internet uses the Pixar story trick of what makes Ralph and Vanellope unique, their friendship, also becomes the rift between them. The problem is they never become interesting characters. This goes through the motions, but I never cared. The cool moments the first Ralph movie made are nowhere to be seen in the sequel.

When Ralph and Vanellope entered Disney, this became an all out commercial. There is just no reason for the princesses, other than a gender equality joke. The movie could have done more with them, just like it could have done more with everything. The princesses easily could have had a larger role in the plot or even have come back at the end. Since they don't, it must be nothing more than marketing.

DAILY CALL SHEET: NOVEMBER 25, 2018

Ava's Possessions (2015) After joining a post-possession recovery group, Ava learns there was more to her demon problem than she thought. Flawed, but fun. TIL: Numerous psychologist give lots of secular reasons why Catholic exorcisms work... basically admitting that they work.

Your daily dose of culture courtesy of The Power (1968) - "Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood." - Henry Miller

The Hate U Give (2018)

I've read 59 books so far this year and Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give easily is the most powerful and emotional of the bunch, so when I learnt that a movie based on it would release this year, I was very excited. Still, I tried to keep my expectations low as adaptations of books I love always suck. Well, this one doesn't. 

The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), a 16-year-old black girl constantly switching between two worlds: Garden Heights, the poor, mostly black, neighbourhood where she was born, raised and lives, and Williamson Prep, the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. Her life changes when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil (Algee Smith), at the hand of a white police officer.

Plot-wise, the film isn't perfect as there are several holes, some subplots don't have the same impact they had in the novel, there are moments where the story is a little contrived and sometimes it feels unfocused.

The story, on the other hand, is an important one as it is a haunting, heartbreaking, honest account of what is going on in the United States right now. It shows the impact a murder like this has on the black community —it could be any other community dealing with injustice— and how people close to the victim try to cope with what happened. It takes a serious look at important issues such as police brutality, racism, and black-on-black crime —the consequences of the latter biutifully shown in the film's climax.

It doesn't generalize by suggesting that every single police officer is a brutal racism, nor it states that every single black person is a saint. It's not about sides, it is "simply" about understanding that injustice does happen. And it should not happen. It also states that black lives matter, which doesn't mean that only black lives matter —as Starr's white friend Hailey and unfortunately many people in real life think— but that black lives matter too, along with white lives, and brown lives, and yellow lives, and whatever-you're-skin-colour-is lives. It's about time people understand that the movement is not anti-white nor anti-police, and the film does a good job at showing that.

The Hate U Give also shows how much race plays to one's advantage or disadvantage. There's a scene, one of the most important and harrowing in the film, where Starr's uncle, a black cop, tries to make her see the situation from a cop perspective by telling her that they are just doing their job and they are allowed to use their gun if they see a weapon and basically that he would have done the same. At that point, Starr asks him how he would react if instead of a black man, it was a white man reaching for something, would he shot him or just ask him to put his hands up. Well, Carlos reply is devastating as it shows how far race hatred has gone.

20th Century Fox

Just like the story and its messages, the main character too keeps the depth and development she has in the novel. Starr is the same resilient and authentic young woman who is struggling to find her identity. She is not fearless, but she's definitely brave and such an inspiration to girls, or anyone else really, looking to find their voice. Amandla Stenberg gives a very compelling and powerful performance as she delivers to perfection both the vulnerability and the charisma of the character.

As for the other characters, they don't have a lot of development —DeVante, a character that was crucial to learn more about Khalil and his personality, wasn't even in here, but as Thomas herself said, you don't miss him in the film— but the actors give solid performances nevertheless, especially Russell Hornsby whose portrayal of a father who left his colourful life behind to raise his children and set an example of what a black man should be like is very compelling.