The Stream Widens

This list includes almost as many Netflix streams as Netflix mails – just one less. But in terms of hours watched, because of the top rated miniseries, I watched more streaming than via mail. Four of the top rated six were mail DVDs, as were two of the bottom rated four, so the quality mix is getting more equal  for mail and instant view. As more movies show up on instant view, I expect I will be watching more that way than by mail.

A couple of Oscar nominees tied at 3.2, but were edged by a Czech sleeper at 3.3. But Masterpiece did it again, playing to one of my favorite genres with Downton Abbey.

Here is what I have watched on DVD and streaming since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system explained at the link on the sidebar. Those watched via Netflix instant view, include “Streamed” after the numeric rating.

Downton Abbey – 2010 (3.6) Streamed. This Masterpiece miniseries evokes Upstairs Downstairs in its British social and political themes from the years before WWI, but also weaves in some Jane Austen themes with three daughters of marriage age. Add the wonderful Maggie Smith as the Dowager mother of the Lord of the manor, and the classic is complete – almost. Is it a spoiler alert to tell you not to expect all issues to be resolved in the last episode? A second series is brewing, and I’ll be there for my fill.

The Country Teacher – 2008 (3.3) Streamed. The premise for this Czech film sounded like a romantic dramedy, handsome gay city teacher flees to a country teaching job after a breakup with his lover, and the pretty village farm widow is attracted to him without knowing his sexual preference. But this surprising drama was much better than that. First of all, the leads were not very good looking, which combined with the authentic village setting to create a feeling of legitimacy. The teacher is attracted to the widow and her college age son in a familial way, while the widow, who had been abandoned by her good looking philanderer husband, is interested in romance, and her son is dallying with a college girl visiting from the city on weekends. All three characters struggle with self-esteem issues and the story proceeds dramatically without artifice of plot. Sexual typecasting and the meaning of intimacy are subtly challenged in this film, prompting the viewer to ponder seriously without feeling pushed.

The Fighter – 2010 (3.2). Developing the quirky family aspects before getting too heavily into the actual boxing made this movie more appealing to me. Melissa Leo and Christian Bale deserve the praise they received for playing the screwed up mother and brother. Filming this truth based story in the real setting, integrating the supposed filming of a documentary about the brother and having Mark Wahlberg well trained for boxing matches filmed by HBO boxing crews were also effective moves. We can’t choose the family into which we are born, but this film shows we can choose whether we want to stay involved with the family even after it has hurt us. The DVD special feature on the making of the movie was fun to watch after the movie, to show the real people and how well the actors captured them; George the cop and trainer was played by the real man.

The King’s Speech – 2010 (3.2). The story of King George working with a commoner speech therapist to overcome his stammering was not well known, and this movie did a good job of showing how uncommon the therapist actually was. Their bond was a closely personal one that lasted for 25 years, though the movie only shows the first part about coaching the new King into speech making capability by the start of WWII. Well written, directed and acted, though the concentration on the stammering and the coaching left little room for developing the other dramatic elements taking place at the time.

Evelyn – 2002 (3.2) Based on a true story of an Irish father whose wife abandoned him and his three small children, this heartfelt movie tells how the Church and State stepped in to take the children away and put them in Church run foster care because the father did not have a regular income and the mother could not be found to consent to him trying to raise the children alone. The man decides to challenge the system, with little hope of success, especially since he has no money to pay for the necessary legal help. This movie is Capraesque in style and almost as appealing.

Housewife, 49 – 2006 (3.0). Victoria Wood, who usually does comedy, wrote and starred in this BBC production, playing Nella Last, a London housewife who volunteered during WWII with a women’s group involved in numerous activities in support of service members. The script is based on a diary Nella wrote for many years, as part of another program to let the government know how ordinary people were doing. Starting with her depressive frame of mind feeling trapped in a dull marriage, with the second of her two sons about to leave the nest, Nella wrote about how her volunteer work freed her from her depression. The script gives a fresh viewpoint of what the War was like on the English home front, through this very personal sharing.

Pierrepoint – 2005 (2.9) Streamed. Albert Pierrepoint followed in his father’s footsteps when he became an English hangman, and from 1933 to 1955 hung 608 people, including scores of Nazi war criminals. This movie provides an intimate look at the man and his wife during these years, including the changes brought about when his anonymity was ended by the high profile Nazi executions. He believed efficient and humane execution was the proper entitlement for convicts forfeiting their lives in payment for their crimes. In later years, he came to believe capital punishment was wrongful retribution, but this phase of his life was not included in the film.

All or Nothing – 2002 (2.8). Mike Leigh really impressed me with Secrets and Lies, but nothing else he has done, including this movie about an alienated family living in a London housing project, has risen to that level. The whole family is depressed and depressing. The son is so obnoxious that when he has a heart attack you kind of hope he dies. The mousy wife engenders some sympathy, until you realize she makes her own contribution to the familial malaise. If this family somehow could make some changes for the better, you still can’t imagine wanting to be involved with them.

A Perfect Candidate – 1996 (2.8) Steamed. In 1994, Iran-Contra conspirator Republican Oliver North ran for the Virginia U.S. Senate seat of Democrat Charles Robb, son-in-law of LBJ. This documentary, largely from inside the North camp, shows a really nasty campaign with each side accusing the other of character defective lying, North about Iran-Contra and Robb about an extra-marital affair and attendance at parties where drugs were present. The rabid fervor of some North fans seems prescient of Sarah Palin, and the stiffness of Robb a precursor of John Kerry’s run for President. In the end, former Governor Wilder, an African-American Republican running as an independent, tipped the scales by endorsing Robb. Filmed extensively in action, without interviews except for a few with a Washington Post reporter, and without narration.

The Human Experience – 2008 (2.7) Streamed. The Netflix prediction was way too high on this documentary and I failed to read the very accurate and most helpful member reviews which point out that the young film makers were a little too self-centered and superficial in their approach to learning about human suffering. Young and naïve they were, but sincere enough to be given credence by the sufferers and those who are helping relieve their suffering, all of whom welcomed interacting with these young people. The Netflix stream was slightly out of sync, but I watched it anyway and don’t think the problem lowered my rating.

The Rector’s Wife – 1994 (2.7). This 1994 British miniseries starts out really boring and only gets slightly better. The 42 year old wife feels trapped in her life, especially when her husband is passed over for promotion and it appears they will be stuck indefinitely in their small town setting. When she challenges conventionality by taking a job as a supermarket stocker in order to pay for a private school for their daughter, her husband and community are not pleased. As a couple of men make advances to her and her husband becomes tyrannical, she must decide what to do with her life, and as depicted it was hard for me to understand what we were supposed to take away from the story.

Paradise Road – 1997 (2.4). Australian Bruce Beresford meant well when he wrote and directed this movie about the courage of colonial women who became prisoners of the Japanese on Sumatra during WWII, but as good as the story could have been, the script was so uneven, inconsistent and disjointed that disbelief never became suspended. Acting level was almost irrelevant in view of the script deficiencies. Production values were fairly high, but the costume and makeup work on the prisoners was pretty pathetic. Frances McDormand provided the only humor, unintentionally delivering one of the worst German accents I have ever heard.

The Pajama Game – 1957 (2.4) Streamed. The positives: a pro-union story, peppy Bob Fosse choreography, and two good songs (Hey There and Hernando’s Hideaway). The negatives: low quality streaming image, not much of a story and mostly forgettable songs. Bottom line: if you like fast paced ensemble dance numbers, give it a try, otherwise forget it.