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Pandemic Streaming (not Screaming ... try to stay calm) help/Ideas

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  • Pandemic Streaming (not Screaming ... try to stay calm) help/Ideas

    Hi. I thought maybe folks could list recommendations here for movies/shows they think might help other crypto-solvers get through their pandemic.

    I'm going to put some words in here, before getting started on that, about how one might stream movies/shows at home, for any users who've never done that. I may (and probably will) get things wrong. If something that I say strikes somebody as totally wacko and not right at all, please correct my advice below. I'm going to give it a go, though.

    Content can be streamed from various streaming channels. Examples include Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Go and YouTube. This is just a start - there are many streaming services. To access most of them, you subscribe by going to their site on-line (netflix.com, amazon.com) and sign up for an account for which you'll pay a monthly fee. Most of the monthly streaming subscriptions cost between $5 a month and $15 a month. I happen to subscribe to Netflix and one of the perks of that particular service is that, in addition to subscribing to their streaming programs, you can pay for a set amount of delivered DVDs to have at home too. That's nice, I think, because you can get many things on DVD that you Netflix doesn't have available on their streaming service ... so to me, that allows me to just pay for one service - Netflix - and still be able to get to see most things I am interested in seeing. Some people subscribe to various services because they like certain programming that certain services offer and other programming offered by other services.

    You can stream content (movies, internet tv shows) from your computer or laptop or even your phone. If you're going to watch content on one of these devices, you don't need any other equipment to stream your movies/shows.

    If you want to watch internet content on your tv, though, you either need a SmartTV (which has built-in connections to the Internet) or you need a separate device like a Roku box or an Apple Fire Stick or something. Those cost about $20 or so (I think) and you can buy one on-line or at a store like Best Buy or Target or any store that sells electronics and tvs. The streaming devices are fairly easy to hook up to your tv.

    Something to note is that many streaming services offer you a free trial month that you can check out before committing to one or another service. You can shop around and see what you like. They all have different shows and movies available. Movie selections come and go, too, on the various stations.

    I'm hoping that I haven't steered anybody wrong with any of this info ... hoping none of it's fake news ... but if so, or if I've left anything out, please set the record straight below.



    ----------------------------------


    Now, let the recommendations begin!

    1. Knives Out - recommended recently by Llapp and Montyb in the Chat room recently. Comedic Agatha-Christie style murder mystery. Lots of twists and turns. Very clever.

    2. Memento - also discussed there today. Dark psychological movie about a guy who is in some sort of trouble and has a condition in which he can't remember anything that happened more than a few minutes ago ... he writes cryptic notes to himself on his body to try to remember important things that have happened ... it's told in reverse-chronological order and is very suspenseful.

    3. Parasite - ditto. This one's a Korean movie - came out in 2019 - and got Best Picture, I think, or maybe Best Director. It's about 2 families of different economic/social classes in Korea whose lives become intertwined and is comic and suspenseful and, eventually becomes rather dark.

    4. I'm also very much enjoying Barry, which is on HBO right now - first 2 seasons available for free this month only! It stars Bill Hader as an troubled assassin who wants to stop killing and become an actor. It's also got Henry Winkler in it - yes, of Fonzie fame. It's funny and dark and suspenseful too.

    5. Glow on Netflix - silly comedy set in the 80's about a down-on-his-luck movie writer/director (Marc Maron) who's trying to fund his next movie with a Women's Wrestling tv show. And yet, though it doesn't sound like it, I imagine, so far, by this description, has some great female-empowerment themes.

    6. And speaking of Marc Maron - his new comedy special, also on Netflix now, called End Times Fun. It's really smart and perfect for the pandemic. He, like many stand-up comics, is a neurotic Jew. From NY. So ... if you like that sort of thing, like I do.

    7. Shtisel ... this show (also on Netflix) is a beautiful, touching and sweetly comic show set in Jerusalem about an Orthodox family and their foibles and inner conflicts. It's like a modern-day Fiddler on the Roof - without music, though.




  • #2
    Thanks for the basics, Fudi. I might need tech support when I get around to trying to plug my laptop into the TV. Got the cord a week ago and haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't mind the laptop being my "little TV", but it's nicer to watch movies on a bigger screen.

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    • #3
      For what it's worth, my go-to movie when I need an emotional boost is "Chariots of Fire". Wikipedia succinctly says that "[i]t tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice." It also has a unique juxtaposition of period costumes and dialogue with a more modern synthesizer soundtrack by Vangelis. Throw in a little Gilbert and Sullivan and popcorn and I have a delightful couple of hours.
      "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." -- Albert Einstein

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      • #4
        Great idea, Fudi. I definitely find that I've been spending less time reading the news (too depressing!) and more time watching movies. I'm always trying to think of a good movie to watch, and usually I just end up watching one I've already seen.

        I second your recommendation of Parasite. And Monty, my wife and I also pull out Chariots of Fire on a regular basis.

        I have a weird list of movies that I keep going back to, many of which you would all already be familiar with. I'm especially partial to films from the early to mid-70s. Ones that leap to mind are Dog Day Afternoon, Chinatown, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rosemary's Baby. (The last two are 1968.) Those movies never get old for me. We've also recently enjoyed The Day of the Jackal (1971) and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (the original, from 1974). They're nothing too profound but suspenseful and easy to watch.

        One movie I still enjoy that nobody talks about anymore is What's Up Doc (1972) -- just a silly comedy, but I still get a kick out of it.

        Another movie I like to recommend, because not many people have seen it, is Elevator to the Gallows. It's a film noir directed by Louis Malle when he was 26 years old, and the score is by Miles Davis. It manages to be plotty while still being very stylishly French. (It's in French with subtitles.)

        As far as series go, we've been making our way through the "Up series." It's a British documentary where they interviewed some kids when they were 7 years old, then went back and interviewed them again every seven years. The kids are now 63, and it's really interesting to see what becomes of them all over time. This one's hard to find, though -- we had to subscribe (temporarily) to Britbox (via Amazon) to watch it. Most of the other movies I mentioned we watch through Amazon Prime.

        I look forward to hearing what everyone else is watching!



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        • #5
          puffybob , I prefer the original "Bringing up Baby" to "What's Up Doc?" All about the farce.

          In my head, I can't separate "Chariots of Fire" from "Quest for Fire" because someone put them on the same tape when we first had HBO way-way back. They might have been on Beta. Could you fit 4+ hours on a Beta tape? Oh, I think we got the whole Thornbirds on one or two, so maybe. Anyway, rambling...

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          • #6
            Off the top of my head, I can think of a number of movies that I enjoy watching over and over: Little Miss Sunshine, Crash, Juno, 3:10 to Yuma (2007 version), A Beautiful Mind, Slumdog Millionaire. They are all worth watching, in my opinion.

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            • #7
              Manohla Dargis (movie critic from the NYT) had a good suggestion (I thought) today for our forum (and who knew she even played cryptos and followed our forums?!) She noted Groundhog Day, which is kind of perfect as many of us (me, certainly) feel like the Bill Murray character in it these days ... with every day kind of being more or less the same. I haven't seen this one in many many years, but of course, think it's delightful. I think it's on Netflix now, Manohla said. (It really is so nice that she's looking out for us crypto-solvers this way.)

              Along the same lines, there's also 50 First Dates, with another character who has the same day over and over again. That one's with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, who, I know, usually does terrible movies, but this one is cute, as I recall. Just a light rom-com ... and very sweet.

              Speaking of Adam Sandler, and I know ... again ... people groan when you speak of Adam Sandler movies, because most of them are terrible ... *terrible* ... and I totally think he knows that and does it on purpose, because he's been in a few very un-Adam Sandler-esque movies that really showcase that (you'll just have to trust me on this, if you haven't seen these particular movies) he's actually a really great actor ... who, for some reason, rarely lets that valuable cat out of his bag. So, most recently, he was in one in 2019 about gambling addiction called Hidden Gems and it was really great ... and he was really great in it. I swear. It's true. Hidden Gems isn't light fare, though. He's manic and fidgety and plays a very hard-to-like guy, but it's really suspenseful and good. (Well, I thought.) And also, Punch Drunk Love - he was great in that too and it's a really weird, dark and great movie ... if you like movies that can be described with those words and have the stomach for them with the current state of the world and all.

              Anyway.

              Whatever you're streaming, I hope it's restorative and enjoyable.

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