The Best Streaming Services Available Today

I have been enjoying my favorite movies, TV shows, and Documentaries for the last several months with streaming services besides my Comcast Cable Subscription. I have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video Subscriptions. With my cable subscription I have access to HBO Max, Disney+and Peacock. My favorites are of course Netflix and Hulu. Netflix is currently the most popular streaming service in the world, with around 207 million subscribers.

Bundling subscriptions can save you money. 

Today, TV viewers in the US have more places to watch their favorite movie and shows.  Choosing the right streaming service for your home entertainment setup will depend on a number of factors, including your budget, which exclusive programs you like the most, how many screens you want to watch on, and other factors.

Netflix and Hulu have grown from startups to industry juggernauts, while major studios have entered the market with services like Disney Plus, HBO Max, Peacock, and Paramount Plus. 

Here's a summary to help you decide what to sign up for, rounding up the best streaming services of 2021. These picks are primarily focus on on-demand platforms like Netflix and Hulu , but also includes separate sections for live TV and specialty streaming channels.

Here are the best streaming services as of Today:

• Best on-demand streaming services: Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus, and Amazon Prime Video
• Best live TV streaming services: Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV, FuboTV, Philo TV, and DirecTV Stream
• Best channel-specific streaming services: Showtime, Starz, and ESPN+

 For Details visit:

https://www.businessinsider.com/best-streaming-service#the-best-deals-on-streaming-services-12 

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of my cacti and succulents collection.

 and harvested pineapple.

 

 

Paris 05-59: Theo and Hugo Movie

 

Warning_An 18 minute orgy scene opens this movie

https://tubitv.com/movies/548907/paris-05-59-th-o-hugo

• Théo and Hugo encounter each other's bodies in a sex club. They talk, things blur into the haziness of unbridled desire, then take shape for a moment as their gaze meets before they resume their exploration and lose themselves anew. A few moments later the two men feel the need to go outside. Together they drift down the deserted streets of nocturnal Paris. Suddenly they find themselves confronted by a sense of reality that wipes out their freedom and aimlessness and lends each step an existential helplessness. Do they want to know more about each other? Will their trust be rewarded? What are their expectations?

The Mole Agent-One of the Best Documentary Films I Have Viewed This Year

I finished watching this film on Netflix a few months ago. It made me cry and I can fully identify with the story and sentiment in this film being an octogenarian myself. I highly recommend this 2021 Oscar nominated documentary to all and specially to Senior Citizens and their relatives. 

Here's a short write-up from Wikipedia.

The Mole Agent (Spanish: El agente topo is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Maite Alberdi. It was screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. At the 93rd Academy Awards, It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature  and was selected as the Chilean entry for Best International Feature Film, making the shortlist of fifteen films.

Synopsis

A private investigator (Rómulo) hires an elderly man (Sergio) to go undercover in a nursing home in Chile. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 25 January 2020. In August 2020, Gravitas Ventures acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and set it for a 1 September 2020, release. The film will be broadcast on PBS on 25 January 2021, as part of their POV program. It was released in the Netherlands on 10 December 2020, by Cinema Delicatessen.

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The critical consensus reads "Warm and funny, The Mole Agent offers audiences a poignant reminder that it's never too late to forge new connections and embark on new adventures." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times gave the film a positive review commenting: "The film’s people are moving, and the payoff is compassionate, humane and worth heeding.". Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com rated the movie three stars out of four writing: "The documentary succeeds with its tenderness, while vividly reminding us how easily society can forget its elders.".

Awards and nominations

The Mole Agent has received several awards and nominations, the documentary was the Chilean entry for the Goya Award for Best Iberoamerican Film, achieving the nomination being the eighteenth Chilean nomination in that category since its creation and the second for Alberdi after La once was nominated in 2015. At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film made the shortlist for two categories, for Best International Feature Film becoming the third Chilean entry to make the shortlist after No and A Fantastic Woman made the shortlist and received a nomination with the latter winning, though The Mole Agent did not received a nomination for this category, it achieved one for Best Documentary Feature, the other category where it was shortlisted.

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	25 April 2021	Best Documentary Feature	The Mole Agent	Pending
Goya Awards	6 March 2021	Best Iberoamerican Film		Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards	22 April 2021	Best Documentary Feature		Pending
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	February 8, 2021	Best International/Foreign Language Film		Nominated
National Board of Review	January 26, 2021	Top 5 Foreign Language Films		Won
Cinema Eye Honors	9 March 2021	Audience Choice Prize	Maite Alberdi	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score	Vincent van Warmerdam	Nominated
		the Unforgettables	Sergio Chamy	Won

Meanwhile: I just finished watching another movie, Philomena. I enjoyed this movie very much and I also recommend it. Here's the trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHjt8DWo9F8

Philomena is a 2013 drama film directed by Stephen Frears, based on the 2009 book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by journalist Martin Sixsmith. Starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, it tells the true story of Philomena Lee's 50-year search for her adopted son and Sixsmith's efforts to help her find him.

The film gained critical praise and received several international film awards. Coogan and Jeff Pope won Best Screenplay at the 70th Venice International Film Festival while the film was also awarded the People's Choice Award Runner-Up prize at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film was nominated for four Oscars at the 86th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (for Dench), and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

Fact: My Teacher-the Octopus won the Oscar for best documentary this year. I have also seen this documentary and I really enjoyed it very much.

 

 

Sauvage/Wild Movie-An Award Winning Movie

Sauvage/Wild Movie

 

I just rented this movie in Prime Video for $3.99. I enjoyed it very much. 

Sauvage (English: Wild) is a 2018 French drama film, directed by Camille Vidal-Naquet and produced by Emmanuel Giraud and Marie Sonne-Jensen. It stars Félix Maritaud in the lead role, with Eric Bernard, Nicolas Dibla and Philippe Ohrel. Sauvage premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, where it won the Rising Star Award and was nominated for 3 others.

Premise

Léo (Félix Maritaud) is a male sex worker who uses drugs whilst longing for love.

Cast

• Félix Maritaud as Léo
• Éric Bernard as Ahd
• Nicolas Dibla as Mihal
• Philippe Ohrel as Claude

Themes and production

Sauvage was Vidal-Naquet's first feature film; his experience working with the Catholic charity Aux captifs la libération helped him to create the film. The film focuses on a young male sex worker, played by Félix Maritaud, with frequent explicit sex scenes; Vidal-Naquet "emphasizes [that] the sex we see in Sauvage is work". During pre-production, Vidal-Naquet and his director of photography Jacques Girault spent months planning out the camera work, performances and, particularly, the lighting and how it would work with other elements; he explained that he "wanted to film the sex scenes to be no different than the others" because "lighting is moral".

Vidal-Naquet describes that the theme of the film as being that Léo, the protagonist, is "untamed. He's a wild animal. When you think about it, the character of Léo reminds us that we live by rules of society, those set by modern cities. We’ve all been tamed." He quotes French film critic Jean Marc Lalanne's comments that "Léo behaves like a stray dog—he drinks water from the streets, he willingly sleeps in the streets, he eats garbage without disgust. For us, if we were really lost in a big city, and we didn’t have a dollar to buy water, it would be very difficult for us to imagine going to the gutter for a drink of water." David Gerstner, interviewing for Cineaste, observed that the film evoked a stray dog: "The basic instincts for survival not only require food and water, the stray dog also often gives affection when it receives affection."^[

Initially, Vidal-Naquet was reluctant to cast Maritaud, as he was looking for a younger, more "ill-looking" actor and "thought he would be too strong for this role".^[6] Once he met Maritaud, however, he saw that "the tenderness and fragility I wanted, he had them in the way he walks, the way he moves, the way he performs" and was convinced by the way the actor was talking about how to communicate emotions without dialogue, as Léo "doesn't talk much".

Critical reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 26 reviews, and an average rating of 7.66. The website's critical consensus reads, "Sauvage / Wild takes a clear-eyed look at the life of a sex worker, fueled by Felix Maritaud's performance and writer-director Camille Vidal-Naquet's non-judgmental approach." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, "It’s a contrived and slightly unsatisfying image. But Maritaud’s performance has power."^[9] Tara Brady of The Irish Times wrote, "Félix Maritaud is a heartbreaking revelation as a sex worker seeking intimacy in France".^[10] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Sauvage has its longueurs, at times seeming stuck in a circuitous groove with too little forward momentum. However, the movie is never banal."

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Result	Refs.
2018	Cannes Film Festival	Rising Star Award	Won	[12]
		Critics' Week Grand Prize	Nominated
		olden Camera	Nominated
		Queer Palm	Nominated
	Chicago International Film Festival	Gold Q-Hugo	Nominated	[13]
	Jerusalem Film Festival	International First Film	Won	[14]
2019	César Award	Best First Film	Nominated	[15]

I Like Watching Controversial Movies and Documentaries

I have watched almost all of the recent Oscar nominated movies and documentaries streaming on Netflix and Hulu. Nomadland is of course my favorite. However, all the other nominated movies and documentaries are also worth of your time.  

I also like to watch controversial TV dramas and movies, because I am curious what is the controversy is all about. Moreover, I like to have my own opinion if the controversy is indeed real or just a biased opinion of some viewers. 

In the bottom of this page is the list of 11 controversial shows ( TV series/movies) streaming on Netflix. I have seen only two in the list( 13 Reasons Why and 365 Days), but I do not completely agree of the controversy listed on the article. 

The other nine TV shows/movies in the list are in my watch list. Are you brave and adult enough to watch these movies/TV dramas? I dare you! Watch them and let me know what you think.   Here's the list and the subject(s) of controversy:

1. 13 Reasons Why ( Encouraging teenage suicide-I disagree)

2. 365 Days( soft core porn and eroticizing Stockholm syndrome( I somewhat disagree)

3. Indian Matchmaking ( cesspool of casteism, sexism, and classism)

4. Cooking on High ( illegal drugs and cannabis)

5. Messiah- (presenting subtextual anti-islamic sentiments)

6. Insatiable-(Eating Disorders)

7. The First Temptation of Christ ( depiction of Jesus as a gay man)

8. Bonding ( stigmatizing and misrepresenting the dominatrix community)

9. The Goop Lab ( explores alternatives for physical and mental illness)

10. Atypical ( presenting autism as a tragedy)

11. Cuties ( sexualizing young girls and feeding paedophilia)

For details visit:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/netflix-most-controversial-tv-shows-movies-cuties-365-days-b422001.html

Meanwhile enjoy this:

The Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B.C., Canada

 

An Entertaining Comedy-Drama on Netflix-Club de Cuervos

 

I just finished binging on the 4 Seasons of the Spanish ( with English subtitles) TV series Club de Cuervos on Netflix. It was one of the most entertaining TV series I have watched this year. I will rate this as 4.5 Star out of 5.0 and highly recommend it to all even if you do not identify with soccer. Here's what Wikipedia says: 

Club de Cuervos, also known as Club of Crows, is a Mexican comedy-drama web television series produced by Gary Alazraki and Michael Lam.. Premiering with its full first season on August 7, 2015, it is the first Spanish-language Netflix original series. The story centers on the football club Cuervos FC, based in the fictional city of Nuevo Toledo, Mexico, and the power struggle that follows the death of its long-time owner and patriarch. Club de Cuervos stars Luis Gerardo Méndez and Mariana Treviño as two siblings who fight over ownership and direction of the team.

Scripted by both Mexican and American writers, the first season of Club de Cuervos was shot in Pachuca, Hidalgo. The series has received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the show's pacing and originality. It was renewed for a second season on October 28, 2015. The second season premiered on December 10, 2016. Season three premiered on September 29, 2017.

Summary:

The death of the patriarch from a distinguished family triggers a power struggle between the brother and sister over who will receive ownership and direction over of the family's treasured football squad: the Ravens New Toledo.

First episode date: August 7, 2015

Final episode date: January 26, 2019

 

Here's some of the Audience reviews

Best show ever! Honestly, I have had the privilege to watch over dozens of series on Netflix over the years and I have to say Club De Cuervos has been my #1 favorite of all time. The dynamic relationship between the characters is amazing and I love the transitions ...

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I've seen all 4 seasons and I have to say, this is one of my favorite shows of all‑time. I don't speak Spanish so I watched the entire thing with subtitles and boy was it worth it! The acting is fantastic, In fact, they're all so good that it's hard to decide on a favorite character .

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I'm hooked. Smart writing and acting. Lots of interplay between story lines and background detail (physical scene background, as well as character). So well done. I'm on season 4 (paused to watch the 2 spin offs Yo, Potro and The Hugo Sanchez diversion, very funny).

 

The Haka Scene

In a sense, Club de Cuervos may be Netflix’s first “prestige” soap opera. Like other prestige television, the writing is sharp and the production is inspired, but like many classic soaps, certain characters may always remain somewhat two-dimensional and appear doomed to repeat their mistakes. This show is explosive, heart-wrenching, and funny.

 

  The HaKa-

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of my Christmas cactus, now blooming ( 4 months delay)

 

I am Addicted to Prime Video Movies-Mao's Last Dancer

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoDikmSoox4 

 "Mao's Last Dancer" is the inspiring true story of Li Cunxin and his extraordinary journey from a poor upbringing in rural China to international stardom as a world-class ballet dancer. It compellingly captures the struggles, sacrifices and triumphs, as well as the intoxicating effects of first love and celebrity amid the pain of exile. Here's the story from Wikipedia based from a true story.

In the era of Mao's Cultural Revolution (in the 60s/70s), 11-year-old Chinese boy Li Cunxin resides in a rural village commune in Shandong Province, destined to labour in the fields. As often occurred in those times, government officials fanning out across the nation seeking young candidates for centralized training arrive at this school. At first bypassed but selected after a plea by his teacher during the school visit, Li seems bewildered although piqued by the gruff preliminary inspection screening at the provincial capital city of Qingdao. Forwarded to a Beijing audition for a place in Madame Mao's Dance Academy, he is admitted for ballet training based on a series of physique and flexibility examinations.

Years of arduous training follow, Li surpassing his initial lukewarm interest and mediocre performance after inspiration from senior teacher Chan (whose advocacy of classical Russian ballet as opposed to the politically aimed, physically strident form required by Madame Mao leads to the teacher's apparent banishment). Later during the course of a groundbreaking cultural visit to China, American-based English ballet director Ben Stevenson, impressed by Li's standout talent, seeks him as an exchange student at his the Houston Ballet. Li's determined courage garners a formerly disparaging teacher to influence the Academy to allow him the opportunity for a three-month stay in the United States.

Li's encounters with US life cause questioning of the Chinese Communist Party dictates upon which he has been raised, and he begins a relationship with an aspiring American dancer, Elizabeth Mackey. Quickly attracting the attention of the local ballet scene, Li together with Stevenson requests a time extension in America, but the Chinese government refuses. Overwhelmed by the opportunities offered in America and in love with Mackey, Li is determined to stay. With legal advice that the Chinese government would recognize certain residence rights arising from an international marriage, Li and Mackey rush into a marriage. To declare personal responsibility for his decision and hopefully avoid consequences for his family and Stevenson, Li visits the Chinese Consulate in Houston. The Chinese resident diplomat forcibly detains Li in an attempt to coerce his return to China. Unknown to Li, the situation quickly evolves when the media and high level government agents both in the US and China become involved. When Li perseveres in his refusal to repatriate, the Chinese Government agrees to release him but revokes his citizenship and declares he can never return to the land of his birth.

Li and Elizabeth are set to depart for Florida but Li is persuaded to stay by Stevenson for his ballet company, dooming Elizabeth's prospects of dancing success. Burdened by this, plus concerned for and unable to communicate with his family, Cunxin continues to excel as a dancer, but his relationship with Elizabeth disintegrates and their marriage ends. Five years later, as a show of goodwill the Chinese government allows Li's parents to visit him in the US where they finally witness his performance of The Rite of Spring and even reunite with him on stage. Li is eventually granted permission to visit China. Together with his new wife Mary McKendry (Camilla Vergotis), an Australian ballerina, and coming back to the village of his youth, he rejoins his family and his former teacher Chan, who expresses regret that he never got to see Li perform. Li and McKendry give an impromptu outdoor ballet performance to the village's uproarious cheer.

Closing credits announce that: Li Cunxin danced in China with the Houston Ballet in 1995, a performance broadcast to an audience of over 500 million people. He and Mary McKendry now live in Australia with their three children. Ben Stevenson left the Houston Ballet after 27 years as Artistic Director. Acclaimed as one of the world's leading choreographers, he is now Artistic Director of the Texas Ballet Theater. Charles C. Foster still practices law in Houston. He is recognized internationally as an authority on Immigration Law. Elizabeth Mackey (Liz) danced with the Oklahoma Ballet for some years. She is now a speech therapist, working mainly with children.

 

My Six Treasured Videos

The following six videos are my treasures. They are the videos that have touched my life!

Ditas, my youngest daughter, interviewed by Comcast, as California Director of Census, 2010



Carenna singing one of her original songs

Macrine's 80th Birthday

Chateau Du Mer, 2011

Carlos Avila, Macrine's Nephew

Two Enjoyable TV Mini Series on HBO and Netflix

 Last month, I finished watching two entertaining miniseries on Netflix, The Queen's Gambit and the Undoing. The Queen's Gambit is about a young female orphaned chess prodigy breaking the glass ceiling on the male dominated world of International chess. 

The Undoing is a high budget thriller about a pediatric oncologist suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) which reminds me of our current Lame-Duck President Donald Trump.  

The Queen's Gambit is a 2020 American coming-of-age period drama streaming television miniseries based on Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name. It was created for Netflix by Scott Frank and Allan Scott, and written and directed by the former. Beginning mid-1950s and proceeding into the 1960s, the story is about an orphaned chess prodigy on her rise to becoming the world's greatest chess player while struggling with emotional problems and drug and alcohol dependency.

The Queen's Gambit was released on October 23, 2020. After four weeks of viewing it became Netflix's most-watched scripted miniseries. It has received critical acclaim for Anya Taylor-Joy's performance as Beth Harmon as well as for the cinematography and production values. It has also received a positive response from the chess community and is credited with spurring a resurgence of public interest in the game.

Audience viewership

On October 28, 2020, the series became the most watched series of the day on Netflix. On November 23, 2020, it was announced that the series had been watched by 62 million households since its release (according to the way Netflix itself reports viewership), becoming "Netflix's biggest scripted limited series to date."Of this, Scott Frank stated "I am both delighted and dazed by the response" while several outlets characterized it as an "unlikely success". The series topped the Nielsen's U.S. streaming rankings for the weeks of October 26 to November 1, 2020, and November 2 to November 8, 2020.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Queen's Gambit received an approval rating of 100% based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 8.06/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Its moves aren't always perfect, but between Anya Taylor-Joy's magnetic performance, incredibly realized period details, and emotionally intelligent writing, The Queen's Gambit is an absolute win." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

In a column where she argues "So many lives would be different if we’d had 'The Queen’s Gambit' 50 years ago," culture critic Mary McNamara said, "I loved 'The Queen’s Gambit' so much, I watched the final episode three times."

*************************************************************************************

The Undoing

The Undoing is a beautifully shot mystery that benefits greatly from Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant's performances - if only its story was as strong as its star power.

76%

TOMATOMETER

Critic Ratings: 89

68%

Audience Score

Audience reviews

It is not easy dreaming up a new plot for a who‑dunnit‑thriller but this episodic suspense movie crept up on me incrementally. So much so before I could start my second carton of popcorn I was not only on the edge of my seat but so glued to the screen I’d forgotten how ...

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BUNNY REVIEWED‑ The Undoing ✨ (An HBO Miniseries) When the early reviews of this show by the so called "professional critics" hit the internet 4‑5 weeks back, for someone like me who's just watched the trailer of it and kinda liked it, wondered, what's exactly could it ...

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Meanwhile, here are two trailers for the #1 show on Netflix this week!

 

It is muckomentary/satire film guaranteed to make you smile!!