Now Streaming (8/9/2017)
If you’re tired of endlessly scrolling through a buffet of viewing options without a trusty recommendation, you’ve come to the right place! Each week I list a handful of titles I’ve enjoyed to help you shake up your weekly streaming routine.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
HOW TO GROW A PLANET (Documentary)
Netflix
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If you’re anything like I was before watching this series, you probably didn’t spend too much time thinking about plants. Even if you did, you probably didn’t spend too much time thinking about how they shaped the evolution of life because – as the show points out – it’s something of a developing story. But after this stunningly gorgeous 3-part series, believe me, plants will blow. your. mind. Hosted by geologist Iain Stewart, How to Grow a Planet scintillates with an infectious sense of wonder, thanks in part to excellent cinematography and an evidently generous travel budget. But it’s not only the intriguing places the show visits, like the “lost world” islands of New Caledonia populated by flora and fauna that exist nowhere else in the world. The show digs into how the evolution of plant life impacted the rest of the planet as a whole – like chance encounters between primitive flowers and primitive insects that revolutionized how plants reproduced, or mutations in early bacteria that literally changed the color of Earth. It is truly fascinating stuff set to a gripping soundtrack; John Murphy’s iconic “Adagio in D Minor” gets a lot of mileage, as do microwaved snippets of incidental music from Hans Zimmer’s catalogue (namely Batman Begins, oddly enough). On top of it all, Stewart presents the various factoids and explanations with a refreshing enthusiasm.
You will never look at plants the same way again.
P.S. This one’s leaving Netflix September 1st, so catch it before it’s too late!
CATASTROPHE (Comedy/Drama)
Amazon Prime
[image error]You know that charming, annoyingly perfect couple at the center of most romances? Catastrophe can’t stand them. So in their place is Rob (Rob Delaney) and Sharon (Sharon Horgan), a messy, unfiltered pair of transatlantic 40-somethings who wind up accidentally pregnant. In the hands of lesser folk, this series would be about as dull as that description sounds. But Rob and Sharon share some real chemistry that makes them both believable and genuinely delightful to watch. The show also boasts a colorful collection of side characters from Rob’s battleaxe of a mother (Carrie Fisher, May the Force be with her) to Sharon’s idiosyncratic gal pal Fran (Ashley Jensen) and pretty much everyone in between. But where Catastrophe really shines is its yin-yang approach to tragedy and comedy, both of which take turns driving the story. It’s more than a little trite to praise a work of fiction for its authenticity, but Catastrophe oozes with a sincerity that sets it apart from your average exercise in unlikely-couple-vs-domestic-hijinks. At 3 seasons (thus far) of only 6 half-hour episodes each, it’s an easy binge. But if you enjoyed it as much as I did, you’ll want to ration yourself.
CASTLEVANIA (Horror/Drama – Animated)
Netflix
[image error]Speaking of easy binges, this one’s only one season of 4 half-hour episodes, but that’s not really the headline. Based on the eponymous video game franchise, Castlevania is all about the basics. As a standalone story, you don’t need to be a gamer or even have played any of the (many, many) games to enjoy this morbid exercise. What you do need, though, is a taste for the grim and macabre. Think Doctor Who goes to Hell, animated by an amalgam of death metal album covers. But it’s not all demons literally raining from the sky; Castlevania makes the most of an abbreviated run time with excellent character development and voice acting. Dracula (Graham McTavish) has rarely been so sympathetic a villain, especially considering the interdimensional carnage he unleashes upon the terrified inhabitants of Wallachia. Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), meanwhile, traces familiar tropes as a reluctant monster slayer forced to confront a past he can’t escape.
On the whole, Castlevania is not without flaw; it ends rather abruptly and as I mentioned before, it’s surprisingly brief. But if you’re interested in a horror-fantasy sundae with a sci-fi cherry on top, Castlevania might be your new favorite.
