The Crown on Netflix

The new Netflix series The Crown just debuted all 10 episodes of the first season. I was skeptical about it at first but was determined to watch the first episode. Let's just say I was not very productive the rest of the weekend. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, as I finished the season in just a matter of three days.

The Crown tells the real life story of how a young 26 year old Elizabeth becomes the queen of England. Queen Elizabeth is 90 years old today and still rules the monarchy. There has been many controversies and misfortunes along the way. The entire series takes places in the 1940's into the late 1950's. While each episode leads into the other, each one stands on its own. Each episode showcases a different dilemma or scandal the monarchy was faced with in it's early reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Claire Foy is beautifully casted as Queen Elizabeth. Her supporting casts lets her shine. John Lithgow plays Winston Churchill very appropriately. Lithgow humanizes a man which stood out as one of the most stern and brash leaders of the 20th century.

The Crown is dialogue heavy and not a lot of physical action. But at the same time, the series will keep you captivated, as it's stunning to see the inside of Buckingham Palace and other sets. The set and costume designing was done astonishingly also. You can see how much effort and time went into creating each outfit and set design.

The Crown will hopefully be nominated this upcoming awards season. It's best you watch it now.

SEE IT!

Netflix's Special Correspondents

Netflix recently premiered an original film starring Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana entitled Special Correspondents. Just when you thought they couldn't release anything worse than Adam Sandler's The Ridiculous 6, they surprise us with another flop. 

Special Correspondents was written and directed by the star himself, Ricky Gervais. It tells the story of fearfull and gutless sound engineer, Ian Finch (played by Gervais) who is sent on special assignment with the handsome and talented radio journalist Frank Bonevelle, Eric Bana, to war-torn South America. But when Ian mistakenly loses the tickets and passports they are forced to hide in NYC and pretend to be on site. Their jobs are at risk if they should return without the story. 

While this film was categorized as a comedy, I don't think I chuckled once. The film bordered on unwatchable. I couldn't help but cover my eyes and cringe at the humorless one liners and terrible acting. The story line was boring and way to predictable. Special Correspondents is a great example of what's wrong with Hollywood these days, no originality and quality but still pushing out anything that seems to stick.

I enjoy Ricky Gervais's humor normally and I really tried to make an effort this time but he completely failed. Eric Bana on the other hand is not meant for comedic roles at all, and should stick to drama. There were a couple nice surprise celeb cameos byAmerica Ferrera and Raul Castillo (HBO's Looking). What a shame they had to play such menial roles with terrible accents. I guess it was another failed attempt at comedy.

Please save yourself the time and do not watch Special Correspondents. 

SKIP IT!

Marco Polo (Netflix)

I am really excited to see Netflix's latest original series Marco Polo set to premiere December 12. The 60 minute series is based on the explorer's adventures in Kublai Khan's court in 13th century China. The new show seems to have it all; intriguing dialogue, action packed fighting, and passion-filled sex scenes.

Marco Polo will be played by 24 year old Italian-born Lorenzo Richelmy, a fairly new face with few credits to his name.

Check out the trailer on Youtube:

Mitt: A Netflix Original

This past week Netflix premiered an original documentary entitled "Mitt" about presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign. The film follows Romney behind the scenes during both his 2008 run for the presidency and his most recent campaign in 2012. 

While at times interesting and shedding new light on the Massachusetts governor, the film didn't do it for me. In fact, it was difficult to watch just like his actual campaign. With moments of forced emotion and awkward prayer sessions in campaign hotel rooms, Romney had a difficult time connecting to the average American. The first half follows his attempt at the presidency in 2008 during the primaries, which he lost to John McCain. Then half way through we jump forward to 2012 when he went head-to-head with President Obama.

Interestingly, it was nice to see the support behind the man. Romney had his family very close to him during the campaigns both as emotional support and consultants. Romney's five sons were very involved in all aspects of his campaign and helped him through the highs and lows. Although he may come off cold and unrelatable at times, Romney is a family man who really cares about his wife, children, and 18 grandchildren.

I'm usually a big fan of political films and documentaries, but "Mitt" lost my vote. I didn't see anything I hadn't seen during the campaign news coverage. Romney's political future looks limited, as least for now. Seems like he'll stick with what he knows best, the private sector as a business man.

SKIP IT!