Binge Watching

Some of the Why and the What of Robin’s & my Binge-Watching Habits

Recently, a friend from church asked me if I would “make a list” of some of the series that Robin and I “binge-watch” on Prime, Netflix, Hulu, or other delivery options. For those who may not know, I wrote a book in 2014 entitled When the Lights Go Down: Movie Review as Christian Practice. My overview of the “how-to” of watching film is given there. Find here more ideas that I sent to my friend about how and what we watch in 2021.

 

Every family has their own set of convictions. I tell everyone to read the “Parents Guide” for every show at IMDB.com before you watch anything. Sex, nudity, profanity, and violence are what I call “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” when it comes to viewing habits. Everyone needs to address these convictions (see below) as they consider the series and shows on my list.

Watching shows is also a matter of mood and sleep (!). There have been series that I have actually rested up for because I wanted to make sure I was not going to fall asleep, they were that good and that important to me. One of the series that once we started we couldn’t stop (7 hours!) is Mare of Easttown. I can’t say enough good about this series. Midway through our watching I said to Robin,

“When you pound a nail into a tree, a knot forms over the years; a grotesque, bulbous growth develops around the intruder, by so doing, the tree protects itself. The metaphor pictures what happens to people when their lives changed by trauma.”

Moods are tricky. If you want a tearjerker or romance or comedy or mystery or action shows, each has their own draw. Today, for instance, after a long day of work, I wanted to watch something that was action packed, so I rewatched Train to Busan one of the best zombie movies ever made.

Also be wary of “expert” “critics” at places like IMDB or RottenTomatoes.com RT can be politically driven so what an audience loves the critics may hate. I go with the audience every time (along with my famous line “What do critics know, anyway?!”). The movie Act of Valor is one example of anti-American leanings from critics (28%) and a thankful-to-live-in-the-U.S.A. nod from audiences (72% positive rating).

When it comes to what we eat or what we watch, much is a matter of taste (within the biblical convictions we have established, Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8). A few reflections on convictions before I begin the list. [I wrote a series of essays on Christian convictions based on these chapters which now appear at my subscription website, MarkEckel.com.] For instance, I have a hard time finding comedy series that are truly funny! I will always tell people to watch Seinfeld or Frazier for shows that make you LOL.

I care deeply for how women are treated (a history of my childhood would be in order here) so watching a revenge flick about women who overcome or outlast reprehensible treatment will always be a draw (Wind River, A Vigilante, Winter’s Bone, Please Stand By, Sophie Scholl or Fried Green Tomatoes).

Warnings about ethical issues matter to me whether it be a futuristic movie like Gattaca or a true story like Gosnell (that was suppressed in the press because it addressed the atrocities in an abortion clinic).

I am a sucker for the triumphant, torturous, twistedness of life that I see in a film like the latest A Star is Born (I rewind the part over and over where Lady Gaga comes on the stage for the first time and hits that high note in the refrain of “Shallow”, tears filling my eyes.) Here is the YouTube clip of the song seen *over one billion times*  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo_efYhYU2A

I just love good stories, well told. Here are a few: The Natural, Three Days of the Condor (1975), Brooklyn, Good Will Hunting, Crossing Delancey, The Devil Wears Prada, As Good as It Gets.

I’m a guy which means I like explosions, action, and seeing the bad guys “get it.” Pick any movie with those ingredients and I’ve probably seen it. Think Jason Statham or Liam Neeson.

I’m a patriot so I love movies where American soldiers are the good guys like We Were Soldiers, Midway, 13 Hours, Fury, Act of Valor.

I hate injustice so I love movies like Loving, Blood Diamond, 99 Homes, The Help, Amistad, or Glory.

I will watch movies based on actors. I will see any movie with Denzel Washington. Willem Dafoe has an amazing versatility (The Florida Project or The Hunter are can’t miss in my estimation).

I love movies where bad people get their comeuppance like Hell or High Water and Thin Ice.

“Slow burn” movies like Bone Tomahawk will stay with you long after the lights come up.

I often look for production company labels (A24 or Bonfire Legend) which turn out some fine films. I look forward to watching Run, Hide, Fight soon based on a true story.

The Words and Words and Pictures have a unique approach, great storyline, exceptional writing / acting, and good morals to their stories.

I abide by the adage that the old movies are most often the best movies. The Treasure of Sierra Madre is a study in human depravity. High Noon studies an individual who must stand up to evil when everyone else hides. Night of the Hunter tells us predators have always been with us and some of the worst can be those dressed in “the cloth.”

I’m a teacher, so I love a good professor movie like Mr. Holland’s Opus or The Emperor’s Club (I do *not* like Dead Poets Society because of its point of view, while, at the same time, being a well-made film).

I love learning about other cultures, so I’m impressed by The Hundred Foot Journey or A Better Life.

I am concerned about the devolution of the nuclear family which is best represented in series such as Ozark or Bloodline.

So, all of that to say, I watch different shows for different reasons. I hope this bit of a reflective overview helps. I’ve made a list of “binge worthy TV” and movies, sometimes with comment. Again, I would say, just to be honest and careful, what I and Robin watch may or may not be for everyone. [I haven’t come close to sharing everything we see. This is a list to get started on what you asked me for. 😊 ]

I have written a book about movies When the Lights Go Down: Movie Review as Christian Practice that you might want to check out.

 

Binge Worthy TV Shows

Animal Kingdom (5 seasons)

Band of Brothers (10 episodes, still considered to be the best production of a TV series)

Better Call Saul

Bloodline (3 seasons)

Bosch (7 seasons, one of the best detective series we’ve ever seen)

Breaking Bad (I remember the summer Robin and I were catching up on this series. At one or two in the morning we were like coke addicts, “Can you do another?! I can do one more!” The devolution of a man; here is my review.)

Call the Midwife

The Crown (4 seasons)

Downton Abbey (6 seasons)

Line of Duty (3 seasons)

Longmire (6 seasons)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (fantastic writing and over-the-top acting)

Mindhunter (2 seasons, the beginning of “serial killers” unit in the F.B.I.)

NYPD Blue (12 seasons, I still say that this older detective show is the most humane series ever produced for TV)

The Night Manager (6 episodes)

The Outsider (a cop has a hard time admitting the supernatural is real)

SouthLAnd (5 seasons, a gritty cop show set in LA)

Stranger Things (3 seasons)

The Queen’s Gambit (7 episodes, wow, was this good)

Yellowstone (3 seasons)

Your Honor (10 episodes, a condensed examination of a good person making a wrong choice and its consequence)

 

Movies (in no particular order or rating, just a few that come to mind)

The Dry (exceptional, the best movie I’ve seen in the summer of 2021)

Mr. Church (my review)

The Lookout (one of the few movies that addresses brain injury)

Despicable Me (a movie about transformation, a change of heart)

The Courier (based on a true Cold War story)

The Sting (my daughter’s favorite and one of the few places you can see Robert Redford and Paul Newman acting in tandem)

Let Him Go (because I’m a grandfather, with Kevin Costner)

The Count of Monte Cristo This movie has something for everyone with an exceptional cast (Jim Caviezel!), great writing, a wonderful story, and a powerful moral.

Limitless (Bradley Cooper, for some reason this movie mesmerizes me)

Take Shelter (because our family is sensitive toward those who are neurodiverse; my review)

A Simple Plan (a bad choice and its consequences)

No Country for Old Men (from one of our greatest living novelists; my review)

Jessie Stone movies (Tom Selleck, all are good, based on one of my favorite page-turner novelists Robert B Parker; my review)

News of the World (Tom Hanks – need I say more?! – in a well told tale)

House of Games (1987 from one of my favorite screenwriters, David Mamet)

Flame and Citron (subtitles, a fantastic story based on real spies during WWII. Mads Mickelson is one of my favorite European actors; I would add the movie Salvation to this list for that reason).

Mr. Jones (based on factual events exposing the Communist state of Russia and the English journalists that protected their crimes against humanity)

Gone Baby Gone (my review)

Intern (Robert DeNiro)

Changing Lanes (I love Sydney Pollack films. He gets after ethics in a subtle, substantive manner; I mention this movie in one of my Truth in Two episodes)

Joy (Jennifer Lawrence)

If you’re into horror, Alfred Hitchcock is the master. But The Thing and Fallen (Denzel) are examples of well told tales of supernatural entities

Shawshank Redemption (I could watch this movie once a week and not get tired of it), The Green Mile, The Mist (three collaborations between Stephen King and Frank Darabont as director; my review of The Mist here)