Unrestrained by typical TV standards, Netflix is able to produce and distribute a neary
unlimited amount of original content at a spectacular rate, including an array of high-quality
offerings such as Stranger Things and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t put out a few duds over the years.
Since it can be pretty difficult to keep up with everything Netflix puts out these days,
we've rounded up some of the best stuff the company has introduced since the beginning
of 2018... along with a few you’re really better off avoiding.
Best : Lost in Space
TV sci-fi was very much in its infancy when the original Lost in Space debuted in the
1960s, so the show never looked particularly good, despite its ambitious premise.
“Yes, spare us your ridiculous remarks, you insensitive idiot.”
Netflix redeemed the Lost in Space name by rebooting it as an epic drama, full of multiplex-level
special effects.
The characters have been refined too, driven by the talents of a top-notch cast.
In this reboot, Molly Parker takes the lead as an aerospace engineer attempting to lead
her family to a colony in Alpha Centauri.
The villain has also been gender-flipped, with the iconic Dr. Smith now played to a
hilt by indie movie queen Parker Posey.
“I go where you go… not that I don’t trust you.”
Worst : The Cloverfield Paradox
The third installment in the Cloverfield anthology finds a team of scientists, played by Daniel
Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki, and Chris O'Dowd, stranded on a remote space station, attempting
to tap a new source of energy.
Instead, they mishandle a particle accelerator, wind up in an alternate dimension, and send
a familiar monster hurtling down to Earth.
Basically, think Alien, only more convoluted, and led by a plot too thin to justify its
many twists and turns.
Best : Wild Wild Country
This six-part documentary series is an intricate and almost unbelievable story of crime, corruption,
exploitation, spirituality, and human darkness.
It tells the story of a commune built by followers of the Indian spiritual guru Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh in 1981, and the grim events which took place after things began to spiral out
of control.
The series tells this bizarre and frightening tale in a slow and precise manner, with plenty
of archival footage and interviews with former followers of Rajneesh, many of whom were close-knit
members of a group known for its mass stockpiling of weapons, heavy reliance on arson, and penchant
for poisoning salad bars.
It's not to be missed.
Worst : Mute
Mute had everything going for it.
The cast included a host of stars like Justin Theroux, Paul Rudd and Alexander Skarsgard.
It was co-written and directed by Duncan Jones, the mind behind modern-day sci-fi classics
like Moon and Source Code.
Even the premise, a mute bartender searching for his missing love in a futuristic Berlin,
seemed like it was full of potential.
But when Mute finally hit Netflix in 2018, fans were left disappointed.
Rosie Fletcher of Digital Spy summarized the movie best, saying:
"The whole film is populated by people you don't believe or care at all about, behaving
in ways that don't make sense against a cheap-looking sci-fi-by-numbers backdrop."
“Daddy always did say, ‘Girls are nothing but trouble’.”
Best : A Futile and Stupid Gesture
On its surface, it's the story of the beginning of the National Lampoon, the premiere humor
magazine of the 1970s and early '80s, but A Futile and Stupid Gesture is also the life
story of its co-founder Doug Kenney.
“Tempting.
Glad you finally saw the light.”
The Lampoon was an incredibly influential brand, staffed by personnel who went on to
produce a range of iconic comedies, including Caddyshack and Animal House.
The cast is bursting with comedy stars, all paying tribute to their heroes.
Joel McHale portrays his Community co-star Chevy Chase, while Seth Green pops up as Christopher
Guest.
Will Forte is a revelation here too, turning in an Oscar-worthy performance as Kenney,
a gifted comic genius who suffers at the whims of his own demons, even as he goes on to change
the world.
"Yeah, so, these actors don’t look exactly like the real people, but c’mon.
Do you think I looked like Will Forte when I was 27?
Do you think Will Forte is 27?”
Worst : Game Over, Man!
If you weren’t a fan of the long-running Comedy Central sitcom Workaholics, you’re
probably not going to find much to love here.
Game Over, Man! takes everything that was thrown into that show and dials it up to eleven.
Jokes about genitalia?
Tons of them.
Romanticized '80s action-movie violence?
Endless.
Irreverent, profanity-laden banter between the three leads?
You betcha.
The movie’s thin plot is essentially a dull rehash of Die Hard, which isn’t enough to
mask the fact that Anders Holm, Blake Anderson and Adam Devine are still portraying the exact
same character types they played on Workaholics.
Great if you loved that show; not so great if you didn’t.
Best : Altered Carbon
Based on the 2002 novel by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is set in a far-flung future
in which scientists can upload a person's memories onto an implantable disk.
It’s essentially a highly-stylized crime story, filled to the brim with body-switching,
sci-fi tech and murder.
“The partner’s frequently murdered.
Alas, maybe being an AI makes that less likely.”
“No.”
Although both tremendously violent and sexually charged, Altered Carbon also explores identity
on a philosophical level that sci-fi hasn't matched since The Matrix.
Worst : The Week Of
The Week Of places the now-50-year-old Adam Sandler in the "doofus dad" phase of his career,
while also giving us a new Sandler to go along with Silly Sandler and Serious Actor Sandler:
Boring Sandler.
“Isaac likes Jeremy Lin?
And he’s aware Jeremy Lin no longer plays for the New York Knicks?”
“It’s a very nice shirt.
Seven dollars at Modell’s.”
Seriously, very little happens in this movie.
It takes place during the week of his daughter's wedding to the son of a surgeon, played, probably
unsurprisingly, by Chris Rock.
Sandler gets into some slapstick, messes up preparations for the big day and cringes half-convincingly
at the price tag the whole way through.
To his credit, the title is appropriate: The Week Of really does feel like it takes that
long to watch.
Best : Queer Eye
In the 2000s, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy launched the "metrosexual" movement.
Five homosexual guys, stereotypically renowned for their excellent tastes in fashion, interior
design, culture, grooming, and cuisine, provided makeovers for slovenly heterosexual men, stereotypically
renowned to be woefully incompetent in matters of taste.
"I love a good designer meat."
While the original Queer Eye was plenty of fun, Netflix’s reboot is something altogether
more vital.
During a time of political and cultural division, Queer Eye makes for a series of moving tales
of personal connection, acceptance and healing.
And the fact that the regular cast are so downright charismatic and inspiring doesn’t
exactly hurt things, either.
“We’ve all go to come together in a way where we can understand each other.”
“Guys!
Where are we going?”
“Georgia?”
“Let’s do it!”
“Yay!”
Worst : A Little Help with Carol Burnett
In an unfortunate turn, Carol Burnett's first regular TV series in decades has turned out
to be a forced, awkward mashup of Dr. Phil and Kids Say the Darndest Things.
In each episode, Burnett, along with criminally misused co-host Russell Peters, takes questions
about life and love and all things related from a studio audience.
Then Burnett, usually joined by a celebrity guest, attempts to scramble an answer together
before throwing the query over to a panel of cute and precocious kids who quite clearly
have no idea what they're talking about.
"I'm not trying to be rude, but maybe you just, like, don't have a friend."
It’s not exactly riveting stuff.