Best Series and Movies on Netflix - May 2024

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Here are what I think are the at least watchable to Best Series and Movies that I watched on Netflix for the Month of May 2024: 

* Page Eight (2011) Movie - Good, a decent Espionage/Political Thriller about an Operative of the Military Intelligence, Section 5 (MI5) Service of the United Kingdom (UK) who got into trouble with his own Country's Prime Minister (PM) because of some Confidential Information. Starts off quite light, with a lot of Humor and good natured ribbing between the Characters, but got a lot more serious towards the Middle and End. Not a lot of Action, just a lot of Dialogue for this Type of Genre which is why it might not be for everyone. Stars Bill Nighy and Rachel Weisz.

* Secrets of the Neanderthals (2024) Documentary Movie - Great, the Movie is not just about the Neanderthals themselves, but also the Scientists who've studied them, and the Archaeological Discoveries that led us to learn more about them. Very Educational, an excellent Source of Scientific Information. Highly recommended, narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart.

* A Man in Full (2024) Limited Series - Good, a decent Black Comedy/Business Thriller based on a Novel by Tom Wolfe set in modern Day Atlanta, Georgia. And this does feel like a typical Wolfe Novel with quirky Characters, Multi-Level Storylines and a lot of Social Commentaries. But seems to be just short of being great, perhaps because of some Derivative Themes. Stars Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane.

* Bodkin (2024) Limited Series - Great, a pretty effective Crime Mystery/Comedy Series with memorable Characters and a pretty interesting Mystery that is set in a small, Irish Town of which the Series was named after. Stars Will Forte and relative newcomer Siobhan Cullen.

I liked the Multi-Level Storylines, like the clash between Podcasters and Journalists for example, and the difference between Forte's more conciliatory and compromising approach versus Cullen's more serious and antagonistic one. Great Back Stories also on most of the Characters. A pretty enjoyable Series, and interesting that Barrack and Michelle Obama are listed as some of the Executive Producers.

* Mother of the Bride (2024) Movie - Watchable, a Standard, Formulaic Romantic-Comedy (RomCom) that is good enough to watch. I liked its Fast Pace initially, but then it became a bit too fast as the Ending felt a bit rushed. The Best Thing about this Movie is Brook Shields carrying it almost on her Own and showing Everyone how good she can be in a Comedy Role.

* John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA (2024) Limited Talk Show Series - Good, a little bit inconsistent, most of the Shows were pretty good, but not all, mainly because I think they were sort of figuring out first how the Show should be. The First Episode was good, but the next two weren't, before they finally hit their Stride starting with the third Episode and onwards.

It worked for me because it had that Podcast-like Atmosphere of Spontaneity and Realism since it was being filmed Live. They also had a lot of Comedian Guests which helped make the Shows become more funnier, including the Best ones like David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Will Ferrell, Jerry Seinfeld, etc.

* FireStarter (2022) Movie - Good, I was able to watch in the Theaters the 1984 Version of this Movie that starred Drew Barrymore, hard to believe that it was 40 Years ago already. It was pretty good, I still of remember Parts of it up to now. This new one is also pretty good, true to the original but with modern, Societal Updates and some nice Twists of its own. Starts off as a little bit slow, though, but Things pick up when they start going on the Run. My only major disappointment about it is that Drew herself didn't make any Cameos, I was waiting for it the entire Movie, but it didn't come. Stars Zach Efron.

* Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal (2024) Limited Documentary Series - Great, just another outstanding and compelling Documentary by Netflix, this time about the hacking of the Adultery Website, "Ashley Madison", as told by the People who were involved in it and whose Lives were affected by it. At Times it seemed like a Movie, especially the Part about the Family Blogger Couple as they had a lot of Footages showing them at different Points in their Lives. Really great, absolutely entertaining, a Must-Watch for me

* Cooking Up Murder: Uncovering the Story of Cesar Roman (2024) Limited Documentary Series - Watchable, a Story about a Chef who killed and dismembered his Girlfriend in Spain. The Series started out Great, but sort of dragged on in the Middle, mainly because they gave too much Screen Time to Cesar Roman, obliviously a Liar who even kept lying about his Height. He kept claiming he was 5'7", if so then everyone in Spain who was pictured or video'd with him must be six footers. He's likely to be no more than 5'0". Good enough to watch

* To Catch a Killer (2023) Movie Review - Watchable, but probably not as clever as the Movie's Creator thought or hoped it would be. A Thriller that is about the Hunt for a Serial Killer Sniper in the United States (US) in a Contemporary Setting. There are some interesting Action Scenes, but they are far apart and a lot of slow Spots in between. The Movie is also a bit long for this Type of Genre for me at around two Hours long, and it stars Shailene Woodley.

* Atlas (2024) Movie Review - Good, I wasn't impressed when I first saw the Trailer, but decided to give it a try and it turned out to be a pretty decent Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure/Thriller. It is set in the far Future where Mankind is in Conflict with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Humanoid Form.

The Special Effects were pretty good, the Pacing was Fast and something interesting was always happening on-screen. I felt this was the Type of Movie that the "Rebel Moon" Movies was aspiring for, a big Budget Sci-Fi Spectacle that was decent enough to watch. But where "Rebel Moon" failed, "Atlas" succeeded. Stars Jennifer Lopez, Mark Strong and Simu Liu.

* Illusions for Sale: The Rise and Fall of Generation Zoe (2024) Documentary Movie - Great, another excellent Netflix Documentary about a recent Pyramiding Scam that crashed in Argentina that was initially based on the Profession of "Life Coaching". Again, having the actual People involved in it made for an interesting watch, along with some nice Visuals. A must watch for me

* Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (2024) Limited Documentary Series - Great, just the "standard" great Documentary by Netflix, this one about a Christian Cult in the United States (US) run by a Korean-American Pastor that preyed upon Social Media Influencer Dancers, as told mainly by its former Members. 

It's a bit unfair though that the Title specifically targeted "TikTok" when most of the Footages they used in the Series also showed the Social Media Instagram and YouTube as the ones being used by the Cult. I think TikTok was targeted because its not a US Company, but Instagram and YouTube are.

Anyway, despite all the Publicity, many Influencers continued to remain with the Cult and earn Money for them. I think some People are just "built" to be Cultists, they are willing to sacrifice some Personal Freedom just to be with such a Group of People. Quite a compelling Documentary by Netflix, as "usual".