1) Netflix: Let's face it, it was a hell of a week for Netflix, and not just because my kids have somehow gotten into Total Drama Island reruns. The company unveiled a snazzy new opening animation, it added a slew of movies like the Jaws flicks, and it debuted a bunch of originals. All this, plus the premieres of The Incredibles 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Boy, it would sure be a shame if anything ever happened to keep Netflix from getting those Disney movies, wouldn't it?
I didn't even watch any of this stuff, but in my defense I discovered John Amos had a recurring role on The Ranch, so it's time for me to catch up on that one. I see very good reviews for Russian Doll and Jake Gylenhaal's Velvet Buzzsaw seems to be generating some buzz. I also like that Netflix created a movie section spotlighting award winners like its own Roma. Sure, it's self-congratulatory to an extent, but it's a nice tool for viewers, and it reminds us that it has more Oscar winners and contenders than maybe we remembered/realized (Pulp Fiction, East of Eden, Annie Hall, The Graduate, and others).
2) Amazon Prime Video: A great week for Prime, too, even without a new Poirot series starring John Malkovich. It added a ton of Sony/Columbia classics, from really big ones like Holiday and Born Yesterday to obscure ones that I don't think even made it to Sony's MOD DVD program. Its February 1 catalog drop featured a lot of the usual MGM titles that bounce around all over the place, like some of the Bond movies, but also less traveled ones like The Matrix trilogy and The Blues Brothers. I also see Prime is quietly adding a bunch of Monogram movies including Charlie Chan and Bowery Brothers flicks.
3) Locast: This service is great: A non-profit venture designed to get local broadcast stations to viewers free. It just arrived in my area, it's on Roku, and it's a great option to anyone who doesn't want cable but wants to see local affiliates...and maybe watch, say, the Big Game! The annoying thing is the 5-second promo/donation request that loads every single time you load a channel, but I will say it again: this is FREE. Check for availability in your area, and enjoy it while you can because I'm sure this irritates the hell out of the broadcasters, who will spend big bucks to squash this.
4) DC Universe: I am finally starting to get some value out of my trial membership, and the service is slowly coming around a bit. It's cool that it debuted new DC Animated Universe movie Reign of the Supermen last week, and though I am not overwhelmed by Titans, I'm going to stick with it.
5) YouTube/YouTube TV: This week I caught up with some old promos and commercials, like this one for Good Morning America and local Kanas City news. I love it when local ads from markets like KC turn up on YT. I mean, I grew up on New York stations and enjoy the nostalgia, but it's nice to see vintage material from different markets. People had VCRs in the Midwest, too, right?
6) Hulu: A slow week for Hulu, mind you, but it did reportedly spend a ton of money for a big ad to air during the Big Game.
7) NBC: Two confessions, both equally shameful: 1) I watched more Charles in Charge this week. 2) Willie Aames made me laugh out loud.
8) Shout! Factory TV: It rolled out another big update for February 1, including a ton of genre and cult movies.
9) Tubi TV: I continued my celebration of Black History Month by watching another episode of the ill-fated Martin Lawrence/Kelsey Grammer sitcom Partners. Why am I spending so much time on stuff like this and Charles in Charge when I have all that Netflix content to watch?
10) CBS All Access: If you don't have an antenna setup, cable or satellite, or Locast, here's one way you can watch the Big Game.
Oh, what am I doing? I'm not selling mattresses or pizzas or whatever. It's not the Big Game. It's the Super Bowl. SUPER BOWL. It's the SUUUUUUUUUUUUUPERRRRRR BOWLLLLLLL!
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