elwkeeg ioannah allard

[Rosella Brain]

I\u2019m vexed, terribly vexed, by the Entertainment Strategy Guy, who had the audacity to label Netflix\u2019s decision to pick up WWE rights Netflix\u2019s best strategic decision of the last five years yesterday. So I\u2019m going to up the ante and say it might be their best decision ever. In this newsletter, we will allow neither mineshaft gaps nor hyperbole gaps.

Okay, fine, it\u2019s arguably their best strategic decision ever, right after the decision to not only produce House of Cards but also dump the whole season on the service at once, initiating the binging craze. But the decision to spend $5 billion on WWE rights over the next ten years is a smart and strong opening strike in the next front in the streaming wars, the accumulation of sports rights. (Well, \u201Csports entertainment\u201D rights, but you take my point.)

There are two important, complementary things to understand here. The first is that the WWE is enormously popular around the world, from England to the Middle East. Given that Netflix is a global company, this matters: with U.S.-Canada subs more or less maxed out, room for growth will come from the rest of the world. And it\u2019s important to note that while Netflix only picked up the domestic and international rights for the flagship show Monday Night Raw, they picked up international rights for virtually everything else: live shows, pay per views, etc. Sean McNulty explained the deal points here, but it is, I think, a really good arrangement for Netflix if you simply break it down to a cost-per-hour basis: that $500 million per year is close to a million dollars per hour of international programming. That\u2019s cheaper than most episodes of TV; it\u2019s way cheaper than a two-hour movie.

And, importantly, it\u2019s something that comes out every week, multiple times a week. This is the second thing to understand. Netflix\u2019s biggest enemy at this point is \u201Cchurn,\u201D people signing up for the service and then dropping it. When you have something people want to watch every week\u2014remember, there is no \u201Coffseason\u201D for the WWE\u2014you reduce the odds that those people drop the service.

As I noted a couple of years back, sports rights are the next logical targets for streaming companies, particularly as they start leaning into advertising-based subscription models. Amazon has dipped its toe into this arena with Thursday Night Football. I think it\u2019s fair to say that some portion of the next NBA deal will be a streaming exclusive. AppleTV+ has a deal with MLB and MLS. It\u2019s all about to happen and when it does happen it will be the end of linear cable.

Please swing over to Across the Movie Aisle for our chat about the great Paul Giamatti. Love that guy, whether he\u2019s playing Rhino in a comic book movie or a wine snob in Sideways or a put-upon executive in Private Parts.

This week I reviewed The Zone of Interest, about which I have \u2026 fairly complicated and almost contradictory feelings. I was both moved and annoyed by it, more so of each the further I got from the picture.

The Oscar nominations dropped this week, and we\u2019ll be talking about them on Across the Movie Aisle. This whole section could\u2019ve just been filled with escalatingly insane takes about the Barbie \u201Csnubs.\u201D Much to discuss on Tuesday!

(For what it\u2019s worth, the proper ranking of Best Picture nominees is this one: Oppenheimer >> Killers of the Flower Moon > The Holdovers > American Fiction > Past Lives > The Zone of Interest >> Anatomy of a Fall > Poor Things > Barbie > Maestro.)

Director Doug Liman is boycotting the premiere of his remake of Road House because MGM/Amazon decided to send it straight to streaming. Good for him! Movies need to be seen in theaters! One of you out there has to know Doug Liman, tell him to come on my podcast to talk about the importance of movie theaters! I swear I\u2019ll only spend 20 minutes on Edge of Tomorrow and Swingers.

Speaking of theaters, this is interesting: Jordan Peele saw Dev Patel\u2019s forthcoming action flick Monkey Man, thought it had a chance to break out at the box office, and arranged for the film to move from Netflix to Universal, which is going to give it a proper theatrical release.

I\u2019ll be honest, I don\u2019t really want to use this space to run titles down: there\u2019s enough good stuff out there to discover that I don\u2019t want to waste a lot of time warning against bad stuff. But, after seeing a handful of folks I trust recommend it, I feel compelled to note that The Bricklayer is just not very good.

In recent years, some critics have tried to rehabilitate the reputation of Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger), and while I\u2019m always up for some quality revisionism I just don\u2019t get it. He was, at best, serviceable, but his style of quick-cut combat just never really did much for me. Beyond that, though, The Bricklayer feels like a missed opportunity. Rather than having some fun with the script\u2014giving star Aaron Eckhart monologues about the zen-like nature of making a level brick wall, comparing people to different grades of bricks, whatever\u2014this is a straightforward and generic actioner about a guy who comes out of retirement and has to stop a guy from his past, etc, blah. There\u2019s one line near the end about why he loves being a bricklayer (\u201Cbecause a brick\u2019s form is its function,\u201D or something like that). There should be dozens of lines like that. See, e.g., The Beekeeper. Have some fun with your high concept.

On top of that, there\u2019s just so much bad CGI. Not just the fire and the explosions, but the backgrounds: using green screen rear-projection technology to mimic motion in cars is some of the worst stuff out there. I really wish studios would stop using it to save a buck.

Since 2013, Netflix has churned out a whopping amount of original content. They deliver quality as well as quantity: in 2021 alone, Netflix's original programming won 44 Emmy Awards; more than any other production company. Netflix has had its fair share of duds, of course. (See Real Rob and Emily in Paris). But a handful of its shows, like BoJack Horseman and Black Mirror, have rightly earned their place in the pantheon of great TV.

Money Heist is a Netflix series that needs no introduction at this point. The Spanish heist drama was almost canceled before it became one of Netflix's most popular shows ever. It revolves around a group of criminals recruited by a mastermind known simply as "The Professor" (played by lvaro Morte), with the first season showcasing their planning and successful robbery of the Royal Mint of Spain, as well as the printing of billions of euros before the thrilling getaway.

With nostalgic animation to go with its classic storyline, The Dragon Prince doesn't stray too far from the formula, which is a good thing in this case. It has strong character development alongside strong world-building, not to mention a diverse and relatable cast that balances out its darker narrative elements.

Set in the 16th century in a medieval-inspired Joseon, Kingdom is a South Korean period horror series that depicts the unraveling of a conspiracy that endangers the nation. It follows Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon) as he investigates the lies within the royal court before finding himself in the middle of the spread of a mysterious epidemic. As the dead rise and wreak havoc, the protagonist finds allies in physician Seo-bi (Bae Doona) and the mysterious warrior Yeong-shin (Kim Sang-ho).

It may not be the first to combine the period drama and zombie genres, but Kingdom certainly does it right. The show is exhilarating on all fronts, whether it's the Crown Prince's grappling with his role and the throne's future or the numerous discoveries and twists about the nature of the "resurrection plant" and the undead.

Based on the beloved video game series of the same name, Netflix's Castlevania had a lot to live up to thanks to many skeptical fans. The series did not disappoint, portraying the dark and gothic world in an exciting and visually striking way. The show follows Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, as he battles against the powerful vampire Count Dracula (Graham McTavish). He must work alongside the mage Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso) and the dhampir Alucard (James Callis) to take down Dracula and save humanity from extinction.

Blending horror, action, and fantasy, Castlevania is deliciously dark but surprisingly accessible for beginners. The modern animated TV series delivers just the right amount of intensity for both original fans of the franchise and total newcomers. Its sequel, Castlevania: Nocturne, may not live up to the high standards set by the original, but is still worth watching for anyone who enjoyed the series.

Is it surprising that a teen drama about royalty would receive such high praise? Young Royals is set in the fictional elite boarding school Hillerska and focuses on the life of Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) as he deals with the pressures of his royal duties and conflicting personal desires. Wilhelm soon finds himself torn between his obligations and his undeniable feelings for a fellow student, Simon (Omar Rudberg).

Full of the tropes that make teen dramas so fun to watch, Young Royals succeeds without reinventing the genre. It's full of relatable characters who also refreshingly look like real people, with appropriate ages, blemishes, and all. The Netflix series may be somewhat predictable, but most who watch it likely aren't there for a groundbreaking plot, but rather heartfelt stories that capture the highs and lows of youth.

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