Netflix Friday - Volume 38

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Escape Plan (2013)
When a structural-security authority (Sylvester Stallone) finds himself set up and incarcerated in the world’s most secret and secure prison, he has to use his skills to escape with help from the inside.
 

Drama: A Sun (2019)
A family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.
 

Comedy: Coming to America (1988)
An extremely pampered African Prince travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to find a wife that can he can respect for her intelligence and will.
 

Animation: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
A wild stallion is captured by humans and slowly loses the will to resist training, yet, throughout his struggle for freedom, the stallion refuses to let go of the hope of one day returning to his home herd.
 

Romance: My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
When a woman’s (Julia Roberts) long-time friend (Dermot Mulroney) reveals he’s engaged, she realizes she loves him herself and sets out to get him, with only a few days before the wedding.
 

Horror: The Witch (2015)
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic, and possession.
 

Science Fiction: Godzilla (2014)
The world is beset by the appearance of monstrous creatures, but one of them may be the only one who can save humanity.
 

Crime: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
The tory of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1986 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
 

Thriller: The Interpreter (2005)
Political intrigue and deception unfold inside the United Nations, where a U.S. Secret Service agent (Sean Penn) is assigned to investigate an interpreter (Nicole Kidman) who overhears an assassination plot.
 

Documentary: The Mind Explained (2019)
Ever wonder what’s happening inside your head? From dreaming to anxiety disorders, discover how your brain works with this illuminating series.
 

Family: The Flintstones (1994)
In a parallel modern-day Stone Age world, a working-class family, the Flintstones, are set up for an executive job. But they learn that money can’t buy happiness.

TV Show Review - The Mind, Explained (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Documentary
Number of episodes: 5
Year: 2019
Starring: Emma Stone

Description: Ever wonder what’s happening inside your head? From dreaming to anxiety disorders, discover how your brain works with this illuminating series.

Review: In the mini-series with five episodes of an average of twenty minutes, the makers show in scenes how each part of the brain works. Themes like memory, dreams, anxiety, mindfulness and psychedelics are spotlighted. The documentary series originated from a collaboration between Netflix and Vox, an American news and opinion website.
The purpose of memories is to preserve the past. Then why are they so unreliable? That’s the key question in the first episode: Memory. The episode focuses on how memory works. From the opening scene, several recognizable moments in global history are shown: from the moon landing, the knocking down of the Berlin Wall and the death of Princess Diana to 9/ 11.
The episode shows how fragments locked up in people’s brains about where they were and what they did on September 11th 2001, are actually not accurate at all. Our memories are sometimes inaccurate because different parts of our brain merge memories with different pieces of information. A champion of global memory competitions discusses the technique she uses to study, for example, a series of hundred numbers.
The second episode “Dreams”, focuses on whether our dreams have a real meaning, and whether or not they serve a purpose. During our sleep, our emotional brain is active, while the rational brain is switched off. In addition, we only dream a fifth of the time we sleep. It may not be new information for many, but it is brought in an entertaining way.
The first two episodes are the most interesting, but getting deeper into themes like anxiety, mindfulness and Psychedelics is also very interesting.
Emma stone narrates it and she has a very pleasant voice to listen to. And she does enough to enthuse the viewers about the subject and to lead them through each episode. It’s a but dry material, but through personal interviews, studies, graphs, archive footage and hand-drawn cartoons, the series manages to stimulate curiosity about how our brains work. “The Mind, Explained” is a simplistic but clear documentary series.