Netflix creates yet another Marvel
What Happened to Monday (2017)
Available now ONE American reviewer called this a “stupendously silly sci-fi” when it first premiered on the festival circuit there but, while it has strong B movie elements, there is also a beating heart to this drama. It deals with a future dystopia where over-population has reached critical levels. This means families with too many children have been forced to give up those children by the Child Allocation Bureau (led by a steely Glenn Close), and the forsaken kids don’t receive a happy ending.
Years ago, when the population programme was just starting, a family had septuplets and their enterprising father kept them hidden under one identity, Karen. But the Bureau seems to have caught wind of the scheme and now it’s up to the septuplets who, following the Orphan Black trend, are all played by the same woman, Naomi Vance. Taught by their grandfather (Willem Dafoe) who raised and named them — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday — each can go outside once a week as their common identity, but are only free to be themselves in the prison of their own apartment. That is until Monday doesn’t come home. There are lots of explosions and chases, but this does have Glenn Close, and Vance is pretty amazing as the septuplets.
Marvel’s The Defenders Available from Friday
THIS series is a kind of all-star version of several of Netflix’s comic book adaptations of the last few years, with the superhero stars of those series returning, including Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Iron Fist (Finn Jones), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox).
The Defenders are defined almost as much by their bickering and tensions as the causes they are supposed to be fighting for. What brings them together is a dramatic battle against the forces of evil, courtesy of none other than Sigourney Weaver, who rules in icy dominatrix mode as Alexandra, the evil underworld maven with ties to the elusive criminal empire known as The Hand. All four of the series which went into making this had their own distinctive tones, so it has taken some clever writing to bring them together with any congruence. Like many Netflix series, this comes slowly to the boil but persevere and it has more to offer than just comic book explosions.
What The Health (2017) Available now
EVER wondered why there are so many conflicting reports about nutrition in the media? Bacon is bad for you. No, wait, it’s good for you. Coffee might be causing your anxiety, or it might help you live longer. It’s all very confusing.
The confusion comes because the science of nutrition is particularly prone to cherry picking — many apparently contradictory claims can be supported with studies. This is part of the reason why What The Health has been so controversial. The film begins with writer and presenter Kip Andersen undertaking his own review of the scientific literature, and not surprisingly finding a link between foods including processed meat, dairy and an increased risk of developing heart disease, some types of cancer and diabetes. Andersen goes on to highlight that public health organisations in the US can be seen to be actively promoting the consumption of these foods, and are in many cases sponsored by the agricultural groups and food companies that make these products. The problem is that the film’s aspirations — that we switch en masse to plant-based diets — seem a little idealistic, even if its criticisms of the nefarious motivations of the various food industries seem spot on.
What Happened Miss Simone (2015)
Available now NINA Simone died in 1998 and, in the intervening two decades, her legend has only grown. This incredible documentary might be the best thing on Netflix. It deals with her early life as a Bible Belt child prodigy who was denied opportunities because of her race, and her lonely years as an unheralded jazz singer. We see her rise to stardom against a background of volatility and mental illness. Filmmaker Liz Garbus has assembled some extraordinary interviews, especially with Nina’s daughter, who assesses her mother with a loving, but clear-eyed acuity.