Well not really but I'd highly recommend it. There are so many good things to watch these days I'm afraid I may have the epitaph "he left this mortal coil with so many things left to stream" on a banner at my memorial ;-)
B and I have watched or am currently watching two sets of movies or streaming series that I thought were excellent. One set comes from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and the other two are about Mexican and South American families, written in the "magical realism" style.
Mary Shelley, and the story of how she wrote the novel Frankenstein, are both fascinating to learn about. This BBC Radio 4 episode about Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, her feminist mother Mary Wollstonecraft and her progressive father is good for background before you watch the two movies.
The story of how Mary Shelley came to write the novel is interesting. From the BBC In Our Time episode -
"Shelley started writing Frankenstein when she was 18, prompted by a competition she had with Byron and her husband Percy Shelley to tell a ghost story while they were rained in in the summer of 1816 at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva."
The Byron referred to is Lord Byron who was a mega-star in the nineteenth century. He had a cool rig he rode around in outfitted with a library, beds, and dining equipment. Percy Shelley is a famous romantic poet He had lots of interesting ideas about among other things - nonviolence, free love, and vegetarianism, Percy was also an aficionado of laudanum a tincture of opium and alcohol.
The two movies that I really liked in the Frankenstein/Mary Shelley area are described by Google AI -
"Frankenstein" (2025)"Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this acclaimed Netflix adaptation follows a brilliant but egotistical Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) who brings a tragic creature (Jacob Elordi) to life. The film was praised for its atmospheric visuals and won Academy Awards for Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Production Design."
"The Bride!" (2026)"Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, this highly anticipated film is set in 1930s Chicago. It follows a lonely Frankenstein who seeks a doctor's help to create a companion. The twist turns into an explosive story of a radical social movement, starring Christian Bale as the monster, alongside Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, and Penélope Cruz."
"Frankenstein" is streaming on Netflix. It's scary and pretty amazing. The creature is not like the old Boris Karloff monster who was sort of a joke it was so campy. The old Frankenstein movies did make for some good comedy in "Young Frankenstein". Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder - very funny, very talented. The 2025 version directed by Guillermo del Toro is not your dad/grandad's monster.
"The Bride!" is streaming on HBO Max. Again - really, really good take on a story that became sort of a joke in the old movie "Bride of Frankenstein". The 2026 version focuses partly on Mary Shelley which is great given her super-interesting background and time she lived in. It's unfortunate that her work became so trivialized in campy movies given the importance of the topics she was touching on. Part of what the monster represents is the advent of the Industrial Age which has had pretty significant impacts on humanity. Anyway it's a very good movie with very good actors and actresses. B and I have been quoting the phrase used in the movie multiple times, "I would prefer not to" to each other for fun lately. That phrase comes from the Herman Melville' short story "Bartleby the Scrivener". I'm not sure how it found it's way in "The Bride!" but I like it. You can read it here if you are so inclined.
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The two magical realism style series we are watching are "Like Water For Chocolate" and "100 Years of Solitude".
I got the recommendation that these were worth viewing from a U.S. Catholic Magazine article by John Christman. I recently subscribed to the magazine U.S. Catholic because I was interested in what was happening in liberal, social=justice oriented, inclusive forms of Catholicism. I find it difficult to reconcile my experience as a Catholic with the actions of people wearing the Catholic badge such as J.D. Vance, Newt Gingrich and the Not so Supreme Court judges Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh and Barrett. The magazine U.S, Catholic seemed like a good place to start for an alternative to the politics and cultural of the corporate Catholics (or whatever they are).
I also subscribed to America Magazine - the Jesuit Review. Again, a very different take on the Catholic faith than you get from the reactionary, America-first, corporate-owned mouthpieces mentioned above. It's unfair of me to paint with such a broad brush - but considering where our country is headed thanks in no small part to people like Vance, Gingrich and not so Supreme court justices...I don't really care.
Sorry for getting off track a bit back to the two series.
The HBO Max series "Like Water for Chocolate" is based on the novel of the same name by the Mexican author Laura Esquival. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now. I don't know what to say other than it's great. It's a bit degraded by having to listen to dubbed in English, but you could read the sub-titles and listen to the Spanish or if you are fluent in Spanish appreciate it even more (I imagine). If you like cooking, food and traditions along with a family saga it will be up your alley. Magical realism isn't everyone's cup of tea but if you appreciate magic used as a story telling tool it's top notch.
The other series, again in the magical realism genre, is "One Hundred Years of Solitude" on Netflix. This series is based on the novel by the Columbian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I've read that book a couple of times and feel like the series does it justice. The first season is available now and season 2 is coming this August.
One thing both of these stories have in common is the theme of the age-old conflict between the rich and powerful and the poor working people. A story of right v left, conservative v. liberal, status quo v. change in crude terms. In any event good topics to think and learn about, and to contemplate, as our country continues forward to unimaginable income inequality.
The money power belongs with the few, who have no conscience and no interest other than more power and money. They have told themselves or been told the same stories for so long, they believe the most incredible things - a gospel that dehumanizes people, teaches its followers to fear and hate, excuses cruelty, violence, lying, and all sorts of other sinful behavior and teaches that God chose the wealthy to prosper and the poor to suffer is evil.
People deserve human dignity, the basic necessities of life and a chance to thrive - what the ancient Greeks referred to as eudaimonia.
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