Tag: HBO MAX

NETFLIX Buys Warner Brothers!

I had been hearing rumors for the last couple of weeks about Netflix trying to buy Warner Brothers. That is huge news in the streaming world and the streaming wars. Twenty years ago Netflix was a burgeoning mail order DVD rental company. They are now the leader in the streaming business closely followed by Amazon Prime. In the last couple of years Amazon has positioned itself to challenge Netflix and take dominance over the streaming world. Today the news broke that the deal had been inked, and Netflix would acquire Warner Brothers, making it the uncontested Streaming Giant.

The planned Netflix–Warner Bros. deal is being treated as a once‑in‑a‑generation shake‑up that could effectively end the “streaming wars” with Netflix on top if regulators allow it to close. For around 72 billion dollars in equity (82.7 billion including debt), Netflix would fold in Warner’s studio, HBO/HBO Max, and massive library—DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and a century of catalog, creating a single platform that controls roughly one‑third of the U.S. subscription streaming market and an outsized share of viewing time. That scale, plus ad tiers on both sides, positions the merged company as a kind of “super‑platform” for premium series, blockbuster films, and global franchises in one subscription.​

Amazon should be worried because this deal directly threatens Prime Video’s claim to be one of the default entertainment hubs of the household. A combined Netflix–Warner instantly leapfrogs Prime Video on must‑have Intellectual Property, concentrates more cultural “event” titles in a rival service, and gives Netflix far greater leverage in talent deals, theatrical windows, and global marketing than any single competitor currently enjoys. If Netflix becomes the primary home for prestige TV and big‑franchise cinema, Prime risks sliding into a secondary position where it either has to spend dramatically more on originals and sports, or lean harder on its e‑commerce bundle to justify itself as an equal destination in viewers’ minds.

FROM NETFLIX:

We recently announced that Netflix will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO. This unites our leading entertainment service with Warner Bros. iconic stories, bringing some of the world’s most beloved franchises like Harry Potter, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Casablanca, Game of Thrones and the DC Universe together with Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, Bridgerton and KPop Demon Hunters.

What’s changing?

Nothing is changing today. Both streaming services will continue to operate separately. We have more steps to complete before the deal is closed, including regulatory and shareholder approvals. In the meantime, we hope you’ll continue to enjoy watching as much as you want, whenever you want on Netflix.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

1989   Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1 hr  37min

Christmas ~ Comedy

Directed by:  Jeremiah S. Chechik

Starring:  Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, E. G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, Cody Burger, Ellen Hamilton Latzen, William Hickey, Mae Questel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Guest, and Brian Doyle-Murray.

YULE CRACK UP!

Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without a trip to Chicago, hanging with The Griswold’s. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was the third installment in the Vacation franchise. When it was first released, it did marginally well but didn’t reach mass critical success until long after it hit reruns on TV and was released to the growing DVD market. And, as we all know, is now one of the most searched for and watched Christmas Movies of all time.

Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) sets out to create the perfect Christmas at home in Chicago with his wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and their kids, Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki). Eager for Christmas tradition, Clark drives the family to the countryside to chop down the biggest tree they can find, but without tools, they uproot it, damaging their station wagon and irritating yuppie neighbors Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo Chester (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) when they return home. The next day Clark obsessively strings thousands of Christmas lights across the house, causing a neighborhood blackout when they finally illuminate.​

As relatives arrive unannounced, chaos multiplies in the cramped Griswold home. Ellen’s cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her husband Eddie (Randy Quaid), a boisterous, financially strapped redneck, pull up in their RV with kids Rocky (Cody Burger) and Ruby Sue (Ellen Hamilton Latzen), with their slobbery dog Snots. Clark’s parents, Clark Sr. (John Randolph) and Nora (Diane Ladd), join Ellen’s folks Art (E. G. Marshall) and Frances (Doris Roberts), sparking bickering, while eccentric Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel) brings a frozen jello mold topped with cat food and Uncle Lewis (William Hickey) adds his cigar-smoking grumpiness to the mix.

Holiday mishaps escalate: a loose squirrel terrorizes the house, the overcooked turkey ruins dinner, Bethany’s cat gets electrocuted in the tree lights, and Lewis’s cigar torches the tree. Amidst the Christmas chaos Clark has been anxiously awaiting his Christmas bonus from his boss Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray) to fund a backyard swimming pool he’s already ordered and can’t afford without it. After opening the last minute Christmas Bonus envelope from the late mailman, Clark snaps in a profane tirade. Instead of the huge check he always gets, he has received a subscription to a “Jelly Of The Month Club”.

“Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I’d like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. And I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here…with a big ribbon on his head! And I want to look him straight in the eye, and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-assed, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed, sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where’s the Tylenol?”

It truly is a timeless Christmas Classic full of Slapstick Holiday Humor and endless one-liners. I have been watching this movie for decades, every year at Christmas time. It just wouldn’t be the season without a trip to the Griswold’s for some Humorous Holiday antics!

Start The Season Right!

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

on HBO Max!

Sinners

2025   Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated:  R

Length:  2 hr 17min

Action ~ Drama ~ Music ~ Southern Gothic ~ Gothic Horror ~ Supernatural Horror ~ Thriller ~ Vampire Horror

Directed by:  Ryan Coogler

Starring:  Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo.

You Keep Dancing With The Devil,

One Day He’s Gonna Follow You Home.

Clarksdale, Mississippi.

October 15, 1932.

Two brothers, Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore (Both played by Michael B. Jordan) return back home after leaving to become soldiers in WWI and then spending time in Chicago working for Al Capone’s Crime Syndicate. They have returned home to Clarksdale, Mississippi in the Delta to open up a Juke Joint. They have stolen cash and a truck load of Irish Beer, Italian Wine and corn liquor. They have found an abandoned sawmill and meet with the owner to purchase it and the land it sits on. Their cousin Sammy has convinced his Pastor father to let him use the Resonator Guitar from the church for the evening and they also recruit the older Bluesman Delta Slim who plays piano and harmonica. They have also lined up a huge amount of Catfish and sides to serve in the Juke Joint that evening. The word spreads and The Juke Joint is soon filled up with eager patrons and lively blues music by Sammie and Delta Slim. Sammie’s musical gifts and transcendent blues music soon summon more than good times. There is evil coming, drawn by the rhythm of the blues and the scent of fresh blood.

So….where do I start? With History? With the History of The Southern United States? With Slavery? With the K.K.K. ? With Racism? With Jim Crow? With Music History? The History of The Blues? The History of Mojo? Mojo Bags? Haints? Vampires? Voodoo? Al Capone? Chicago Crime in the 1930’s? I honestly don’t know because this movie touches on all of that and I just don’t know how much you know about all of that. Let’s start with Robert Johnson…….

Robert Johnson was a legendary blues musician and songwriter from the Mississippi Delta, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of blues music. Though his recorded career lasted only about seven months, he produced 29 songs that would become foundational to the Delta blues style and deeply influence later rock and blues musicians such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton. Johnson’s vivid guitar playing and haunting vocals earned him lasting fame, but part of Johnson’s mystique stems from a famous legend that he acquired his extraordinary musical talent by making a deal with the devil at a crossroads, where Highways 61 and 49 intersect in Mississippi. According to the myth, Johnson traded his soul to the devil in exchange for mastery of the guitar, which explains his sudden, astonishing improvement in skill after a period of obscurity. As the legend goes the devil offered Robert a guitar, and by grabbing the guitar around the neck and taking it from his hands, he would therefore be accepting the deal of trading his everlasting soul for mastery of the guitar.

In the very beginning of the movie they talk about how music has been intertwined with legend and folklore. Music and rhythm being used to conjure up spirits and commune with the afterlife. The Native American Indians, African culture and the slaves of the deep south in America all used music and rhythms to conjure up and communicate with the spirit world. The Blues in the delta was often referred to as the devil’s music. Right after we see the brief introduction of that history, we see young Sammie heading into his Father’s church. His clothes are torn, he is traumatized and bloody with one hand on the neck of what’s left of that resonator guitar. His Preacher father tells Sammie to just let go, choose goodness and let the devil’s music go. A direct reference to the Blues legend of Robert Johnson and the Devil at The Crossroads.

As I am writing this I realize that there is so much imagery and substance in this movie, I could probably write a book about it. I have never seen a movie where it touched on so many themes across so much history. Honestly, it is based in the south in 1932 complete with Delta Blues folklore, cotton fields, sharecroppers, corn liquor, juke joints, Saturday night fish fry’s, and Delta Blues music. The sharecroppers work all week, 6 days a week, 12 hours a day and then on Saturday they head to the local juke joint with their hard earned money and blow off steam for the week. They dance the blues away, drink and forget their troubles, and have as much fun as they can before the Sunday morning sun comes up. Then there is the Haint aspect, the evil spirits, vampires. Complete with garlic, wooden stakes and the rising of the morning sun. Hoodoo Voodoo, Mojo bags, Rootwork, using herbs and cantations to protect and ward off evil sprits.

See what I mean? We haven’t even discussed Jim Crow, Slavery and racism. I have to draw a comparison with From Dusk Till Dawn, it had to have been an influence on this movie. I must confess I am a huge fan of Blues music and Delta Blues. That era also fascinates me, the 1930’s, so I love this time period and the music. I am also a big Horror Movie fan, I love the old school monster movies and Vampire movies. So for me, this movie checks all the boxes. Honestly I don’t know what else to say, if you are looking for a blues history or period movie only, this might not be for you. If you are looking for a Vampire horror movie, all the blues references, settings and music might be too much for you. It combines both of those kind of like Cowboys and Aliens combined Western and Sci-fi.

I forgot the ending…as the credits start to roll and you think the movie is over, don’t look away. Buddy Guy is seen playing and there is a final scene where Buddy Guy (who is Sammie 60 years later) has a conversation with the Haints from the beginning of the movie. It ties it all together.

If you are looking for a Southern Gothic Supernatural Thriller full of Blues Music, Blues Folklore, Vampires, Action and Drama set in 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi…….This is your movie!

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie!

Currently on HBO MAX

and for rent on Prime.

We Live In Time

2024   A24

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr  48min

Drama ~ Romance

Directed by:  John Crowley

Starring:  Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.

Every Minute Counts

Andrew Garfield stars as Tobias Durand, a sales representative for The Weetabix Breakfast Cereal Company. He is going through a divorce and has received the divorce papers. In a hotel, after just getting out of the shower, he sits down in his robe and decides to sign the papers. The pen quits writing part way through his signature. Frustrated he grabs another and it doesn’t work, then another. Tobias completely loses it, throws the pen and leaves the hotel in his robe heading for the corner store down the street. He purchases a pen and heads back to the hotel walking on the side of the street when…….

Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh) happens by in her car, just as Tobias steps into the street, and hits him. Tobias passes out in the street and comes to later in the hospital with a neck brace and some pretty good facial bruises. He looks over and sees Almut who explains who she is and what happened. She apologizes and offers to buy him and his wife dinner at the restaurant where she is the Chef. He agrees and, not wanting to talk about his going through a divorce, the next evening he shows up alone. When Almut finally comes out of the kitchen, she asks Tobias about his wife and he explains that they are going through a divorce. In the very short time they have met each other, they both have feelings for each other and Almut invites him to go home with her.

And that is the start of their decade long romance and the beginning of a life together. And as with any couple they experience love, laughter, joy and heartbreak. They must also contend with some serious medical news about Almut, which they must make major life changing decisions about. They decide to enjoy every minute of every day, no matter what. As we all should. Throughout all of it they share their commitment and deep love for each other as they navigate the changes that life always seems to throw at you. Throughout the movie there are flashbacks going back to certain moments in their history together that reflect on their current circumstances. And you can see how one thing led to another. It is a little hard to keep up with, trying to figure out when they are flashing back to. But in the end it all makes sense.

I am being a little vague about the details because I don’t want to spoil it. I think Andrew and Florence did a fantastic job together with this movie. I honestly don’t think anybody else could have pulled this movie and story off the way they did. They were meant to play Tobias and Almut, their chemistry together carried this movie. I liked it, I really enjoyed Florence and Andrew together as Almut and Tobias. It isn’t a Hallmark Movie with a happy ending, you know, everybody smiling and riding off into the sunset, but I thought it was a real good Romantic Drama. That’s two thumbs up for Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield and We Live In Time.

Juror #2

2024   Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1  hr 54min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Legal Thriller

Directed by:  Clint Eastwood

Starring:  Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland.

Justice Is Blind, Guilt Sees Everything.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic in Savannah, Georgia, who is called to serve jury duty during a high-profile murder trial. As Kemp listens to the prosecution’s case, a young man accused of killing his girlfriend after a public altercation, he soon discovers unsettling parallels between his own actions on the night of the crime and the evidence presented in court. The prosecutor, Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), sees the case as an opportunity to further her campaign for district attorney, while Kemp’s personal struggles add mounting tension to his role as a juror.

As the trial unfolds, Kemp realizes that he may have unwittingly contributed to the victim’s death on the same night of the incident, igniting a powerful moral conflict. Desperate for guidance, he seeks advice from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and weighs whether to sway the jury’s verdict in light of his possible involvement. Within the jury room, debates intensify as forensic evidence and conflicting eyewitness testimony cast doubt on the defendant’s guilt, while Kemp must grapple with emotions of guilt and responsibility without exposing his secret.

Kemp’s inner turmoil challenges him to confront issues of justice, personal accountability, and family loyalty as cracks begin to show in the prosecution’s narrative. Pressures from the courtroom and worries about his wife’s difficult pregnancy further complicate his moral choices, pushing him toward a decision that might change the outcome of the trial and his own life forever. The narrative artfully explores themes of truth and redemption, keeping the resolution tightly guarded as Kemp’s fate, and the real story behind the crime, hangs in the balance.

I honestly can’t say much more about this movie without giving anything away. And I think it is best viewed that way. I am going to write a separate review/story about the movie and do a deep dive into the story, the plot, the dilemma and the ending complete with a SPOILER ALERT WARNING. Did I like the movie? Would I recommend it? Would I watch it again? The answer to all those questions is an absolute yes. Clint Eastwood did a great job with this movie that sucks you in deeper than quicksand at every turn. As did Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland. It is a different take on the Legal Thriller and the jury process, well worth a watch.

Give it a go and let me know what you think………….