Holiday season is well on its way, with Christmas and the new year just around the corner. It’s been a long 12 months so far, and if you’re anything like us, the next few weeks will feel like the perfect opportunity to take some much-needed time off from our bustling routines and repetitive schedules. For a first-year back to a somewhat normal after what felt like an infinity-long pandemic, we certainly deserve a break.
Temperatures are slowly dropping, meaning that snuggling under the duvet has made its way to the top of our priorities — something to wholeheartedly embrace if we’re being completely honest.
Whatever the reason or motive, all we’re trying to say is that now is the time to take some time for yourself, and nothing says disconnecting more than logging onto Netflix, putting on a feel-good film, and ordering some takeout. Although we can’t be of much assistance in helping you decide what’s going to be for dinner, we can surely guide you to the hottest titles on the streaming giant’s catalog, or at least, we can try.
From fresh new releases to ultimate classics, here are our five favorite films and series at the moment.
Entergalactic
It’s been a long time since we’ve come across some out-of-the-box content. We’re talking about the kind of features you want to tell your friends about and harass them to watch and the last one to have struck us is no other than Scott Mescudi, AKA Kid Cudi’s first animated movie Entergalactic.
Teased earlier this year just before the summer, Mescudi’s first Netflix special centers itself around the life of a relatively young Jabari, voiced by Cudi himself, who after years of struggle trying to make it in the creative world, is finally on the verge of becoming a big name in the illustration industry. While he tries to find his path in life, we follow the protagonist through his ups and downs as he tries to balance between success and his newest love interest. Wholesome and very relatable, this is definitely one of the must-watch programs of this end of the year.What’s more, the film comes with a soundtrack of its own, what is to be understood as Kid Cudi’s eighth studio album that is quite frankly just sublime.
1899
Trending all over social media this past week, 1899 is the latest title distributed by Netflix that has the Internet talking. In brief, the eight-episode-long series follows a group of European immigrants as they make their way to the United States to start from scratch and begin new lives in New York. The life-changing expedition takes an unexpected turn when the passenger ship bumps into another cruising boat, the Prometheus, that’s been missing for four months.
Although the plot seems quite straightforward, there are many complex layers to it that lead to several interpretations that are specific to each. We don’t want to spoil it for you so, we’ll leave it here,. But, if you want to get involved in Twitter’s latest craze and get your brain working, look no further, 1899 is where it is at.
The Swimmers
Based on a true story that recounts the moving story of Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled their war-torn Syrian on a risky boat headed towards Greece, The Swimmers dropped on the streaming giant last week. Like many refugees before them that embarked on a journey toward safe land in extremely poor conditions, the boat couldn’t complete its journey. The two sisters had to complete the rest of their voyage by swimming for hours in rough Mediterranean waters. Once in Greece, we follow the pair through their hard work and determination to settle and move on from their trauma to eventually see Yusra compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Heartwarming and incredibly inspiring, if you’re looking for something to make you feel something, then this is the one.
Mo
If you still haven’t watched one of the biggest hits of this year, don’t worry, it’s better late than never. In short, Mo is an eight-episode-long comedy series based on the main character’s real life. The show recounts the tale of a Palestinian refugee who struggles with his multicultural identity, torn between the Eastern and Western worlds. Co-written by Golden Globe winner Ramy Youssef, if you’re trying to shake off any winter blues away, Mo is the one that will surely hit that spot correctly.
Wednesday
Directed by the king of creepy, Tim Burton, Wednesday is the series you need to put on your watch list ASAP. Don’t believe us? In its debut week, the eight-episode series dethroned Stranger Things for the biggest opening week for an English language series. The Addams Family spinoff, starring Jenna Ortega as the titular Wednesday Addams, racked up 341.2 million hours of viewing worldwide last week, hitting number one in 83 countries.
The show follows Wednesday, now a teenager and enrolling at spooky school Nevermore Academy, as she tackles her newfound psychic abilities and a murder mystery all while navigating her relationships with her family and classmates. Though the show only just premiered (Nov. 16), there are already talks of a season two. Yay!
