First Flash of the Bird's Plumage, and some recent odds and ends - Friday Video Distractions with Mike Norton

This week saw the broader opening of NBC's Peacock streaming service this past Wednesday, July 15th.
 That being just two days ago, along with my own schedule (I've remained employed throughout the pandemic), has kept me from spending much time with it -- so far nothing more than a very quick look. Xfinity (Comcast) customers had access to it as early as April 15th, so some of you may already have far more experience with it than I've had. If so, please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.
 The short-run experience reminds me of early Hulu. Sign-up is quick, easy and free, with minimal info, so it's there to be painlessly sampled. The free access only has the draw-back of some commercials. Specifically what's on the service is still a little vague, which is typical for most streaming services -- ultimately one has to do targeted searches to find out if X is part of it.
  Limited access to programming is, as mentioned above, free, and so far the ads are light and mild. Often it's a quick ad for some other program on the platform, and a sort of sponsoring ad mention by another product. As someone who, between streaming platforms and DVR, time-shifted viewing, I'm over a decade used to skipping nearly all adds, this isn't a deal-breaker. Whether or not they'll get more aggressive with ads in the coming months - trying to move more people over to a higher monthly fee - is uncertain, but likely. For now, though, they're playing nice.
  As it stands, there's the free level, where some programming is roped off, then for $4.99/month there's Premium, which opens everything up, but still with ads, while for $9.99/mo. nearly all of the ads are said to disappear.  There are bargain packages if one's willing to pay for a full year, but that seems to depend upon where one looks. If you're going to go that route it could pay to do some searching before you give them credit card info. They do mention a caveat in the promotional material that even at that $9.99/mo level there will still be some ads, due to the complex licensing arrangements for some shows/movies, but I haven't seen anything more detailed than that note.

  Granted, I've mostly just watched a couple episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes (seven seasons from the '50s and early '60s), saw that the final three seasons, where it became the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, are behind the Premium membership ropes.
 One odd thing I noticed was that in season four they don't include episodes 1 (A Roald Dahl adaptation titled "Poison") or 3 (a Robert Arthur story, "The Jokester.") It's not a case of either one being listed, but with the telltale behind-the-paywall blue feather icon. They're just not there. I'm not sure what's happened, whether it's a separate rights issue or something else to do with the content.
  In a glimpse of the future -- one we've long known was coming, but which is now accelerating -- I see confirmation that every bit of content that can be pulled into any of these streaming services is being so summoned. A lot of it's delayed because of earlier deals with Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu, but as more of the network-based streaming services arrive and develop (CBS Access, Disney +, and now NBC Peacock) they'll eventually aim to aggregate all of their properties and make them exclusive to their own platforms. As a quick example, all of those Alfred Hitchcock shows used to be part of the general access over on Amazon Prime (and may have also been the case with Hulu and maybe Netflix), but now Prime only has the first two seasons that way.
  I also very took a quick look (as in a minute or two each) at a couple of the Peacock Original series. These would be the drama series Brave New World, a 9-episode, roughly 48-minutes each, first season adapting the themes of Alduous Huxley's novel,

...and the David Schwimmer & Nick Mohammed NSA-centered workplace "comedy," Intelligence. A six episode sitcom running approx. 22 minutes each. (First impression is that it looks pretty terrible, especially Schwimmer's Peter Pan/ugly American hybrid character.)

 But, no attempt today to genuinely review either, I just wanted to see they were there and get that first taste of the very light ad gateway to each.
  If I spend more time with the service I'll bring some updates in the weeks ahead.
  The current bottom line for NBC Peacock is that access is free - there's not even a trial period, and no pumping you for information, much less a credit card, unless one's looking to upgrade to Premium. So, go have a look -- and let me know how it worked for you.
  Over on Netflix I've watched several things recently. One movie from last year, that I'd started to watch months ago, but was interrupted fairly early on and forgot to get back to, is Velvet Buzzsaw (109, R, 1 h 52 m). It's been on Netflix since February of 2019, so in modern media terms it's practically ancient. (The somewhat creepy lead pic on this week's column is one of the art installations from this movie.)
   Starring Jake Gyllenhall as highly-influential art critic Morf Vandewalt, Rene Russo as gallery-owner Rhodora Haze (also former band member of a rock band, the titular Velvet Buzzsaw), and Zawe Ashton as Josephina, an opportunistic friend and lover of Morf's and employee of Rhodora. The death of a reclusive and unknown artist in Josephina's building provides her with a career-making opportunity, and she takes it despite it being somewhere between highly unethical and possibly criminal. She becomes the conduit through which the oddly, strongly evocative works of the deeply troubled Vetril Dease enter the world of high-end gallery art. Soon, people begin to realize there's something sinister and powerful lurking in Dease's work. Something that is affecting at more than simply the emotional and conceptual level. Something willful and contagious. As more of Dease's tragic history comes to light, more things begin to happen.

   The cast also includes Toni Collette as a conniving curator friend of Morf's, and John Malkovich as a former art house darling artist who is afraid his sobriety has killed his talent, among others who are affected by the sudden introduction of Dease's work into their world.
   A good horror subject built around an intriguing core concept, and which ultimately doesn't spare those who become party to the conspiracy. I enjoyed it as an outsider to the world presented here, though I'd be interested to see how it strikes anyone who's more connected to the world of art and gallery showings.
  Also over on Netflix, having dropped there back on July 10th, is an action film with a supernatural core concept: The Old Guard (2020, R, 3 hr 5 m) Starring Charlize Theron as the head of a small, elite band of immortal mercenaries who've dedicated themselves to trying to do good.

In a modern world remaining anonymous is increasingly impossible, and it's inevitable that they'll be discovered and targeted for their secret. At seemingly the most inconvenient moment, a new immortal, the first in over two centuries, comes into being.
  Based on a comics series (comics have become a primary source for story-boarded bases for scripts since at least 2002 - though that's a theme for another day) by Greg Rucka, An enjoyable popcorn movie, likely to spawn at least one sequel. Yes, it has more than one touch that's evocative of Highlander, but at least here there can be more than one, and their true purpose is broader.
  It seems most of my recent viewing's been on Netflix, including this next bit. Something I've only just gotten around to watching is the 6-part documentary Monty Python Almost The Truth: The Lawyer's Cut (2009).

 Originally shown on BBC2 in the UK and on IFC in the US, I'd been aware of it back in 2009, but probably just slightly after the fact. It's a wonderful, detailed examination of the players, their histories, dynamics as a group, and a treasure trove of information about the arc of the team. It's well worth the time for anyone who's enjoyed their shows and movies.
  Oh, having greatly enjoyed last year's first season, I'm very much looking forward to season two of the very popular (Netflix reported 45 million households watched it during its first month) The Umbrella Academy, set to debut on (again) Netflix in two weeks, on July 31st.
 Another comics-based series, it revolves around a group of people, all born under highly unusual circumstance at the same time around the world, focusing on a sub-group of 7 of them who were adopted (basically bought by) an enigmatic millionaire, who raised them in a fashion that left all of them in one fashion or another damaged as nominal adults. Terrific cast, engaging pacing, and multiple fun turns, even if you're going to see some of them coming from a way off. I've just rewatched the first season to refresh myself; I started early with the loose sense that I'd spread it out over the next couple weeks, but as Rocket J. Squirrel told us back in the '60s, that trick never works. I binged through it within a few days -- which, for me, is still fairly restrained. Here's the first season trailer.

     I've found it's a show with broad appeal, including some who generally have nothing to do with comics who nonetheless became huge fans.
    I do have other things I've watched recently -- several of them not on Netflix -- but I've run out of time and energy for this week. Maybe next time.
    Take care, try to be kind to yourselves, feel free to comment below, and you could do far worse than check out other days of the week on the Consortium of Seven blog. In general the others are doing much more engaging things with their spotlights than I've been doing with this.  - Mike