Netflix Reviews: Shows I’ve Watched Over the Last 3 Months (Fall 2025)

MY UPDATED NETFLIX REVIEWS
[SHOWS I’VE WATCHED OVER THE LAST 3 MONTHS]

It’s been a long while since I wrote and posted one of these. Let’s make up for lost time…..

JAY KELLY

George Clooney plays world-famous movie star. I know, it’s so hard to imagine him being cast in such a challenging out-of-character role. “My life doesn’t really feel real,” he complains at one point. “All my memories are movies.” Clooney’s magnetism is undeniable, perhaps unmatched in a very real sense. He’s our generation’s Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Paul Newman. Yet, Noah Baumbach’s (director and writer) gushing love letter to Clooney-ism should have been much better and emotionally deeper than it is. The movie drags. Badly. And a few preposterous scenes are painful to watch (the moviestar-hero jumps off a moving train and chases a purse snatcher across a field in the middle of Italy). This could have been a poignant movie about the costs of mind-blowing fame and great wealth and the pressures therein, but instead meanders nowhere except to a cliched and unsatisfying conclusion. Exception: A surprisingly solid performance by Adam Sandler.

My Grade: 3/10 / PASS

THE STRINGER: THE MAN WHO TOOK THE PHOTO

“The Napalm Girl” is one of the most important, shocking, impactful, enduring war images ever recorded. In 1972, a 9-year-old village girl named Phan Thi Kim Phuc was (accidentally) bombed during a vicious South Vietnamese Air Force strike, and she’s seen in this unforgettable photograph naked and crying running away from the horrors of the Vietnamese Civil War. Her burning clothes had been discarded as flaming napalm burned into her charred body. Hours later, this image was in Saigon awaiting a crucial decision. To say this photo was controversial would be a gross understatement. A naked child. The horrors of war. An audience of readers pathetically bored and exhausted with anything-Vietnam connected, as America was pulling out and hoping to forget. What does a news division do with such a depiction of savagery, certain to raise objection? To the great credit of the Associated Press, the news syndicate released it unedited as was–and the shocking photo was summarily plastered on the front pages of most major newspapers around the world. It ended up winning the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for photography, which in itself seems obscene to “award” something depicting such inhumanity. The award (and photo credit) went to long-established vet photographer Nick Ut. However, this documentary shows (I would argue PROVES) the photo was actually taken by a local “stringer” named Nguyen Thanh Nghe, who was paid the princely sum of $20 for his entire batch of war photos taken that terrible day, and then given no credit for his work. This documentary is “must see” for journalists, historians, and those who value the authenticity of intellectual property. Not a great film, but the attention to detail and importance of “getting history right” is reinforced. In the coming/current age of everything being stolen over the internet and all human creativity rendered inferior by AI, we can use a reminder that the people who put in the work and do things extraordinary should always be credited, even if it’s 53 years too late.

My Grade: 7.5/10 / WATCH

A MAN IN THE INSIDE

Ted Danson plays a retired ex-professor—turned—undercover amateur one-off hire slouth. He investigates…..uhh, whatever he investigates. Nursing home settings. San Francisco people with money. Old folks. Clearly intended for a 50+ audience. We watched Season 1 which debuted earlier this year, which was pleasantly fun and enjoyable. Season 2 just launched. Now deep into the first few episodes, I now give this solid recommendation based on very witty dialogue and excellent performances all around. So many programs focusing on the aged seem farcical and exaggerated, even insulting at times, usually making caricatures out of senior citizens. This series does a much better job than most of the genre at humanizing — while also being funny, thoughtful, and perfectly tailored to those who enjoy the kind of stuff usually done by Danson (and his real-life wife Mary Steenburgen, who I’ve always loved). Note: True, in part. This series is based on “The Mole Agent,” a real-life story of an 83-year-old man who went undercover at a nursing home to investigate alleged crimes.

My Grade: 7/10 / WATCH

NURSE JACKIE

I tried. I really tried. I wanted to like this series. Love Edie Falco. Wife loves medical shows. Witty dialogue. Quirky characters. New York. This can’t miss. Or, so I thought. Listen, I admire smart, strong women. Jackie is all that. But I can’t forgive nor overlook her chronic drug addiction, pervasive dishonesty, nor screwing-silly a co-worker on the clock while at work in an ongoing affair, despite having a “perfect” marriage. I get the whole *flawed” savior gimmick, and that’s been a staple of male-driven character comedy-drama for a century. There’s probably is a double-standard (admission coming) when we see a talented and dedicated woman working in an impossible environment using vices and temptation as a coping mechanism. Yeah, Nicholas Cage has made a $100 million career out of these repetitive shit roles. So, why am I not accepting of Falco as “Nurse Jackie?” I don’t know. Perhaps a bias, or even misogyny. Critics rave over this show, so my negativity is a dissenting viewpoint. There’s some occasional brilliance –and frequent laugh-out-loud humor — here, but I just can’t bring myself to feel for this character, who became boring and predictable after about the third episode. Wife agreed with the pass on this, so I feel more confident now giving this a harsh thumbs-down.

My Grade: 3/10 / PASS

MY NEXT GUEST: LETTERMAN / SANDLER

Earlier in this post, I alluded to Adam Sandler. I’ve always despised Sandler. Met him once, which was quite unpleasant. I just never liked the guy, and detested his awful movies. Well, I’m starting to change my mind. Slowly. A step at a time. in life, we can’t rush wine or romance. Sander has done lots of shit over the course of 30 years, but the talent is obvious. Last week, 11 at night, I saw Sandler was David Letterman’s guest for one-hour in a one-on-one. I watched it. He talked about appearing in “Jay Kelly” most recently. Letterman commented that his previous film, where be played a jeweler-compulsive gambler (“Uncut Gems,” a horrible movie–but Sandler is astounding) was worthy of an Oscar nomination, and maybe even a win. Letterman is right. Anyway, I could go off on Sandler, but the interview with Letterman, who is clearly a friend and mentor, made for a really fun and interesting exchange. Letterman’s “My Next Guest” is almost always compelling to watch. Guests you don’t expect to be good may surprise you. Sandler ended up being an Uncut Gem, when he plays HIMSELF. Feels strange to assign a “grade” to an interview series, but this episode rates well:

My Grade: 7.5/10 / WATCH

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Note: This is Part 1 (I’ll type up more show reviews in Part 2).