7 of our favorite movies, series and documentaries to air over the holidays
Let’s go down a long tunnel of food and sofa days, a period called “The Holidays”! French Morning has rolled up its sleeves to help you digest the diary. Six of our journalists share their “favorite” movies, series and documentaries to watch on streaming platforms right now.
” Playlist »
Welcome to the behind-the-scenes look at the creation of music streaming giant Spotify. This six-episode Swedish miniseries on Netflix traces the platform’s history from its inception in the 2000s to its success with the general public, including encounters with record labels and funding. Each episode focuses on one aspect of its development, following just one character at a time: Daniel Ek, founder-visionary, lawyer behind the business model, CEO co-founder, computer programmer, broadcast artist and record label boss. This delicious multi-faceted construction calls into question everyone’s attitude towards new technologies as a whole (wages, rights, ethics, etc.). A smart series that explores the increasingly important world of startups. (Charlotte Attry in San Francisco)
” Get fired »
Imagine that a person can separate his professional life from his personal life thanks to brain surgery. This is the sad universe that the first season of Severance (French for “Separation”) plunges us into on Apple TV +. Over the course of nine episodes, we follow Lumon Industries employee Mark Scout at the head of a small group of co-workers who have all chosen to keep their office memories separate from their personal lives. Over the course of the episodes, we discover the motivations for each of them to undergo this operation and the dysfunctions behind this strange system. An excellent cast, Ben Stiller’s hard-hitting screenplay, a cryptic script that packs a real satire of corporate culture, Severance is a nugget worth derailing on its credits alone. (Charlotte Attry in San Francisco)
“SHAQ”
After Magic Johnson (“They Call Me Magic,” Apple TV), it’s the turn of another former Lakers star, Shaquille O’Neal (50), to tell his story in a miniseries airing on pay-per-view HBO until December 14. . Known for his physical strength on the field and humor off the field, the 2.16-meter giant shows another, more sensitive side of his personality in four episodes of “SHAQ”. From being teased about his height as a child, to taking painkillers late in his career, to the death of lifelong teammate Kobe Bryant in 2020, Shaquille O’Neal looks back at the highlights of his career, confesses and even repents. Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002) and Miami Heat (2006) with four championship titles. (Maxime Aubin in New York)
“America the Beautiful”
It’s an unexpected journey that the Disney+ documentary America the Beautiful (photo above) takes us on board. Diving into the heart of the most beautiful landscapes of the North American continent is sometimes threatened to discover unknown species. From the glaciers of Alaska to the swamps of Florida, the scenery is breathtaking. Over the course of six episodes, Michael B. Jordan narrates rare close-up scenes of animals. A squirrel with a supply of pine cones makes us laugh. Be silent at the sight of two blue whales evolving in Los Angeles Bay. In the wake of COP15 on biodiversity, which closes on December 19, this series opens our eyes to the beauty and fragility of these other inhabitants of the Earth. (Agnes Chareton in Los Angeles).
“Wednesday”
Find the mythical character of the Addams family in the series co-directed and co-produced by Tim Burton on Netflix, Wednesday. Expelled from his high school for the twelfth time, the young goth is sent by his parents, Gomez and Morticia – played by Catherine Zeta-Jones – to Nevermore Academy in Vermont, an institution for special children. There, the misanthrope befriends a werewolf roommate. He begins to investigate a series of murders in the city and the past of this interesting school, and tries to control his feelings beforehand. This dark and goofy series has been a huge hit: it’s the third title in Netflix’s history to exceed one billion hours watched per month, along with Squid Games and Stranger Things season 4. (Anne-Laure Mondoulet, New York)
“Tokyo Vice”
The series “Tokyo Vice” aired on HBO Max tells about the adventures of Jake Adelstein, a young American reporter who joined the police-justice service. Yomiuri ShimbunJapan’s largest daily newspaper in the mid-1990s. After dealing with small news, the journalist begins his first long-term investigation into the labyrinth of the Japanese mafia, the yakuza. This eight-episode series is loosely inspired by Jake Edelstein’s autobiographical novel published in the US in 2009.Vice President of Tokyo: American reporter on police beatings in Japan), we also recommend. “Tokyo Vice” is definitely worth a watch as it takes the viewer into a sometimes misunderstood, mafia-ridden society, and above all, a very socially rigid Japan. We are far from the clichés of a country of culture kawaii. HBO has already announced its second season. (Laurent Garrigues in Las Vegas)
“Alaska Diary”
A fallen star journalist in New York is hired by a daily newspaper in Alaska to investigate the disappearance of a local woman. It is so pitch From Alaska Daily. Available on Hulu, this six-episode series pleases us in more ways than one: aside from Hilary Swank’s solid performance (” Million Dollar Baby », ” Boys Don’t Cry »…) in the role of experienced reporter Eileen Fitzgerald leads us to discover Alaska, its landscapes, mentality and people, especially the native tribes. For years, they’ve been trying to bring attention to the many unsolved cases of missing or murdered Native American women. Inspired by their struggles in Alaska and elsewhere in the country, the series shines a beautiful spotlight on them. Alaska Daily is also a tribute to the importance of the dying local press in the United States and the determination of underserved journalists. (Alexis Buisson in New York)
