There are a few classics being added this month to Stoski’s Ultimate Movies Rating Guide. I’ve been looking forward to seeing Boss Baby starring Alec Baldwin since it was released a few years ago, and I was all over it as soon as I realised that it was viewable on Netflix in my country. Raiders of the Lost Arc is also a great addition, even if I waited quite a long time to see it, and even if it moves a little slowly for modern audiences, in my opinion. Honestly though, if I hadn’t chanced upon it on Netflix, I likely wouldn’t be adding it to the list today. Looking for something to watch? Here are a few things that might have flown past your radar.

Next Gen (2018)

Okay here’s a derivative piece of work I’ve I ever saw one. The whole thing is almost a plot-for-plot remake of the hit 2004 robots movie i, Robot (which Mr. Maddox didn’t care for but which I nonetheless think kicks ass). Both movies feature a corrupt central A.I. (minus the interesting philosophical debate in the case of Next Gen), a big, towering HQ for the main robotics company, and an old professor that secretly creates a special robot to stop the A.I.

The main plot difference between Next Gen and i, Robot, is that i, Robot’s A.I. is well meaning and misunderstood while Next Gen’s A.I. wants to kill people. So much for philosophical complexity! Wouldn’t want to let our audience grapple with the ethical and moral ambiguities of an interesting character! Bad guy wants to do bad guy things because they are bad! It’s pretty, but not worth your time.

2/5

Boss baby (2017)

Boss baby is an interesting movie in some ways. In others, it’s boring trash. What I really liked; Alec Baldwin’s silky voice in another movie where he plays a slick businessman. What I didn’t like; almost everything else. I didn’t care for all of the stupid ‘baby’ jokes, and I certainly didn’t care for the parts where Alec Baldwin isn’t acting like a slick businessman.

I certainly wouldn’t have bothered with this if it weren’t for Alec Baldwin, and I certainly won’t bother with the Netflix original spinoff series. If you, like me, want to see Alec Baldwin as a slick businessman in stuff, then make sure to watch him Glengary Glen Ross. It was his only scene in the movie, but nonetheless it won him Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes.