One day, my colleagues and I were chatting about COVID-19, and I made a joke that Zoom must have created the coronavirus. I got no response. No LMAO, no laughing emoji, not even an LOL.
The news media has focused almost excessively on restaurant businesses being devastated by the coronavirus outbreak, but the disease has impacted many other industries.
It's astonishing to think companies are benefiting from the pandemic, but look at Zoom, Amazon, UPS, Clorox, 3M, and makers of hand sanitizers. Perhaps one of the biggest beneficiaries of the lockdowns is Netflix, which is not just a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, but it's also become a movie studio and distributor essentially.
Netflix has led the way in producing and releasing exclusive TV and movie content. Since the beginning of Ted's MOVIE OF THE WEEK, I have showcased three films from the California-based company--Anon, Close and Extinction.
But the best movie I've seen from Netflix so far is Spectral, a sci-fi action thriller that's similar to Jame Cameron's Aliens, but instead of acid-bleeding aliens as enemies, there are "ghosts" fighting the U.S. military. It sounds far-fetched, but the movie provides an explanation that is based on actual theoretical science.
Spectral leans on the war action side, but I can't think of another film whose main character is a scientist from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. Spectral is a perfect blend of the action and science fiction movie genres.
Movie theaters have been hard hit economically because of COVID-19, and I was really looking forward to seeing several films this year, including Top Gun: Maverick, Black Widow, Fast & Furious 9, and Tenet.
Thankfully, video streaming companies like Netflix have a seemingly infinite amount of quality content to keep us entertained while quarantined. They could almost be viewed as an essential service in these difficult times. Netflix's Spectral is a definite must-see. With the film's superb direction and screenplay, Spectral is so good it's been considered for my prestigious 5-star rating.
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