New Year’s Day is a time to nurse hangovers, indulge in leftovers, watch football and binge…baby…binge. With the advent of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime it’s never been easier to access shows and movies. However, now that there is a plethora of material out there, it’s hard to separate the good, from the bad to well…the just plain ugly. We’ve curated some very smart, well produced and culturally relevant shows and movies every man should see. Here are our five picks.
Narcos
A perfect selection for binge-watching in the man cave, Netflix’s Narcos blends elements of Scarface, Traffic and all of your favorite “bad guy drug dealer” movies. This one happens to focus on real-life kingpin Pablo Escobar and his rise and fall from the top of the Medellin Cartel. As expected, Narcos has its share of violence, smuggling and hardcore suspense, making it a compelling watch from moment one. Season 1 chronicles the rise, while in Season 2, which garnered even more critical praise we see the beginning of the descent. It’s a must watch for any aficionado of the gangster film genre.
Cuban Chrome
For the gearheads Cuban Chrome is quite the treat. The docuseries explores a fascinating time warp that characterizes Cuban car culture. We all know that the U.S. imposed embargo in 1960 prohibited all American exports to the island nation except for food and medicine. As a result, thousands of vintage American vehicles can be found in Cuba, and they represent much more than just a means of transportation. The series chronicles how the A Lo Cubano Car Club — a club of passionate car enthusiasts, restorers, mechanics and apprentices — go to extremes to preserve the treasured cars for future generations, and maintain the ones they already own and depend upon. Available on Amazon Prime the show definitively takes viewers to places never seen before on U.S. television, from Havana’s ramshackle garages that house jaw-dropping hot-rods to street races.
Luke Cage
The third show in the Netflix-Marvel street-level superhero series. This outing is different than the rest. It’s gritty, includes action, with cultural cameos in the forms of landscape, people, references and dialogue that simply “gets it.” The show follows the evolution of Luke Cage, a man with super strength and unbreakable skin caused by a sabotaged experiment. Cage is trying to live a quiet life in Harlem, New York — until he is pulled out of the shadows and forced into a battle for his city. Along the way, Cage cannot avoid confronting his past, which he has worked hard to bury. Luke Cage delivers the goods. For the guys out there it’s got some great lessons in manhood.
Barry
Not a show per se, but a semi-autobiographical film which chronicles the college days of President Barack Obama. It revisits his time at Colombia University, during the 1980’s. While the film only scratches the surface at a 1:44 run time, it is entertaining. Think Batman Begins, but as it applies to our current President. For nostalgia geeks it nails 1980’s New York City. However, it also touches upon issues and themes any man of color may have encountered in his life – reconciling fitting in the establishment while maintaining your culture; dealing with police harassment and racial discrimination, however nuanced it may be, and simply finding a place to belong.
Cuba Libre
For the history buffs. This docuseries premiered on Netflix in early December. The 8 episode series brings together followers and opponents of Fidel Castro and his predecessor Fulgencio Batista. A multi-country co-production, the series includes footage from archives of German and French media outlets, as well as, for the first time ever Russian state film archives. All collaborate to look back at 500 years before the Castro Brothers, and ahead at what will come after them.
