Disney plus will be gone after the second season of Mandolorean is done. They're just taking too much time getting any Marvel content out. And honestly I've seen most of the rest of what they have and am not compelled to see it again.

There are still things we watch on Netflix, but it gets to be less and less. But it's my wife's go-to so it likely stays a while. Amazon Prime probably lasts because I still buy a fair bit and the free shipping pays for it. Hulu got a new lease on life because I got a cheap year of HBO Max.

The plus I'll say to Prime is that it acts as kind of a mini-Blockbuster.  The choices aren't quite as good but you can pay to stream a lot of new movies and quite a few older movies.  And it does have some good original programming. 

Gal Gadot as Cleopatra is decried by a few misinformed souls as a case of Hollywood whitewashing. 

Well, it might arguably be "Prettywashing" since Gadot is far more beautiful than the images we have of Cleoptara... but despite not being the product of eight generations of Greek inbreeding, I'm fairly sure that Gadot's skin color is perfect for the historical ruler. And if we want to split hairs, Israel is located within the borders of Alexander's empire, of which Ptolemy I (her ancestor and founder of her line) was a general. So even culturally, this is no usurpation.

Plus, she'd make a stunning queen of Egypt. (As stunning as Monica Bellucci? That remains to be seen! )

There! I said it.

I would think anyone stepping on either testicle would wake me up and receive a string of profanities.

Well, he has been sleeping on my lap and crotch area, if I am sleeping on my back (I tend to shift around in the night); and, last night, he moves and gets his full weight on one of the two veg and I hollered out.  He also lacks the equipment for a receipt.

If I'm on my side, he will sleep on my hip and thigh.

Right now, he's draped over my shoulder, purring.

You're absolutely correct.

In the case of the upcoming Dune movie, had I had my druthers, I would have had mostly unknown people for all the parts (sort of like what happened with Star Wars, way back when) but I understand that having several big names will bring more people to the theatres. It's the nature of the game.

In the case of Cleopatra, I've read several comments here and there and most of them are completely disconnected from business realities (or downright offensive). The Guardian, for one, says that Hollywood missed an opportunity to give a big role to some actress from North Africa. Now I am sure that there are plenty of actresses in Algeria, Tunisia, Lybia, Morocco or Egypt who would have been great for the part... but none come to mind that would have the drawing power of Gal Gadot. What's more, it is not the responsibility of a studio to promote the career of unknown artists just to placate the sensibilities of a British newspaper. A studio is in there to make money, and when it acts in a socially conscious way, it is usually because calculations show that the goodwill thus earned would compensate for other forms of income. To expect otherwise is to be overly optimistic, or is self-serving virtue signalling.

Other arguments were about Gadot's skin colour, deemed too pale; but if she was good to play Wonder Woman she should be fine to play Cleopatra (both being Greek, after a fashion).

Another thing I read was that it was her being Israeli that was the problem, some people taking offense at an ex-member of the IDF playing an Egyptian icon. That, to me, is condemning someone by association (which is what the twin monsters of discrimination and profiling are all about). Gadot is in no way responsible for the politics of the Middle East, and she had little say in doing her military service (which I understand is mandatory in Israel). Had she ever spoken out against the people of Egypt, I would completely understand the criticism; but as it is, she's just an individual who happens to have been born in Israel. To blame her for it might not be racism per se, but reeks of antisemitism. Are Egyptians justified in feeling annoyed that an Israeli plays a famous Egyptian historical figure? Well, I can understand their irritation, because real-world politics always colour our feelings; but unless a studio is really targeting the Egyptian market, they should have no qualm about casting whoever they choose. There is no intrinsic moral problem in casting an Israeli to play an Egyptian.

The whole thing is the kind of insignificant manufactured outrage we are exposed to more and more, mostly thanks to the ease with which we can find virtual soapboxes to express our little frustrations. Thanks to social media, we can now hear "get off mah lawn!" from all the way across the globe as easily as from our neighbourhood; and even if we'd rather not pay attention, it's hard not to when the volume is so loud.