Avatar: The Way of Water, the biggest film of 2022, makes its streaming debut this week, leading releases that also include the final episodes of Manifest, an Arnie documentary, The Weeknd’s controversial drama series, and more.
SERIES
Manifest S4 – Part 2
Netflix – 2 June 2023
Oh hey, here we are again at the end of Manifest! This time is very different though for the supernatural drama series, which found itself canceled after three seasons by NBC back in 2021. Just before cancelation though those three seasons had been added to Netflix US and thanks to a huge fan campaign saw the show topping the streamer’s charts. That in turn led to Netflix reviving it for a fourth and final season, split in two parts. And now, following an initial release back in November last year, the final part is here! It’s been a very bumpy ride, but I’m sure fans will be overjoyed that Manifest is actually getting to tell its story to completion instead of just ending in limbo.
The Idol S1
Showmax – 5 June 2023
Easily one of the most high-profile titles releasing this year, The Idol is a new drama series co-created by Emmy-nominated director Sam Levinson (Euphoria), and Oscar nominee and Grammy winner Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, with the latter also co-starring with Lily-Rose Depp. Depp stars as a famous pop star who has a nervous breakdown, leading to her tour being canceled. Desperate to regain her public clout and title as “the sexiest pop star in America”, she begins a relationship with Tesfaye’s self-help guru/cult leader. The Idol debuted its first two episodes at the recent Cannes Film Festival, where it received wildly divisive reviews, with many critics pointing out its very graphical sexual content and themes. If you want to check out what the fuss was about, Showmax will be airing weekly episodes just one day after their US debut starting this coming Wednesday.
Mrs. Davis S1
Showmax – 5 June 2023
Betty Gilpin. That’s literally all you have to say to get me onboard anything as I’m a huge fan of the actress’ work. For the rest of you though who need more convincing, Mrs. Davis is a new sci-fi comedy action series co-created by Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, The Leftovers, Lost) and Tara Hernandez (The Big Bang Theory) and sees Gilpin as Sister Simone, an ass-kicking nun, who is sent on a mission to take down Mrs. Davis, a globe-spanning AI threatening to take over humanity. According to reviews, the trailer doesn’t get close to selling how crazy and off-the-wall this series gets, balancing intelligent design with bonkers and unhinged fun.
Arnold
Netflix – 7 June 2023
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent collaboration with Netflix, the action-comedy series FUBAR, is… well, it’s not good, if you ask me. Luckily, us Arnie fans looking for some redemption don’t have to look far as the simply-titled Arnold, an upcoming three-part documentary series, looks much better. The doccie promises an unfiltered look at how Schwarzenegger rose from his obscure early life in Austria, from military service to weightlifting, leading him from Mr. Universe to the king of Hollywood, and eventually even to becoming governor of California, with all the personal setbacks and controversies along the way.
Tour de France: Unchained
Netflix – 8 June 2023
Sports documentaries are nothing new, but there’s a sense that since Netflix’s blowout success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, that there’s a quest to recapture that lightning in a bottle. The latest to seemingly try and nail down that balance of accessibility, technical detail, and gripping drama is Tour de France: Unchained. This four-part series take unflinching look at the 2022 Tour de France and what it takes to win the world’s most grueling cycle race.
MOVIES
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Amazon Prime Video – 31 May 2023
Written by Judy Blume and published in 1970, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret won several awards for its realistic portrayal of an early-adolescent girl and the anxieties she has with growing up, such as menstruation, bras, and boys. With the titular 11-year-old Margaret’s frequent prayers, questioning her daily struggles, it also kicked off many frank discussions about religion and the place it had in young lives. That’s a lot to tackle in a 100-minute movie adaptation, but writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig gave it a go. Being the filmmaker behind the brilliant young woman coming-of-age film, Edge of Seventeen, she’s certainly qualified to try and the critics seems to think she’s nailed it once again. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was originally scheduled to debut in cinemas locally next week, but thanks to a global streaming deal, you can now check it out on Amazon Prime Video.
The Fallout
Showmax – 1 June 2023
With the likes of Wednesday, X, and Scream IV, Jenna Ortega is most certainly a hot commodity right now. And if you want to get more of an Ortega fix, then you definitely should not skip The Fallout, a 2021 drama that received widespread critical acclaim when it debuted on the film fest circuit and since had an exclusive release on HBO Max. Ortega plays Vada Cavell, a high school student coming to grips with the trauma of having survived a school shooting.
King Richard
Showmax – 5 June 2023
When you think of Will Smith and the Oscars, you probably think of “The Slap” first, which is unfortunate as 2022 also saw Smith win the Best Actor award for his turn in King Richard. If all that Chris Rock drama overshadowed Smith’s onscreen success and you missed out on the six-time Oscar nominated film, you can now rectify that on Showmax. For the uninitiated, King Richard is the biographical sports drama following Smith’s Richard Williams, a determined father who had the job of raising, nurturing and driving his daughters, who just happen to be two of the most gifted athletes of all time: Tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Disney+ – 7 June 2023
Based on the staggering $2.3 billion box office haul thus far, there’s a very slim chance that any of you missed out on watching Avatar: The Way of Water. However, for the dozens of you out there that skipped it on the big screen, James Cameron’s 13-years-later follow-up to the biggest movie in history is set to make its streaming debut on Disney+ next week. It has to be mentioned though that watching it on the small screen will mean missing out on the high-frame-rate 3D magic that Cameron worked on IMAX to make The Way of Water one of the greatest visual spectacles I’ve ever seen. However, unlike the first film (as so many of its critics like to point out), there’s actually a solid story here to carry the rest of the movie. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised how much I genuinely enjoyed the film and look forward to its sequels. Tracy was a tad less impressed, but you should give it a watch and decide for yourself.