With no massive new title, it’s a low-key week for streaming releases. But if you’re in the mood for teenage revenge, creepy mothers, South African superheroes, washed-up pop stars, or a whole lot of true story drama, then we’ve got you covered.

MOVIES

Do Revenge

Netflix – 16 September 2022

Maya Hawke may have super famous parents (Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) but she only recently shot to fame herself thanks to Stranger Things. And now Netflix has lined up the popular young actor’s next collaboration with the service in Do Revenge. The black comedy sees Hawke as awkward and bullied transfer student Eleanor who finds an unlikely ally in Camila Mendes’ preppy formerly popular it-girl Drea who recently saw her perfect public life shattered by her secretly misogynistic boyfriend. The two girls decide to help each other out by committing each other’s revenge on their tormentors, prompting all sorts of drama.

I Used to be Famous

Netflix – 16 September 2022

Deadpool’s Ed Skrein stars in this British musical dramedy about a down-on-his-luck former boyband member desperate for reclaiming his fame, who gets an unexpected revitalization following an impromptu jam session with a young autistic drummer.

Goodnight Mommy

Amazon Prime Video – 16 September 2022

Selected as Austria’s entry for the Best Foreign Language category at the Oscars, 2014’s Goodnight Mommy was a particularly buzzy psychological horror upon its release, with reviews pegging it as “dark, violent, and drenched in dread”. So of course it’s getting an English-language remake now courtesy of Amazon Prime Video. This one stars Naomi Watts as “Mother”, a formerly famous local TV personality who returns home after undergoing extensive facial reconstructive surgery. But for her 10-year-old twin sons, who live with her in her isolated lake house, there’s something off about their heavily bandaged mommy.

Operation Mincemeat

Google Play Movies – 16 September 2022

Despite a fan-favourite leading man in Colin Firth, the always popular subject matter of World War II, very favourable reviews, and a pretty damn catchy name, Operation Mincemeat came and went in cinemas with barely a whisper. It did get a release on Netflix in the UK, but now this fact-based historical war drama – about two spies who planned to use fake papers on a planted dead body to fool the Nazis into believing the Allies had a different attack plan – can be watched in the comfort of our homes as well as it’s available for rental on Google Play Movies for R35.

SERIES

The Brave Ones S1

Netflix – 16 September 2022

South African TV productions have come a long way, over the years. However, if there’s one criticism I have is that we tend to mostly just see dramas and crime thrillers. But Africa as a whole has such rich mythology that it’s rather surprising we haven’t seen more of it. Enter The Brave Ones, a new Netflix fantasy series that follows a young women who discovers she is a reincarnated goddess and who must use her divine powers to avenge her sister’s death.

Thai Cave Rescue S1

Netflix – 22 September 2022

It’s been a while since we’ve seen that old Hollywood practice pf producing competing projects that cover the same storyline. Not to worry though, as streaming services have seemingly picked up that baton. Just two months after Amazon Prime Video’s brilliant and criminally underseen Thirteen Lives debuted, Netflix is countering with Thai Cave Rescue, which – as the very on-the-nose title implies – will also be dealing with the true story of a boys soccer team who got trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018 prompting an international recovery effort. Unlike star-studded feature film Thirteen Lives though, Thai Cave Rescue will be a limited series featuring putting the locals more in the spotlight, including telling large portions of the story from the perspective of the trapped boys and their families instead of their rescuers.

Maggie

Disney+ – 16 September 2022

https://youtu.be/YjVNZIUw9ek

We’ve all made poor romantic choices in our lives, but what if you could see the future – and the ramifications of those poor choices – for yourself? That’s what the titular Maggie starts experiencing in this new rom-com series. An actual psychic who really sees the future of her friends, family, and even random strangers, Maggie suddenly starts getting glimpses of her own destiny for the first time… a destiny that seemingly involves an unexpected romance.

Steinheist

Showmax – 22 September 2022

Devilsdorp was a huge hit for Showmax when it debuted last year, now the makers of that breakout is back with another South African true-crime documentary series in Steinheist. The three-part mini-series will tell the tale of “the biggest corporate scam in Mzanzi’s history” as it digs into the actions of Markus Jooste, the beleaguered CEO of Steinhoff who resigned from his high-profile job in 2017 amid damning allegations that stretch back two decades, with his actions resulting in the loss of hundred of billions of rands, including the pensions and investments of ordinary South Africans.