Led by the debut of The Banshees of Inisherin, this week’s streaming releases are a mix of factual drama, true crime, and fantasy escapism featuring serial killers, cult leaders, popstars, and… Elvis Presley as a secret agent with a jetpack?!
SERIES
Extrapolations S1
Apple TV+ – 17 March 2023
When Scott Z. Burns wrote 2011’s Contagion, the screenwriter could not have known that less than a decade later, we would see that movie’s scenario play out in real life almost beat for scary beat. So I’m really hoping that we don’t see the same thing happening with Extrapolation (though sadly, it may just!). The upcoming anthology sci-fi series is packed with A-listers like Meryl Streep, Marion Cotillard, Edward Norton, Kit Harrington, Tobey Maguire, Gemma Chan, Matthew Rhys and more, as it tells eight interwoven stories, set in the near to not-so-near future, about the impact of increasingly worse climate change on the everyday lives. Early reviews have called the first season gripping and harrowing!
Agent Elvis S1
Netflix – 17 March 2023
Known more for his gyrating hips, romantic crooning, and weird combo sandwiches, the late great Elvis Presley didn’t exactly exude action hero energy. Somebody at Netflix disagrees though. Adult animated series Agent Elvis sees none other than Matthew McConaughey voice the King of Rock ‘n Roll as you’ve never seen him before – foul-mouthed, gun-toting, and packing a jetpack – as he’s recruited as a government spy, set on stopping over the top villains from destroying the world!
Swarm S1
Amazon Prime Video – 17 March 2023
The cult of celebrity worship can be a scary, scary thing, and in Swarm, co-creators Janine Nabers and the always-incredible Donald Glover want to show you just how nightmarish it can become. The upcoming thriller series follows rising star Dominique Fishback’s Dre, a young girl who proudly considers herself part of “The Swarm”, a group of fans obsessed with a pop-star, whose obsession turns dark and deadly. That said popstar in this series is modelled after Beyonce, whose own fandom identifies as the “Bey Hive”, is no coincidence as Nabers and Glover draws some stark real-world parallels that makes Swarm a very intriguing watch.
Adulting S1
Showmax – 20 March 2023
Coming from the uber successful same team that scored five Best Scriptwriting SAFTAS in the past four years for shows like The Republic and The River, Adulting is a new local drama series that follows four friends, bros since varsity, who are still close despite their own life journeys having taken them in very different directions. There’s the successful businessman, the womanizing flirt, the secretly adulterous family man, and the hot-headed bad boy, and their lives all clash together in some unexpected ways.
Waco: American Apocalypse S1
Netflix – 22 March 2022
If you’re as old as I am, then you’ve most probably heard of the Waco Siege of 1993, in which a doomsday cult, led by the charismatic David Koresh, were besieged in their compound for a whopping 51 days by the ATF and FBI. It was a scene that gripped world headlines and ended in violence and fiery destruction. But what actually happened? Who was David Koresh and who these people who so fervently surrounded him to the point that they would defy armed authorities for so long? This new documentary miniseries from Netflix, making use of records and testimonies from people who were actually there, attempts to understand just what happened for nearly two months in a small Texan community.
MOVIES
The Magician’s Elephant
Netflix – 17 March 2023
I have to admit that up until a few days ago, I had not even heard of The Magician’s Elephant. This is surprising as the new Netflix animated feature film is not only adapted from the popular 2009 book of the same name but boasts a voice cast that features the likes of Noah Jupe, Benedict Wong, Brian Tyree Henry, Mandy Patinkin, and more. Whatever the reason for the lack of promo around this, if you’re looking for something for the whole family to enjoy together this week, this is your best bet.
Stella Murders
Showmax – 17 March 2023
On the exact opposite of that all-ages accessibility scale sits Stella Murders. Coming from David Enright and IdeaCandy, the director and production company respectively behind the breakout hit Devilsdorp, this new true crime feature film documentary (which has already won a SAFTA for Best Documentary Feature) takes an in-depth look into the deaths of teenage best friends Sharnelle Hough (17) and Marna Engelbrecht (16) at their hostel at Stella High School in North West Province in May 2018. While initially appearing to be a double suicide, investigations would soon start make some unexpected discoveries that would rock Stella, the tiny 4000-people strong cattle-farming dorpie where nobody would have predicted this level of tragedy.
Boston Strangler
Disney+ – 17 March 2023
Sticking with the true crime, comes Boston Strangler, a new thriller drama that tells the true story of the eponymous serial killer who infamously killed 15 women in Boston, Massachusetts during the 1960s. Kiera Knightley stars as Loretta McLaughlin, the reporter who connected the murderous dots and broke the story of the serial killer. Along with fellow female reporter Jean Cole, played by Carrie Coon, it would take Loretta challenging the rampant sexism of the decade to report on and help uncover the identity of the most notorious killer in the city’s history.
The Banshees of Inisherin
Disney+ – 22 March 2023
While it may have walked away surprisingly empty-handed after nine nominations at this past Sunday’s Oscars, The Banshees of Inisherin is still undoubtedly one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2022. And now those of you who missed it in local cinemas early this year can finally see what all the fuss is about on Disney+. Set on a fiction remote Irish island, the “black tragicomedy” film sees Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reteaming with their acclaimed In Bruges director Martin McDonagh for a tale about two lifelong best friends who suddenly find their lives – and the lives of other around them – in unexpected turmoil when one abruptly decides to end their relationship. Calamity, of both the humorous and seriously dramatic kind, ensues.