We’ve seen a few Christmas movies release recently, but it’s a… rather different one leading this week’s streaming releases as The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special debuts on Disney+. Plus, a beloved classic is revived in the premiere of the new Willow sequel series, Showmax debuts its new gritty local drama Donkerbos, and more!
MOVIES
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Disney+ – 25 November 2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently still busy dominating the box office, but Marvel Studios has one other offering before closing out 2022, and it’s the most unexpected one yet! The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special sees writer/director James Gunn bring our favourite band of cosmic misfits to Earth on a magical quest to track a special item to bring some Christmas joy into Star-Lord’s miserable life: Kevin Bacon!
Troll
Netflix – 1 December 2022
Thanks to the internet, the word “troll” has come to take on a far more benign meaning (well, kind of), but acclaimed director Roar Urthaug (The Wave, Tomb Raider) is hoping to change that. Troll sees the Norwegian filmmaker return to his disaster movie roots with a big-budget King Kong-esque spin on Nordic mythology as a giant mountain troll is awoken in the mountains and goes on a rampage, leaving a fearless paleontologist and her team to figure out how to stop it.
Emily the Criminal
Google Play Movies/Apple TV – 25 November 2022
Aubrey Plaza may have made her career playing goofball characters, but in the critically-acclaimed Emily the Criminal, the young actress takes on a very different type of role. Released on the film festival scene to much applause, the nail-biting crime thriller boasts a painfully relatable story about a young woman riddled with student debt who is unable to clear it due a system that keeps punishing her for a minor mistake in her past. With no other options, she turns to crime to make ends meet. But what begins as a minor misdeed soon spirals out of control as she’s sucked deeper and deeper into a dangerous world.
SERIES
Blood & Water S3
Netflix – 25 November 2022
I’m not going to lie. I know that local drama series Blood & Water is insanely popular – the buzz on social media has been very noticeable the last week – but I have still not seen a single episode. So instead of me blabbering about something clearly good which I know very little of, here’s the official blurb for season 3: “A dark new force has entered the lives of our Parkhurst faves and their lives will never be the same again. Friendships will be pushed, lovers tested and not everyone will make it out alive.”
Showtrial S1
Showmax – 28 November 2022
From the makers of Vigil and Line of Duty – which, honestly, should actually be all that you need to hear to sell you on this – comes new BAFTA and Emmy-nominated British legal drama Showtrial. The show follows Talitha Campbell, “the arrogant daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur who is arrested following the disappearance of fellow student Hannah Ellis, the hard-working daughter of a single mother”. With the show whipping back and forth between defense and prosecution in a gripping criminal trial, you’ll never quite know who to root for and who to believe.
Donkerbos S1
Showmax – 29 November 2022
Showmax has actually given us some pretty great local crime thrillers and the latest is Donkerbos. Created by writer-director Nico Scheepers, the moody mini-series follows Erica Wessels’ ostracised detective who has to work with a reluctant small community after the mutilated bodies of six children discovered in the backwater forests of Donkerbos, Limpopo. Filmed in English, Afrikaans, and Venda, the eight-episode mini-series is packed full of local stars of screen.
Willow S1
Disney+ – 30 November 2022
The magic has returned! 1988’s Willow was a richly beloved fantasy yarn spun up by George Lucas while filming Star Wars. Much like his space opera, the Ron Howard-directed film was filled with sweeping stories and iconic characters as they stopped an evil queen, saved a magical land, and lived happily ever after. Apparently, that last part isn’t completely right though, as this brand-new sequel TV series picks up 30 years later to discover that Warwick Davis’ fan-favourite titular sorcerer has at least one more great adventure to save the world. While Val Kilmer’s mercenary Madmartigan isn’t joining him this time, Willow has assembled six brave young souls to join him as they travel far beyond their homes to once again vanquish the forces of evil.