If it’s star-studded, critically acclaimed streaming fare you’re after, you’re very much in luck this week with a lineup that boasts WWI adaptation All Quiet on the Western Front, the return of award-winning Hacks, Jordan Peele’s stop-motion feature Wendell & Wild, breakout local horror movie Gaia, hotly anticipated new sitcom Blockbuster, and more!
MOVIES
All Quiet on the Western Front
Netflix – 28 October 2022
Adapted from Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 masterpiece novel, All Quiet on the Western Front is the dramatic story of Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier in World War I who enlists with his friends under romantic delusions of heroism only to discover the true horrors of war. Remarque’s novel, with its often-overlooked POV and anti-war messaging, is regarded as one of the seminal pieces of war literature, while a previous 1930 Hollywood feature film adaptation had the esteemed distinction of being the very first Best Picture Oscar winner in history. So, no pressure for this new big-budget German production which has been chosen as that country’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at next year’s Oscars.
Wendell & Wild
Netflix – 28 October 2022
It’s a little surprising to me that Wendell & Wild hasn’t received more of a marketing push. The stop-motion animated feature boasts some serious pedigree as its directed by Henry Selick, the filmmaker behind The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, and produced by Get Out and Nope’s Jordan Peele. Peele, alongside frequent collaborate Keegan-Michael Key, also voices one half of the titular two characters, a pair of scheming demons who trick a young girl into taking them from the underworld to the land of the living, triggering mayhem! Angela Bassett, James Hong, Ving Rhames, and Lyric Ross also lend their voices.
Wild is the Wind
Netflix – 28 October 2022
I guess we’re keeping things “wild” but this one is definitely not fun family romp. Wild is the Wind is the twisty South African drama/thriller set in a small racially segregated town in which two corrupt police officers – one black, one white – have to investigate the brutal murder of a young white girl that threatens to tear the community apart even further than it already is.
Run Sweetheart Run
Amazon Prime Video- 28 October 2022
In case you forgot, it’s actually almost Halloween so we need to still have a bit of horror in here, and we get it thanks to Prime Video’s Run Sweetheart Run. Ella Balinska stars as young woman who goes on a blind date with a charming Pilou Asbæk, only for things to turn very nightmarish when sets her off running into the night so that he can hunt her.
Gaia
Showmax – 31 October 2022
And sticking with the nightmares, we have local horror flick Gaia which scooped up the Best Cinematography award at the acclaimed SXSW film festival, as well as Best Film, Director, Editor, Sound Design, and Hair and Make Up at the Silwerskerm festival. Described as an “ecological horror”, Gaia follows a forest ranger who gets injured during a routine mission in the Tsitsikamma National Park, only to be rescued by a father-son survivalist duo. But it appears that going off the grid is not the only extreme life choice this pair has made, as their cultish and dangerous obsession with the forest starts to emerge. Earning rave reviews from several international publications, Gaia has a coveted 85% Fresh approval rating on RottenTomatoes, so this is definitely one to add to your watchlist.
SERIES
The Devil’s Hour S1
Amazon Prime Video – 28 October 2022
Peter Capaldi is probably best known to modern audiences from his fan-favourite run in Doctor Who, but he’s showing off his much darker side in new miniseries The Devil’s Hour. Capaldi stars as a serial killer who appears to have some sort of mysterious connection to a young lady who, for some strange reason, wakes up every night at the exact same time during the so-called “devil’s hour” between 3AM and 4AM. And it appears their twisted timey-whimey relationship (Capaldi just couldn’t leave time alone, could he?!) may just hold the key to solving a murder.
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself S1
Netflix – 28 October 2022
If you like your YA teen fantasy rather bloody (with a mouthful of a title), then look no further than The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself. Based on the Half Bad series of books by Sally Green, this British fantasy series follows Nathan, a sixteen-year-old boy who discovers he is the illegitimate son of the world’s most dangerous “blood witch”. Boasting abilities he doesn’t understand, Nathan has been closely watched by others who fear that he will follow in his father’s footsteps, while also wanting Nathan to become strong enough to kill him.
Inside Man S1
Netflix – 31 October 2022
From Steven Moffat, the acclaimed creator of Sherlock, comes this tense new crime drama. A four-episode miniseries, Inside Man tells a serpentine story that stretches across two continents. In the US, a death row prisoner (Stanley Tucci) wants to atone before his execution. In England, a young journalist (Lydia West) is boarding a train on the trail of a big story. In the quaint British countryside, the local vicar (David Tennant) has a shocking encounter with his son’s math tutor (Dolly Wells). How the lives of these four people link up will lead to explosive and dangerous revelations.
Blockbuster S1
Netflix – 3 November 2022
As a child of the 1980s, I have plenty of cherished memories of visiting video stores. Kids of today probably don’t even know what a video store is though as the market collapsed more than a decade ago with the advent of streaming media… But not everybody got that memo. Inspired by a real-life case, Blockbuster is a workplace comedy that follows the employees of the last Blockbuster Video store in America and their continuing quest to keep the lights on. Fan favourite actors Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) and Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) star.
Hacks S2
Showmax – 1 November
The first season of Hacks was a brilliant bit of dramedy, earning Jean Smart a very well-deserved Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy Award along with two others from a whopping 17 nominations, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series. And now Hacks is back! Smart returns as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas standup comedy diva who decided to inject new life into her aging act by hiring Hannah Einbeinder’s young millennial down-on-her-luck comedy writer. The first season saw the two couldn’t-be-more-different-if-they-tried women getting to grips with each other both professionally and personally, giving us both drama and comedy gold, with season picking up after their big reinvention of Deborah did not go as planned.