Highlights for this week’s new releases on streaming services include Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston’s Murder Mystery 2, a Tetris movie (it actually looks great!), the return of Yellowjackets, superpowered girls, and some… Beef?

MOVIES

Murder Mystery 2

Netflix – 31 March 2023

I can’t say I was a fan of 2019’s Murder Mystery. It was… okay. Another middling comedy movie in a long line of middling comedy movies stemming from Adam Sandler’s deal with Netflix. But you don’t need to be great to be successful as it – according to Netflix’s own cryptic metrics, I must add – became the fifth most-watched original film in Netflix’s history at the time. And so here we are a few years later with Murder Mystery 2. After the events of the first film that say Sandler’s NYC cop and his mystery novel loving wife (Jennifer Aniston) stumble their way into a classic murder mystery whodunnit aboard a billionaire’s yacht, the couple are now professional detectives (although not with the best reputation). And they have to put those pro skills to the use when the wedding of the wealthy Maharaja they met in the previous film, is interrupted with a bit of murder and kidnapping!

Tetris

Apple TV+ – 31 March 2023

And if you’re thinking this was a sequel to that other bad Adam Sandler movie, Pixels, I’m happy to report that it’s not! Unlike recent video game adaptations, Tetris isn’t looking to bring the game to screen in narrative form (I have no idea how that would even work, I just know the straight long-piece would be the villain) but instead tell the incredible “true story” of how arguably the greatest video game ever made actually got created. You’ll notice the quotes around the “true story” part above, and that’s because obviously some Hollywood embellishments have taken place in this Cold War-set tale of how Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) initiated a frantic legal battle (complete with car chases and skullduggery) for the rights of a simple game from Russian video game designer Alexey Pajitnov.

Kill Boksoon

Netflix – 31 March 2023

If you’re into your South Korean film/TV, you probably know the name of Jeon Do-yeon, the history-making, award-winning actress who in 2007 became the first Korean to win Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. The veteran thespian has had a career that spans just about every format and genre, but she’s very seldomly taken action roles. Kill Boksoon sees her flex those action muscles as a woman who juggles the two aspects of her life: being an attentive mother to a young daughter, and secretly being a legendary contract killer who gets caught up in a major confrontation at “work”.

SERIES

The Power S1

Amazon Prime Video – 31 March 2023

When it comes to the social hierarchy of power, young teenage girls unfortunately don’t feature very highly… but what if that were to change? Literally. Based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 sci-fi novel, The Power is set in a mundane contemporary world which suddenly becomes very un-mundane when all teenage girls around simultaneously develop electricity-based superpowers. With the ability to electrocute people at will, these young women’s newfound gifts upset the social order with devastating effects.

Yellowjackets S2

Showmax – 1 April 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krFohHX8WeU

Easily the biggest surprise TV series breakout of 2021, teenage-girls-stranded-in-the-wild drama Yellowjackets was the poster child of the weekly release model word-of-mouth success. While it started off totally under the radar, that’s most definitely not the case for the thrilling dual-timeline series’ second season which premiered in the US just a few days ago. Local fans won’t have to worry too much about getting the show’s twisty, mystery-unraveling story spoiled for them by international coverage though as Showmax will be airing season two’s episodes just six days after they air, starting tomorrow, Saturday, 1 April.

The Crossover S1

Disney+ – 5 April 2023

It was literally less than a month ago that Disney+ released a teen-centric basketball story, but whereas Chang Can Dunk took a lighthearted comedy approach, new series The Crossover is going the drama route. Based on Kwama Alexander’s award-winning 2014 poetry verse novel, the show follows brothers Josh and JB Bell, two young basketball phenoms who have their future in the NBA seemingly mapped out already. But the road to superstardom is not without its many bumps and unexpected dead-ends.

BEEF S1

Netflix – 6 April 2023

https://youtu.be/AFPIMHBzGDs

If you spend any extended time in traffic, I’m sure you’ve flirted with road rage. Hell, some of you may even have acted on it. But have you ever had one raging incident completely consume your life? That’s what happens to Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s characters in this upcoming comedy drama series who sees their entire lives sent into turmoil after chance encounter in a parking lot turned nasty. Released by A24, the production house most well-known for highly original independent films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ex Machina, Room, Hereditary, and more, the series has received massive critical acclaim with early awards buzz already centred on Yeun and Wong.