It’s lightsabers, devils, and hand sanitizers as this week’s streaming releases are headlined by Star Wars series The Acolyte, horror prequel The First Omen, and revival movie Mr. Monk’s Last Case.
SERIES
The Veil S1
31 May 2024 – Disney+
Elisabeth Moss. Steven Knight. Honestly, those two names are all I needed to hear to add The Veil to my list. Moss is a tour de force actress who always brings her A-game, with projects such as The Handmaid’s Tale, The Invisible Man, Mad Men, and more showing why is regarded by some as the best actress working in television today. Meanwhile, Steven Knight is the screenwriter behind brilliant films like Eastern Promises, wrote and directed Locke and Hummingbird, created Peaky Blinders, and co-created Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Yes, you read that last part correctly. And now Knight and Moss are teaming up together for six-episode spy thriller miniseries The Veil which sees the latter as a talented but erratic MI6 agent, sent undercover to Turkey to befriend a woman who may or may not have intelligence on a planned ISIS attack that could leave thousands dead.
Clipped S1
4 June 2024 – Disney+
Based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast The Sterling Affairs and billed as “The scandalous story of LA’s other basketball team”, Clipped tells the controversial true story of the Los Angeles Clippers and how the team nearly unraveled in 2014. Already far less prestigious than its NBA championship winning counterpart, the LA Lakers, the Clippers faced unprecedented hardships when the team’s notorious owner’s racist remarks were captured on tape and broadcast around the world. Laurence Fishburne stars as the Clippers coach Doc Rivers, while Ed O’Neill portrays the aforementioned racist owner Donald Serling.
Star Wars: The Acolyte S1
5 June 2024 – Disney+
While Star Wars on the big screen has had a rough time of it as of late, the world’s biggest sci-fi franchise has been excelling on the small screen. And the latest title to try and continue that trend is The Acolyte, a new live-action series that brings Star Wars’ High Republic era to life on screen for the first time. A Golden Age where the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic were at the peak of their power and influence, the High Republic was a time of peace filled with unprecedented expansion, exploration, and – most importantly – no Sith. Set in its final days, about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte follows Amandla Stenberg’s Mae, a former Jedi Padawan who has been transformed into a deadly warrior. Squid Games’ Lee Jung-Jae plays Sol, Mae’s former Master who is brought into conflict with his apprentice as he investigates a series of ominous crimes that point to sinister forces, while Carrie-Anne Moss plays Jedi Master Indara who creator Leslye Headland describes as “the most powerful Jedi in the room”. What has The Acolyte stand out from other Star Wars shows is that Headland will be implementing a very strong martial arts influence, which is about as perfect a description to get me to watch it as there has ever been!
Sweet Tooth S3
6 June 2024 – Netflix
The third and final season of Netflix’s adaptation of Jeff Lemire’s award-winning comic book drops next week. I guess this should stand as the biggest kick in the pants for me to finally get around to watching the second season. As I haven’t yet, I’m avoiding the synopsis and trailer above for this endearing post-apocalyptic tale about a young boy’s quest to find his mother. And I’m pretty sure that fans of this series definitely don’t need any further encouragement from me to binge it all when it premiers.
MOVIES
The First Omen
30 May 2024 – Disney
Richard Donner’s 1976 Oscar-nominated horror The Omen may have received mixed reviews on release, but it’s been very favourably reevaluated over the years and went on to reach cult status, spawning three movie sequels, a TV series sequel, and a modern remake. Alas, these follow-ups were of increasingly dubious quality, but now one more entry has been added to the franchise… and it’s apparently good? And you can watch it at home! Although it’s in cinemas for less than two months, The First Omen is getting a release on Hulu (and thus Disney+ locally). Starring rising horror icon Nell Tiger Free (Servant), this film actually acts as a prequel to Donner’s original as it follows an American woman sent to work at a church in Rome where she uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.
Under Paris
5 June 2024 – Netflix
I’m not going to lie. I added Under Paris to the list based on nothing but its poster which showed suggested a shark attack in Paris. How could I not want to see that?! Especially since one of my favourite memories while visiting the French capital a number of years back, was witnessing the concrete banks of the River Seine, winding through the city, converted into a beach complete with sand, towels, and umbrellas. And it appears that somebody else looked at that and immediately thought of a classic Steven Spielberg movie featuring a certain hungry shark. Xavier Gens (Hitman, Gangs of London) directs while Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) stars as the scientist who discovers a giant shark has somehow entered the Seine, right as the city hosts the World Triathlon Championships on the famous river.
How to Rob a Bank
5 June 2024 – Netflix
Nicknamed Hollywood for his use of movie-level makeup and wigs, Scott Scurlock was once known as the world’s best bank robber. During the 1990s, he pulled off several heists in the US, using his charm, a sprawling treehouse hideout (seriously), and an uncanny ability to disappear to stay one step ahead of everybody else. But when the law finally threatens to catch up to him, it forced “Hollywood” – much like the stories told by his namesake – to risk it all in one last final heist so that he could disappear for good. How to Rob a Bank is the incredible feature-length documentary on how Scurlock got into this business, how he avoided capture, and what drove him to take the biggest gamble of his career.
Mr. Monk’s Last Case
6 June 2024 – Showmax
Rian Johnson already gave us a blast from the past last when he revived the weekly whodunnit TV series genre with the fantastic Poker Face, but that Columbo-inspired show isn’t the only name in TV mystery nowadays. Running for eight seasons from 2002 to 2009 – during which it won eight Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe, and two SAG Awards – Monk saw Tony Shalhoub bring to life Adrian Monk, a private detective with crippling OCD and a list of phobias longer than your arm. Luckily, Monk was also every bit as brilliant as he was neurotic, solving cases every week. And in a post-pandemic world, where a lot of people got every bit as neurotic as Monk did about personal space and hygiene, who better to come back for one last case? Airing exclusively on Peacock earlier this year, Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie now gets its local debut on Showmax. The feature film sees Shalhoub’s Monk getting back in business one last time for very personal case involving his beloved stepdaughter Molly. Very positive reviews strongly proclaim this one a treat for fans.