Amazon’s TV series adaptation of popular video game franchise Fallout headlines this week’s streaming releases alongside the Colin Farrel-led Sugar, while a bunch of VOD debuts are led by the infamous Madame Web.
SERIES
Ripley S1
4 April 2024 – Netflix
You’ve seen this story before, but probably not like this. And I’m not just talking about the striking black and white visuals. Just like the 1999 film starring Matt Damon, this star-studded eight-episode limited series is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s acclaimed 1995 thriller novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. This time around, it’s the brilliant Andrew Scott who takes on the title role of Tom Ripley, a small-time conman who gets hired by a wealthy shipping magnate to travel to Italy and persuade his wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf, to return home. But for Ripley, stepping into Dickie’s life of wealthy international leisure, this is a prime opportunity to achieve all his ambitions, by hook or by crook. Ripley is written and directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillan (Schidler’s List, Gangs of New York, Money Ball) and also stars Dakota Fanning, Bokeem Woodbine, John Malkovich, Johnny Flynn, and more.
Sugar S1
5 April 2024 – Apple TV+
Keeping things very noir and star-studded, we have Apple’s Sugar. Created by screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Oldboy, The Cell), this eight-episode series is billed as “a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles”. Oscar-nominee Colin Farrell stars as the titular gumshoe, John Sugar, a no-nonsense P.I. hired to look into the disappearance of a legendary Hollywood producer. The supporting cast includes the likes of Amy Ryan, Anna Gunn, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, James Cromwell, and more.
Parasyte: The Grey S1
5 April 2024 – Netflix
Following his hugely popular Hellbound, acclaimed filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) is back at Netflix with another adaptation. This time though, Yeon is not bringing an existing story to live-action like he did with his own webtoon. Instead, the filmmaker is expanding the universe of Parasyte, Hitoshi Iwaaki’s best-selling sci-fi horror manga about tiny alien parasites that fall to Earth and infect humans, taking over their brains. Parasyte: The Grey moves the action from Japan to Yeon’s native South Korea and tells a new story set in the same world, this time following a young woman who also gets infected with the alien parasite, but instead of being taken over completely finds that she retains her consciousness and is able to enter a bizarre coexistence with it. However, this situation marks her as a target for both humans and other parasites, forcing her on the run.
Fallout S1
11 April 2024 – Prime Video
Prime Video’s big-budget TV series adaptation of Bethesda’s long-running video game franchise is easily the most high-profile release of the week. Created by Westworld showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the show follows the story of the video games, set in an alternate history timeline where a nuclear technology boom in the wake of WWII led to a retro-futuristic society who eventually destroyed itself in an apocalyptic nuclear war. However, some parts of humanity took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults, and it’s from one of these – Vault 33 – that a lone young woman emerges 219 years later, to discover a devastated world turned into a savage wasteland occupied by roving gangs, mutants, technology-worshiping clans, and all sorts of dangerous threats. Ella Purnell leads the cast alongside Walton Goggins, Kyle MacLachlan, and more. Unlike other Prime Video series that normal has a weekly release, Fallout will be bingeable immediately as all eight episodes will be released together on Thursday.
MOVIES
Scoop
5 April 2024 – Netflix
BBC Newsnight’s 2019 interview with Prince Andrew was an explosive bit of journalism, unpacking the Duke of York’s controversial longtime friendship with American financier convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his own allegations of sexual assault. The negative public reaction to Prince Andrew’s answers during the interview would eventually lead to him indefinitely withdrawing from his public duties as a member of the British Royal Family. But how did this landmark interview even come about? How was Prince Andrew convinced to expose himself like this on international television? Scoop is the dramatized retelling of how a small group of women journalists secured the “scoop of the decade” from Buckingham Palace. A thrilling behind-the-scenes look, Scoop stars Gillan Anderson, Billie Piper, and Keeley Hawes, as the journalists who set up and conducted the interview, with Rufus Sewell playing Prince Andrew.
How to Date Billy Walsh
5 April 2024 – Prime Video
And if you want something very different to real-world political scandals, look no further than British teenage romcom How to Date Billy Walsh. Heartstopper’s Sebastian Croft stars as Archie, a young teen who doesn’t want to jeopardize his long-standing friendship with Charithra Chandran’s Amelia by admitting his feelings for her. He finds himself in a quandary though when heartthrob American student Billy Walsh (Tanner Buchanan) joins their school, and Amelia sets her sights on him and needs Archie’s assistance in landing her catch.
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Madame Web
Purchase: Apple TV – R180
Rental: Google Play Movies – R150 / Apple TV – R150
Look, I’m not even going to bother trying to convince you that Madame Web is a quality movie worthy of your R150 for rental. By this point, you’ve all seen the memes, and read the awkward interviews. No, I’m telling you to pay the R150 rental fee here to witness the absolute car crash of this movie! Make a night of it. Invite over some friends, open some wine, take shots every time somebody does or says something utterly idiotic or the movie crowbars in an absolutely boneheaded reference to the Spider-Man mythos. You’ll have a blast!
The Book of Clarence
Purchase: Apple TV – R170
Rental: Google Play Movies – R30 / Apple TV – R45
For every honest to God miracle, there’s somebody trying to profit off of it. That’s the basic and very promising premise for The Book of Clarence, a biblical comedy-drama film (now there’s a phrase I never thought I would say) from filmmaker Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall). LaKeith Stanfield stars as Clarence, an average Joe living in Jerusalem in the year 33 AD, just struggling to make ends meet. As a certain figure named Jesus starts to gain traction with the populace, Clarence gets the bright idea to capitalize on the buzz by claiming that he too is a Messiah sent by God, all so that he can clear his debts. Critical consensus on The Book of Clarence was mixed upon its release earlier this year, but it seems that Samuel mostly succeeds in making potentially very heavy subject matter rather entertaining.
Land of Bad
Purchase: Apple TV – R160
Rental: Google Play Movies – R35 / Apple TV – R45
And speaking of entertainment over substance… Starring Liam Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, Luke Hemsworth, and Ricky Whittle, action-thriller Land of Bad is the latest film starring relatively well-known actors in productions you’ve probably never heard of. That’s seemingly the modus operandi for indie studio Highland Film Group, who now built up a steady stable of similar releases such as Sleeping Dogs (also starring Crowe), 57 Seconds, The Black Demon, Old Guy, Blood for Dust, Final Score, Braven, and more. None of these movies are outright bad, offering middle of the road popcorn thrills, perfect for a lazy Friday night when you just want to unwind without too much emotional or intellectual commitment. And Land of Bad is right up that alley as it follows a Delta Force team caught in an ambush behind enemy lines, who have to rely on a rookie officer and a veteran USAF drone pilot to get them to safety.