The R-rated Echo kicks off the MCU’s 2024 and also leads this week’s streaming releases alongside Pitch Perfect spinoff Bumper in Berlin, Peter Capaldi-led crime thriller Criminal Record, and more!
SERIES
Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin S1
1 January 2024 – Showmax
Out of all the memorable characters in the Pitch Perfect movies, I don’t think I would ever have tapped Adam Devine’s Bumper Allen as the one to headline a spinoff TV series, but here we are. Set a decade after the former “Treblemaker” frontman has left college and competitive a cappella behind, Bumper finds himself in the doldrums, working a dead-end job as a security guard. However, when one of his old songs suddenly gains viral status in Germany, Bumper decides to head abroad to finally realize his pop star dreams!
Echo S1
10 January 2024 – Disney+
There are only three live-action projects for the MCU in all of 2024, with Deadpool 3 (which is kinda sorta maybe in the MCU) being the only feature film. On the series side, we’ve got Agatha: House of Harkness Agatha: Coven of Chaos Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (Jeez! Settle on a name already!) later in the year, but kicking things off for 2024 with several literal kicks is Echo! Billed as the MCU’s first R-rated project, Echo is also the first title under the newly created Marvel Spotlight banner, which will be standalone projects needing no former knowledge of the character to watch. I’m not entirely sure how accurate that last part is though, given that we were first introduced to Alaqua Cox’s deaf ass-kicker in the criminally underwatched Hawkeye series (seriously, ya’ll need to watch that if you haven’t) and this show will heavily feature Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin, also brought into the MCU proper in Hawkeye. We will also see Echo face off against Charlie Cox’s Daredevil (reportedly episode one has a six-minute-long fight scene between the two) before he goes off into his own show next year. So yeah, not so sure how standalone this really is. What I am sure about, is that it looks brutal and thrilling and I cannot wait.
Criminal Record S1
10 January 2024 – Apple TV+
The always brilliant Peter Capaldi makes a stark departure from the time travelling hijinx of Doctor Who which most modern international audiences might know him from for this eight-episode crime thriller miniseries. Set in London, Criminal Record sees Capaldi co-star with Cush Jumbo as two brilliant detectives – one, a well-established and connected senior, the other a newcomer trying to make their name – are drawn into a confrontation following an anonymous phone call about an old murder case that may not be as solved as it would first appear.
Boy Swallows Universe S1
11 January 2024 – Netflix
Set in 1980s Brisbane, Australia, Boy Swallows Universe is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. The limited series follows Felix Cameron’s Eli Bell, a young boy with a lost father, a mute brother, a recovering addict mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather, and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. When trouble finds his family once again, Eli is forced to step up and do the right thing, despite his young age.
MOVIES
Good Grief
5 January 2024 – Netflix
After the absolute wholesome brilliance of Schitt’s Creek (please go watch that show!), I will watch pretty much anything Dan Levy does. Good Grief marks the feature film writing/directing debut for the talented artist and looks to combine all the heart, comedy, and emotion that his TV series work became known for. Levy also stars as Marc, a man content to play second fiddle to his more outspoken husband (Luke Evans). But when that husband dies tragically, leaving Marc’s world shattered, he finds himself travelling to Paris with his two best friends (Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel) on a soul-searching journey to rediscover his purpose.
Foe
5 January 2024 – Prime Video
Pro tip: Don’t read Wiki pages while on the edge of exhaustion. That’s how I misread that Gareth Edwards directed Foe, thinking that somehow, he had made two sci-fi films in one year which both hit streaming in the same month (The Creator drops on Disney+ in two weeks). But no, Foe is actually directed by Garth Davis, the British filmmaker behind the brilliant Lion, this time turning to some genre fare. Set in 2065, Foe stars Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal as Hen and Junior, a married couple living an idyllic life on an isolate homestead. However, their life is thrown into turmoil when a stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal: Junior will be sent live and work on a large space station, while his wife will left behind with a robot replacement for company.
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
May December
Purchase: Apple TV – R150
If you’re looking for something a bit more artsy and non-conventional, have a look at May December, the new film from acclaimed auteur Todd Haynes (I’m Not There, Carol, Dark Waters). Natalie Portman stars as an actress who travels across country to meet and study the life of a controversial woman, played by Julianne Moore, who started her 23-year long relationship with her 22 years younger husband when he was just 13 years old. If all of this seems scary familiar, it’s because the film is heavily inspired by the real-life case of Mary Kay Letourneau, who in 1997 was convicted on two counts of rape of a child. The movie has also drawn new controversy as Vili Fualaau, the man who Letourneau groomed as a child and eventually married, claims that the filmmakers didn’t even contact him despite his life being portrayed on-screen.