What to watch on your streaming services this weekend
From a psychological thriller shot entirely on an iPhone to an iconic kids show rebooted, and something for the Star Wars diehards with the story of how maverick pilot Han Solo got his wings, Leigh Paatsch has you covered with what to watch.
Weekly Guide
Don't miss out on the headlines from Weekly Guide. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Don’t waste time flicking through your streaming accounts for something to watch.
Leigh Paatsch has you covered with his list of what to watch this weekend and it includes a psychological thriller shot entirely on an iPhone, an iconic kids show rebooted and something for the Star Wars diehards with the story of how maverick pilot Han Solo got his wings.
READ MORE:
WHY CAPTAIN MARVEL BEATS WONDER WOMAN
REBEL ON POINT WITH SHOTS AT ROM-COM
EVERYBODY KNOWS HAS PREDICTABLE TWIST
THE ONE THAT POINTS, CLICKS AND SHOCKS
UNSANE (MA15+)
***1/2
FOXTEL NOW
An attention-grabbing thriller boasting both one hell of a gimmick (it was shot entirely on an iPhone) and one hellish premise (the nightmare of not being able to leave somewhere you never should have been). Claire Foy (star of the Netflix series The Crown) stars as Sawyer, a nervy young woman still reeling from a bad experience with a stalker. While in search of a new therapist to treat an ongoing trauma, Sawyer finds herself accidentally committed to a private psychiatric facility. The more she protests her predicament, the longer her unsympathetic handlers extend her stay. Can it get any worse? Well, there’s a new male nurse on staff who Sawyer believes is her stalker. Then again, it could just be a figment of the potent medication pumped into her. The rustic, stressfully up-close shooting style of director Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky) does work over the viewer good and proper. Whether it papers over some rather large holes in the plot will be the maker or breaker for some, however.
THE ONE THAT SALUTES A MIGHTY GOOD HAN
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (M)
***1/2
FOXTEL NOW, STAN
If you want this origin tale of how Han Solo got his start in the wisecracking fly-boy business to be packed with deep and meaningful mentions of the Force and the Jedi way, you’ve come to the wrong place. However, if you want the upbeat lowdown on when Han first met Chewbacca, or how Han acquired his legendary skills as a maverick pilot — making friends, enemies and mischief along the way — then you are definitely in the right place. Han (played serviceably enough by Alden Ehrenreich) starts out as a small-time grafter, trying to get the money together to buy his own space ride and track down his long-lost girlfriend Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke). Co-stars Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover.
THE ONE THAT GOES IN FOR THE ILL
A CURE FOR WELLNESS (MA15+)
***
NETFLIX
The best moments of this long and challenging psychological thriller brings to mind a strange combo of The Shining and Shutter Island. The setting is a creepy medical clinic in the Swiss Alps, where a slick stockbroker named Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) has been sent to pick up his boss after a recent operation. However, a sinister head doctor (Jason Isaacs) thinks Lockhart might benefit from some on-the-spot surgery not listed in any medical textbooks. When viewed primarily as an unsettling mood piece, there are just enough sharp shocks to the system to get the job done. Directed by Gore Verbinski (The Lone Ranger).
THE ONE THAT RECHARGES A VINATGE FRANCHISE
POWER RANGERS (M)
**1/2
NETFLIX, STAN
A solid enough job has been done here reactivating the Power Rangers franchise after a lengthy movie hiatus. Compared to the recent Jumanji reboot — which is out to do the same job — it actually holds up quite OK. The story centres on a quintet of troubled teens who enter a stretch of high-school detention, and somehow emerge as super-powered defenders of our planet. Once the gang (three bland guys and two winning women) unwrap their new gifts, they square off with an angry warrior queen (Elizabeth Banks) who wants a lot of gold and total vengeance (and not always in that order). Stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott.
THE ONE THAT IS ALL CLASS
THINGS TO COME (M)
****
FOXTEL NOW, STAN
French star Isabelle Huppert is currently hamming it up in Australian cinemas with the so-bad-it’s-good thriller Greta. This is a more apt showcase for her blinding talent. Huppert plays Nathalie, a Parisian philosophy teacher who goes from having it all too easy to having the hardest time of it imaginable. After a seemingly supportive husband makes tracks for his mistress, a prestige publishing deal is withdrawn, and an overbearing mother goes under to the ravages of old age, Nathalie must reach for an inner strength that may or may not be there anymore. A controlled, yet fluid modern drama which leaves viewers no option but to go with the flow of Huppert’s flawless performance.
THE ONE MAKING ALL THE RIGHT MOVES
THE DARK HORSE (M)
****
STAN
After a record-breaking run at home in New Zealand, this heavy-hitting drama never really found its deserved audience at the Australian box-office. The success of the movie is all due to a towering lead performance from veteran Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider, Once Were Warriors). Curtis owns the screen here with a heart-piercing portrayal of the late Genesis Potini, a Maori chess genius who spent much of his adult life drifting in and out of mental health institutions. Based on real-life events, the film focuses on a remarkable period in Potini’s life where he schooled disadvantaged children in his community to play chess at an elite level. Co-stars James Rolleston (The Breaker Upperers).
THE ONE THAT LAYS AN EGG
BROTHERS’ NEST (MA15+)
**
FOXTEL NOW
A big step down in quality and audience appeal for filmmaker Clayton Jacobson from his first feature, the classic Australian crowd-pleaser Kenny. He and brother Shane also take the lead roles in this slow-to-no-burning thriller, playing desperate siblings scheming to nab top spot in the will of their dying mum. All they have to do is rub out their stepdad, and their ma’s rustic rural pad is theirs. Sounds a promising set-up, right? Wrong. The first half of the movie is nothing but two burly bearded blokes shuffling about in a butt-ugly farmhouse, with a lot of exposition to get off their guts. Things marginally improve once the would-be killers start stuffing up their plan, but it is all in service of a howler of an ending that is 90% whimper, 10% bang.
Originally published as What to watch on your streaming services this weekend
‘A bit iffy’: John Krasinski’s new movie IF falls short
An all-ages audience with an original story is rare in this day and age, but the star-studded cast can’t save this well-intentioned flick, writes Leigh Paatsch.
Is Sopranos prequel more than a super fan fantasy?
The Sopranos is one of the greatest series in the history of broadcast television, so is the prequel any good?