Streaming picks: Diddy doco exposes ‘lurid details’ while Angelina Jolie stars in Maria
The salacious details of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs court case are laid bare in a new documentary – one of the streaming picks of the week.
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While the blockbuster box-office hit Superman dominates cinemas this week, here is a closer look at ten prominent movie and documentary releases currently landing on home streaming platforms.
TRAINWRECK: BALLOON BOY (M)
****1/2
Netflix
Netflix’s annual rollout of fascinating feature documentaries under the Trainwreck banner remains a true highlight of the streaming behemoth’s often-erratic release calendar. This latest instalment is the best of the bunch so far: a staggering account of the Balloon Boy affair, a fiasco that initially gripped and then totally appalled the world back in 2009. If you’ve forgotten the finer details of what went down, all the better. Even now, there are elements of mystery, subterfuge and dark humour to the Balloon Boy yarn that defy all conventional belief. (How has this bonkers tale never been turned into a Hollywood movie?) It all started one July afternoon in a small town in Texas, when a helium balloon shaped like a flying saucer took an unplanned flight after breaking free of its moorings in the backyard of amateur inventor-adventurer Richard Heene. As the craft rapidly picked up speed and altitude, widespread panic ensued after Heene notified authorities his 6-year-old son Falcon had sneaked aboard shortly before launch. What follows is still amazing to this day, and the doco enhances the unworldly strangeness of the notorious incident with both incredible live TV footage taken at the time and present-day interviews with all involved. Brilliant stuff.
Trainwreck: Balloon Boy is now streaming on Netflix.
HEADS OF STATE (M)
***1/2
Amazon Prime Video
In an earlier era, this admirably absurd action-buddy affair would have been a sure-fire hit in cinemas. What gives the production its lively point of difference is exactly who those buddies are. The action heroes fighting for survival while getting the better of a Russian crime lord just happen to be the Prime Minister of the UK (played by Idris Elba) and the President of the USA (John Cena). They were aboard Air Force One when it was shot down over a remote stretch of badlands in Belarus. Now they’re on the run from a rich psychopath (Moblands’ Paddy Considine) who needs these world leaders dead ASAP. The core premise is undeniably dumb, yet clever writing, inspired direction (from the same team behind Bob Odenkirk’s excellent hit Nobody) and the chemistry of the two leads is a winning combo throughout.
JAWS AT 50 (PG)
****
Disney+
A truly superb documentary journeying back in time to the making of a movie that changed the face of cinema forever. Against all odds in 1975, a young filmmaker named Steven Spielberg took a malfunctioning mechanical shark, a problematic coastal location and a mercurial cast, and transformed the lot into what then became the highest-grossing movie in Hollywood history. This well-resourced and impeccably researched production bills itself as “the definitive account” of how Jaws put the bite on movie audiences (and beach goers) all over the world, and for once, the tag is well and truly justified. Trust me: you’ll be itching to watch Jaws again immediately afterwards (and you’ll currently find it sitting prominently on Binge, Foxtel and Netflix).
MARIA (M)
***1/2
Foxtel, Binge or Rent
For a variety of reasons, Angelina Jolie’s magnificent work as the late, great opera diva Maria Callas was unfairly overlooked last awards season. In fact, Jolie’s nuanced portrayal of Callas as the troubled singer navigates the final week of her short life stands as one of her finest performances. The only hurdle that viewers must clear is the angular direction of Pablo Larrain, who uses the same cryptically atmospheric approach deployed in his biopics of Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana. Much treasure to savour here if you’re up for a challenge.
VERDICT: THE DIDDY TRIAL (M)
**1/2
Disney+
This no-frills recap of the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial has been rushed to market to beat similar product still being prepped by a number of major streamers.
While is a functional enough primer for those who didn’t go down all of the seedier side-alleys mapped out by this salacious case, it is noticeably limited in what it can and can’t say (largely because Combs remains in custody awaiting sentencing later in the year).
There will splashier and deeper dives on the subject to come. However, if you need a quick fix of all the lurid details associated with the deserved downfall of the hip-hop impresario, look no further.
TUESDAY (M)
***
Foxtel, Binge or Rent
In recent years, the American independent movie studio A24 has built a powerful and surprisingly popular brand as a home for all that is strange, brave and genuinely unique. While this odd modern fairy tale doesn’t quite reach the heights of recent A24 hits such as The Brutalist, Babygirl or Bring Her Back, it is still worth the track-down for those fancying a swim outside the mainstream. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as an understandably disoriented mother of the title character (Lola Petticrew), a terminally ill young woman who is being paid regular visits by Death himself. If that’s not weird enough for you, perhaps it is worth knowing that Death is played here by a rather talkative and deep-thinking parrot (voiced by gifted British actor Arinze Kene). One of those movies guaranteed to divide audiences, but will mean the world to those who fall under its surreal spell.
BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN (PG)
****
Foxtel, Binge or Rent
Music doco tragics who missed this when it played for a limited season in cinemas are compelled to whack it on their must-see list right away. Made with the active participation of the Zep’s three surviving members, the focus here is exclusively on the formative phase of the legendarily heavy rockers’ career. Despite this narrow brief, there is plenty of great material (include rare and incendiary live footage) to fill the two-hour running time with ease. Be sure to turn up the volume to ensure the sonic thunder really rumbles.
THE OLD GUARD 2 (MA15+)
**
Netflix
The world was hardly crying out for a sequel to Charlize Theron’s Covid-era streaming hit The Old Guard. Nevertheless, it still comes as quite a jot to see how little life remains in what initially seemed to be such a vibrant fantasy-action concept. Theron listlessly reprises the role of Andy, the leader of a band of immortal warriors continually saving the world on a century-by-century basis. The combat sequences (a highlight of the original) are a particular let-down, as is the herky-jerky storytelling in play. If it wasn’t for the cast’s MVP Matthias Schoenaerts, you’d be bailing out well before the finish.
THE NIGHT OF THE 12TH (MA15+)
****1/2
SBS ON DEMAND
This unrelentingly compelling true-crime drama from France has been hard to find on Australian streaming platforms until now, and deserves a wider audience. The screenplay closely tracks an investigative unit who have just commenced work on a particularly challenging murder case in the mountain region near the city of Grenoble. A 21-year-old woman named Clara was killed in the middle of the night, while walking down a supposedly safe street after a small party with friends. The killer has not left a single shred of evidence. All the detectives initially have to go on is a series of messages left on a mobile phone, and cryptic rumours of a tangled love/sex life that will take some considerable time to decode. A sobering and unforgettable experience.
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (M)
****1/2
MAX or Rent
Now that Superman has gone from kryptonite to dynamite with the general public once again, there’s no better time to catch this exemplary documentary (one of 2024’s better cinema releases) about the actor most will forever associate with the Man of Steel. Anyone expecting a simple, sanitised celebration of the late Christopher Reeve – either for his iconic screen deeds as Superman, or for his dedicated campaigning for disabled rights in the wake of a terrible accident – will be truly surprised and engaged by the complex human being revealed here. The filmmakers were given full licence to approach their complicated subject without glossing over his many intriguing (and telling) flaws. Docos as refreshingly honest, transparent and insightful as this rarely happen along these days. Highly recommended.
Originally published as Streaming picks: Diddy doco exposes ‘lurid details’ while Angelina Jolie stars in Maria
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