Streaming guide: Hugh Jackman’s ambitious new detective movie

Hugh Jackman’s new movie is a twist on the detective genre and a great watch on a rainy lockdown weekend. These are the new movies to stream on Binge, Netflix, Amazon and more.

Leigh Paatsch reviews the new movies on Binge, Netflix, Amazon and more.

The one where all futures lead to the past

REMINISCENCE (M)

★★★

PREMIUM RENTAL

An ambitious combo of science fiction and film noir, sure to turn heads on account of its skilful manipulation of time and place. Let’s deal with the setting first: a futuristic Miami already mostly underwater, an American Venice controlled by literal land barons. As for time in Reminiscence, well, it is as fluid a commodity as the tides that slosh up against doorsteps on a daily basis. Just ask Nick (Hugh Jackman). He’s a private detective whose work trades in nothing but time, having mastered a technology that allows clients to travel back to key moments in their past. Jackman’s gritty gumshoe Nick is such a hard case, you just know he is going to get softened up by the first femme fatale who sashays through his door. In rapid-fire succession, sultry nightclub siren Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) serenades, seduces, loves and leaves the fella. So Nick breaks the rules and enters his own past in search of clues with which to find her. This movie can plod at times due to its flashback-driven structure. However, the unusual setting and the ever-reliable Jackman keeps things moving when absolutely necessary.

Hugh Jackman in a scene from Reminiscence.

The one here for a long time … and a good time

THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND (MA15+)

★★★½

FOXTEL, BINGE, AMAZON

While there is a lot to like about filmmaker Judd Apatow’s latest comedy, there is also a lot to process. Quite a lot. As we have learned from Apatow’s days churning out hits like Knocked Up, Trainwreck and Funny People, he’s not interested in wrapping up anything inside the two-hour mark. Therefore The King of Staten Island’s 137-minute run time is an imposing challenge. Particularly for Australian viewers who may be unaware its lead actor Pete Davidson (a major star on US TV as a key member of the Saturday Night Love comedy team) is effectively playing himself here. In what turns out to be an unconventional, unreliable and utterly charming work of autobiography, Davidson channels his ‘lost years’ as a mentally ailing youth forever holding court (and inhaling weed) in the basement of his mother’s house. The movie should be a self-indulgent chore, but never comes close to that, thanks to Davidson’s charismatically awkward presence, and the colourfully committed performances of a great support cast led by Marisa Tomei and stand-up comedian Bill Burr.

Pete Davidson in the King Of Staten Island

The one that brings along the singalongs

COME FROM AWAY (PG)

★★★

APPLE TV+

Many Broadway musical fans would have swarmed to last year’s magnificent live recording of the musical phenomenon Hamilton, which did huge numbers worldwide on Disney+. While Apple’s live, in-theatre capture of the 2017 Broadway hit Come From Away won’t be causing an instant sensation, it should be marked down as a must-see for anyone who misses the bright lights and big sounds of a musical in full swing. This recent performance of the production is a simply staged affair performed with real verve and warmth in front of a loved-up New York audience. For those unfamiliar with the folksy premise of the piece, a small Canadian community rises to the occasion when faced with an influx of travellers from around the world, all of whom have been displaced by 2001’s September 11 attacks. While some of the songs are a bit hockey and the performances can get very hammy, the musical’s heart always remains in the right, crowd-pleasing place. Oh, and most importantly of all, the camera placements are as best-seat-in-the-house as it gets.

The filmed version of hit Broadway musical Come From Away is streaming on Apple TV+.

The one that leaps off the pages

BOOKSMART (MA15+)

★★★★½

SBS ON DEMAND

This was clearly one of the best films of 2019, an achievement magnified by both the fact it stars a cast of relative unknowns, and how it drew refreshing new energy from a seemingly tired premise. This is the story of Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), highly intelligent and socially awkward BFFs who could be about to end their secondary education as the most sheltered shut-ins of their generation. Unless they decide to go out for the first time on their last night of high school (which they do) and find the big party everyone else is at (which they can’t). There is real wit, sly creativity and unbridled vitality pulsing from every scene here. Highly recommended.

Booksmart is one of the best movies of 2019. Picture: Annapurna Pictures

The one that’s a wild ride

CLASS ACTION PARK (M)

★★★½

FOXTEL, BINGE

A funny and rather frightening look back at the most notorious theme park in outdoor entertainment history: Action Park. At the height of this maverick New Jersey operation’s popularity, a lot of people got hurt. And yet, the fun continued. Unsupervised. Unregulated. Uninsured. And unbelievably dangerous. Seriously, you just can’t make up the kind of stuff that went down here. Every morning, the gates were flung open to greet thousands of young thrillseekers determined to spend the day sampling the park’s vast array of bruise-making, bone-breaking delights. While their parents hit the open bar, the kids literally ran wild all over a sprawling property (a ski resort in a previous life) where there were dodgily constructed, yet undeniably enticing rides and attractions as far as the eye could see.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the title character in Kate.

The one with one day left

KATE (MA15+)

★★½

NETFLIX

Hailing from the same production company that gave us both the highly regarded John Wick series and the underrated Charlize Theron thriller Atomic Blonde, this aggressive action pic exudes a steely technical proficiency that can border on mesmerisingly artful. However, if you think too hard about its wonky storyline, the movie falls apart quicker than a balsa-wood car. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has the title role, playing a veteran assassin who used to be, as the saying goes, “big in Japan.” Now she’s been pumped full of poison and has just 24 hours left to live. Approximately 23 hours and 59 minutes of that period will be devoted to finding and finishing off those responsible for this toxic mishap. The other 60 seconds will cover Kate’s unlikely bonding with a little girl whose dad was killed back in the day by you-know-who.

Just like the real thing, Playing With Fire is best left alone.

The one that is flaming average

PLAYING WITH FIRE (PG)

★★

NETFLIX

Here are the scripting schematics for this stridently so-so family comedy. Four overly burly, semi-surly smokejumpers. Three overly rambunctious, semi-adorable children. An unforeseen period during which the quartet of blokes must provide food, lodging and care to the trifecta of tykes. There will be stuff getting broken. Stuff set alight. Adults falling over. Hard. Adults suffering clonks to the upper body and lower groin regions. Very hard. Poop. A lot of it. In one scene, very liquefied. Oh, and there will be many cutaways to a dog, the only actor contributing a consistently amusing performance to this maddeningly middling motion picture. Stars John Cena.

Gemma Arterton and Lucas Bond in Summerland.

The one where a closed mind is opened

SUMMERLAND (M)

★★★

FOXTEL, BINGE or RENT

A lot of people will get one whiff of the core premise of Summerland – bright, sensitive kid leaves WWII London to take shelter with gruff, reluctant guardian – and turn up their nose. No need for that: this rendition carries with it an all-embracing kindness and emotional nous that transcends the familiar plotting. Gemma Arterton stars as Alice, a reclusive writer living alone in the British countryside. Though not the happiest of people at the best of times, Alice really cracks the sads when she learns she must look after the politely precocious Frank (Lucas Bond). Exquisitely acted and filmed, this low-key British drama does have its scripting issues, but will definitely reward those prepared to accept its honourable flaws.

Originally published as Streaming guide: Hugh Jackman’s ambitious new detective movie