Streaming guide: What to watch this weekend

It’s the weekend of women with Charlize Theron in the irresistible Atomic Blonde, Emilia Clarke in festive rom-com Last Christmas and Blake Lively’s big-budget blockbuster The Shallows all dropping on the streaming platforms.

THE ONE THAT’S (KIND OF) LIKE ANOTHER ONE

LAST CHRISTMAS (PG)

***

FOXTEL, AMAZON

The Love, Actually is very strong with this one. Overpoweringly so. This, of course, is great news for anyone who wished there were more happy-sad British rom-coms about lovelorn Londoners riding emotional roller-coasters all the way through December. Everyone else should immediately turn around and head in the other direction. Inspired by (and featuring) the songs of the late George Michael, Last Christmas centres on the trials and tribulations of Kate (Emilia Clarke), whose messy life gets suddenly cleaned up by the arrival of mysterious new boyfriend Tom (Henry Golding). You would think that a Little Miss Do-It-Wrong finding her elusive Mister Right would be where the story ends. However, it is really just the start of a long, clanking chain of pithy punchlines, poignant revelations and Christmas cliches that shall haul many willing viewers to a place of misty eyes and goofy smiles. Co-stars Emma Thompson, Michelle Yeoh.

Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding in Last Christmas.

THE ONE THAT NEVER SPREADS THIN

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (M)

***1/2

rent via GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

It is rare to see a feel-good movie so willing to take a risk, come a cropper, dust itself off, and have another crack at something else. While this unconventional buddy movie can sometimes lose its way – and lose track of its own plot – its heart remains immovably in the right place. And what a big, vibrant heart it is. Shia LaBeouf plays Tyler, a troubled fisherman being chased by some peeved and dangerous rivals up coast and down river. In making one of his getaways, Tyler discovers he has a stowaway aboard, Zak (Zack Gottsagen). This feisty interloper (a young man with Down syndrome) is also on the run, having given the slip to the authorities supposedly caring for him. What follows is a rather shapeless, but spirited set of scrappy adventures for Tyler and Zak. These straight-talking rebels are destined to butt heads and bond big-time as their odyssey continues. A real one-off in all the right ways, thanks to both the funny, moving and motivated work of its stars, and a story that never quite conforms to the predictable.

THE ONE WILLING TO TAKE THE RAP

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

***1/2

BINGE, FOXTEL

Even now, hip-hop pioneers NWA’s landmark 1988 debut album (from which this authorised biopic takes its name) sounds like a direct broadcast from a war zone. No wonder their spectacular ascent to (short-lived) mass popularity frightened the rich, white and old establishment of the time. While the group soon fell apart due to the usual creative, financial and indulgence issues, the incendiary and influential legacy of NWA in their prime fully deserves the big-screen treatment. Therefore this biopic wields its maximum impact in a gripping first half: where the rap collective rapidly get their abrasive act together, then rush headlong at an unsuspecting world. This is where the likes of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre got their start. If you know their names, you know you want to see this. Look out for that epic running time though! Stars O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell.

Blake Lively in The Shallows.

THE ONE THAT WON’T GET DEEP ON YOU

THE SHALLOWS (M)

***

BINGE, FOXTEL

A movie featuring nothing but Blake Lively in a battle of wits with one very agitated shark. And it delivers more than many a big-budget blockbuster. While there ain’t much deep or meaningful to The Shallows, it makes good on its simple promise of keeping the splashes, gnashes and gashes coming, while tension levels continue to peak at just the right side of unbearable. The villain is a finned food-processor always ready to make himself another surfie smoothie. The hero(ine) is a human half-scared out of her wits, and half-clever enough to never to run out of ideas about how to survive. So what’s not to like here? Not much. You’ll be afraid, amused, alarmed and rather exhausted, all inside 85 short, sharp, shark-infested minutes. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Run All Night).

THE ONE THAT KEEPS YOU IN THE DARK

IT COMES AT NIGHT (MA15+)

****

NETFLIX

A perplexing, haunting and unapologetically bleak thriller. If mankind’s time on earth was a book, we are well into the final chapter as this terrifying tension-magnet of a movie experience begins. The devastation wrought by a highly infectious plague is barely kept at bay by three residents of a heavily fortified cabin in the woods. The man of the house, Paul (Joel Edgerton, superb), calls the shots. His wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) dutifully follow suit in the knowledge their lives depend on it. After a long period of solitude, the trio offers cover to another family seeking their help. If they too can stick to Paul’s rules – which include the selective use of guns and gas masks, and carefully planned journeys outside – then there shouldn’t be a problem, right? Of course, it is the ever-niggling promise of what will go wrong that gives this intimately intimidating affair a raw power all its own.

Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde.

THE ONE WHERE CHARLIZE BREAKS DOWN THE WALL

ATOMIC BLONDE (MA15+)

***1/2

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Throughout this style-conscious, substance-free action pic, Charlize Theron brilliantly blurs the line that separates alluring from alarming. It is 1989, and with the Berlin Wall about to crumble, British super-spy Lorraine Broughton (Theron) must retrieve a list that will save the lives of many double agents active during the Cold War. While the finer points of this tale are impossible to follow, Theron deploys a cool combo of bewitching beauty, bone-breaking brawn and belittling eye contact that is impossible to resist.

THE ONE TO BE TAKEN IN A SINGLE DOSE

SIDE EFFECTS

****

NETFLIX

Intoxicating thriller that plays both highly intelligent and highly implausible. After a nervous breakdown, Emily (Rooney Mara) is prescribed a wonder drug which seems a quick fix for all her problems. As we come to learn, the antidepressant does a hell of a lot more than what it says on the label. As usual, director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) is smart enough to never let such a tall story get the better of so many short, sharp thrills.

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Originally published as Streaming guide: What to watch this weekend