Leigh Paatsch’s guide on what to stream this this weekend
THE royal wedding might be over but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in another Markle love story this weekend. Leigh Paatsch rates the best new shows to stream on Netflix, Stan and Foxtel Now.
Leigh Paatsch
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ANOTHER Meghan Markle love story headlines this week’s latest streaming options.
Leigh Paatsch breaks down the best new shows on Netflix, Stan and Foxtel Now.
The one that’s a right royal guilty pleasure
DATER’S HANDBOOK (G) **
FOXTEL NOW
Just added to the Foxtel stable — I wonder why? — is a fluffy little rom-com starring the one and only AFKAMM (the Actress Formerly Known As Meghan Markle).
Yes, this super-slight 2016 production for the Hallmark Channel is one of the last works to star AFKAMM before ditching showbiz to become the Duchess of Sussex.
Markle plays Cass, a with-it career woman without a clue when it comes to bagging a man who is right for her. After getting some advice from the author of a new relationship guide book, Cass goes off in search of the dude of her dreams.
Her first task is to get rid of her dumbo current boyfriend (a self-obsessed commitment-phobe who works in a sports bar).
Her second task is then to choose between two eligible suitors: a suave, boring businessman who’s always had a thing for her, or a cool, unpredictable guy she just met at her best friend’s wedding.
While this is one terrible telemovie in so many ways, the irresistible appeal of the leading lady keeps you hanging around until the big (and not very surprising decision) is finally made.
The one that got away last year and shouldn’t any longer
LADY MACBETH (MA15+) ****
FOXTEL NOW
This gruelling, resolutely gripping period thriller is one of the great films that just about everybody missed in 2017.
It is the 1860s, and on a rustic estate bordering the Northumberland Moors, Katherine (Florence Pugh) is just out of her teens and already over her new middle-aged spouse. Left to her own devices when hubby takes off for parts unknown, Katherine takes up with a rough young stableman living on the property, and impulsively installs him as the man of the house.
As provocative as it is defiantly stylised (no music score, dialogue is both spare and unsparing), this is not your typical costume drama in any shape or form. As for Pugh, this spellbinding debut in a leading role marks the arrival of a major acting talent.
The one that rises to dizzying heights
THE WALKE (PG) ***1/2
NETFLIX
In The Walk, what seems to be an open-and-shut case of mind prevailing over matter is very skilfully scaled upwards and outwards. By the time the final credits roll, the movie has glided to a higher, better place, where attitude has triumphed over altitude.
And the view is simply glorious. This is the absolutely true and genuinely amazing story of Philippe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a decorated French highwire walker whose ultimate achievement occurred 110 stories above the sidewalks of New York City. It was here, early one August morning in 1974, that Petit took a lengthy airborne stroll between the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
The underrated Gordon-Levitt masterfully maps out each step of Petit’s audacious sashay across the sky with both exacting skill and surprising emotion. Even if you are already familiar with this tale via the Oscar-winning 2008 doco Man on Wire (see below), The Walk will still captivate and enthral.
The one that gives you the real story
MAN ON WIRE (PG) ****
STAN
If you want to cut to the chase about the incredible true story told by The Walk, then this captivating documentary which inspired that film is the place to go.
Through interviews with Philippe Petit himself and many of his co-conspirators, director James Marsh uncovers an unbelievable scheme stacked with daunting variables and daring imagination.
Some of the on-the-spot footage of the eccentric French thrillseeker’s exploits truly boggle the mind (including a controversial stroll Petit once took across the Sydney Harbour Bridge).
The one that plays upon our primal fears
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (M) ****
FOXTEL NOW
This superb latest addition to the long-running saga — a skilfully calibrated tale of revenge, regret and redemption — is more an epic western than a conventional war picture. In his twilight years, the mighty Simian leader Caesar (yet another stunning portrayal from Andy Serkis), is nursing an apey, breaky heart.
Now he lives for nothing else but getting square with the rogue military strongman (Woody Harrelson) responsible for the death of his wife and child. In case you’re wondering, there has still been no official announcement as to whether this exemplary franchise will have another movie for us in the near future.
The one with subtitles that grows on you
THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER (M) ***
STAN
The director, co-writer, narrator and star of this unorthodox, yet crowd-pleasing Italian comedy is a gentleman popularly known in his homeland as Pif (real name: Pierfrancesco Diliberto).
Until now a top-rating TV host you could liken to a lightweight Jon Stewart from The Daily Show, Pif dips a toe in cinematic waters for the first time.
Doesn’t do a bad job, either, particularly due to the entertaining, yet slightly dangerous subject matter handled here. Pif’s principal focus is the mayhem generated by the Mafia in Sicily between 1970 and the late 1990s, as seen through the eyes of an aspiring journalist. After a slow start, some lively performances and shock developments keep attention levels high.
The one that you should stay right away from
THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (M) *
FOXTEL NOW
In direct contrast to Lady Macbeth, here we have one of the worst films of 2017 now doing the streaming rounds.
Stay right away. 84-year-old Joan Collins fronts a drudgy-to-dreadful bit of dreck about a jaded, faded British movie star who has run away from her retirement home. In tandem with another Collins — Pauline, who plays a neglected housewife and staunch fan of the ageing (anti) heroine — old Joan makes tracks for Europe, where she reckons her appearance at the funeral of a legendary director will kickstart a comeback.
Tired jokes and japes intended to celebrate the elderly invariably denigrate them instead. No old gold dazzling away here, folks. Just rust, as far as the eye can see.
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