Hi friends,
I’m still on the lookout for the perfect Halloween watch, but I’m sure it’ll come as we near the day itself. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this week’s top picks.
I hope you have a restful weekend!
OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
Derry Girls
Season 3 is new on Netflix 🍅 rating: 100%
The beloved Northern Ireland sitcom Derry Girls returns to Netflix with its latest and final season. Season three sees best friends Erin, Orly, Clare, Michelle, and James tackle the high school amid brewing political tensions in the region.
It’s still as funny and lovable as ever, and the hard lean into the 90s songs and references will surely scratch a nostalgic itch for many viewers. The send-off is big and emotional, but one of my favorite moments happens in the very first episode of this season. Keep an eye out for a cameo by a very famous Irishman.
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
The Redeem Team
New on Netflix 🍅 rating: —
The Redeem Team follows the events that led the American men’s basketball team to bag the gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Everyone loves an underdog story, and this is exactly that. Defeated and humiliated at the previous Olympics, the US team (led by the all-star combo of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron James) make it their goal not just to win and redeem themselves, but to completely redefine the game that they love.
You don’t have to be an NBA fan to be engrossed by the story at the heart of this documentary, but if you are, then you need no convincing. The 2008 Olympics is a remarkable feat of teamwork and hard work.
Top picks outside of Netflix and Amazon Prime
Our top film pick outside of Netflix and Prime is Deadstream, a surprisingly fun and terrifying horror comedy with a YouTube influencer at the center of it. The film follows Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter) who, after being canceled on the internet, attempts to win back his followers by live streaming his stay at a haunted house. As The Guardian puts it, it’s a “Gen Z version of The Blair Witch Project,” a found-footage film that is equal parts laughs and jump scares. Streaming on Shudder.
Our top TV pick is A Friend of the Family, which tells the chilling story of how young Jan Broberg came to be kidnapped twice by a close family friend. Based on real events and people, the miniseries is headlined by Colin Hanks and Anna Paquin, who play the victim’s troubled parents, and Jake Lacy, who plays the titular friend/serial kidnapper. And if I may, Lacy’s shift from bumbling comedian (The Office) to villainous creep as of late (White Lotus) is both terrifying and fascinating to watch. Streaming on Peacock.
New titles worth your time
A number of noteworthy titles are new on Netflix. This includes horror maestro Mike Flanagan’s latest series, The Midnight Club (described as “a morbid Breakfast Club”), and comedian Hasan Minhaj’s comedy special The King’s Jester. Also new is High Water, a gripping Polish miniseries about the Millennium Flood, a real-life and fatal event that devastated parts of Central Europe.
Great titles you may have already heard of that are new on Netflix include Gladiator, Call Me By Your Name, Point Break, Labyrinth, Chocolat, and The Blacklist.
On Amazon Prime, new arrivals include Up in the Air, the George Clooney-starring movie about downsizing, and The Guilty, a Danish race-against-time crime thriller.
Also new on Prime are season two of Eli Roth's History of Horror, a docuseries dedicated to hardcore horror fans, and Anna, an Italian post-apocalyptic series.
Great titles that will soon expire
On Netflix, Apocalypse Now Redux (an extended version of the 1979 war classic) expires on October 13. The Game Changers, a documentary about plant-based eating among athletes expires October 15. The latter is co-produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jackie Chan.
Over at Amazon Prime, I Am Love, the gorgeous Italian romantic drama starring Tilda Swinton and directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) leaves the platform October 10.
That’s all for this week. This edition of the newsletter will be back on Friday, October 14.
Till then,
Renee