There's a goldmine of streaming options this month, but are any of them price your precious time? Here's our take a look at a few of this week's recent releases. The excellent news? There aren't a single bad ones amongst them.
“The perfect couple”: The premise of Netflix's gripping six-part crime series would make any Agatha Christie or White Lotus fan's mouth water. The morning after an obscenely over-the-top rehearsal dinner for a Nantucket wedding, a member of the marriage party washes up dead on a beach near the groom-to-be's massive family mansion. Who was it? The list of suspects would send Miss Marple running screaming from the scene. They include: an ice princess and crime author (Nicole Kidman) who’s the groom's mother; her pushy husband (Liev Schreiber, so weird but good); the dreamy best man (Ishaan Khatter) and his insane abs; the cruel, obnoxious brother (Jack Reynor), his gossipy, spiteful pregnant wife (Dakota Fanning) and a bride-to-be (Eve Hewson) who suffers from imposter syndrome and shouldn’t be particularly keen on her boring fiancé (Billy Howle). There are more potential suspects; even the all-seeing, all-knowing “help” shouldn’t be above suspicion.
Director and executive producer Susanne Bier and showrunner Jenna Lamia are well aware that they're making the series a sort of summer beach read (it's based on a gripping novel by Elin Hilderbrand, in any case), they usually're going all out on that idea and succeeding, due to an all the time engaging A-list solid and a witty script that pokes fun on the wealthy and privileged and unravels a mystery peppered with red herrings. The Perfect Couple follows a crime-solving path that many crime dramas have taken before it, but this one does it with a lot class and sass that you just just won't care. Details: 3½ out of 4 stars; coming to Netflix on September fifth.
“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Robbery”: Peacock gets going with this insightful eight-part Atlanta crime drama inspired by an iHeart podcast. Like The Perfect Couple, this one is full of talent in front of and behind the camera, and it pays off. Showrunners Shaye Ogbonna and Jason Horwitch know the right way to give audiences one hell of a great time, recalling '70s blaxploitation flicks — and sharing the screen at points — while also telling the shocking story of small-time crook “Chicken Man” (a well-cast Kevin Hart, who also serves as executive producer), who throws a house party on the night of the legendary 1970 fight between Muhammad Ali (Dexter Darden) and Jerry Quarry. The party got seriously out of hand when all of the guests — including members of the Black Mafia — were robbed and sometimes humiliated by petty criminals. The brazen but silly attack doesn't sit well with East Coast gangster Frank Moten (Samuel L. Jackson), who’s convinced that Chicken Man and his business partner and part-time lover Vivian (Taraji P. Henson) were involved within the crime. Later, Detective JD Hudson (an excellent Don Cheadle) crosses paths with Chicken Man after he's been guarding Ali, and the 2 form a reluctant alliance. Funny and brutal, Fight Night not only touches on the blatant racism of the era, but in addition has a sure sense of '70s style (the feathered locks of Terence Howard – who plays a member of the mob – are a sight to behold). But when Cheadle, Hart, Jackson and Henson are on screen, the film really shines. Details: 3 stars; three episodes will likely be released on September fifth, then a brand new episode will likely be released every week.
“Rebel Ridge”: Underrated actor Aaron Pierre finally lands a surprising lead role that plays to one in all his best strengths — those piercing, intense eyes that pierce you thru. Pierre's cobra-like screen presence is well suited to his role as Terry Richmond, a solid guy on his approach to post bail for a cousin being held within the small Southern town of Shelby Springs. The local police greet him in probably the most unfriendly way, nearly mowing him down on his bike, then hassling him for the bag of loot he has to pay for his cousin's bail. Indie filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier's Southern-tinged thriller makes police corruption the actual perpetrator, and that shows within the slick figure of police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson). The corrupt top cop has his sights set on not only Terry and his cousin, but in addition a helpful court clerk (AnnaSophia Robb). Netflix's track record with standalone movies hasn't been great currently. “Rebel Ridge” ups the genre game for the streamer; not only is the film clever and suspenseful, it’s also well-filmed, written and directed. And the acting is great, especially from Pierre, who brings a steely intensity when needed. Details: 3½ stars; debuts September 6 on Peacock.
“Slow Horses Season 4”: Slow Horses fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Season 4 maintains the prime quality of previous seasons. The disgraced British MI5 spies, overseen by the coarse, rude but sharp-witted Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman, in a deservedly revered performance), find themselves drawn into an age-old feud. Season 4 begins with a slap within the face involving the confused actions of David (Jonathan Pryce), the grandfather of Slow Horse agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) – an influential former MI5 member. This act unearths old feuds, buried secrets and cold ambitions. The less said concerning the plot and its many potential spoilers, the higher, especially in relation to the large, jaw-dropping surprise in Episode 6. The complex characters of Slow Horses proceed to take revenge for his or her problems this season, and while everyone is outstanding, that is Lowden's best moment. He's an amazing actor, and in some of the intense scenes of the season, he conveys a lot with just his gaze. Let's hope this show just keeps going. Details: 3½ stars; the primary episode was released earlier this week, with a brand new episode released each week thereafter.
“English teacher”: Never underestimate the therapeutic power of a great cubicle comedy. They often make us feel like we're not alone once we encounter an annoying coworker who does or says something that makes us scream inside. The talented Brian Jordan Alvarez isn’t any stranger to such characters, but his recent FX series “English Teacher” takes a kinder take a look at the absurdity of human existence and even pokes fun on the comprehensible sloppiness of the person he plays, highschool English teacher Evan Marquez. In this loose, light-hearted series (each episode is just below half-hour), the gay Marquez tries to maintain his cool above stormy waters but by some means finally ends up back in bed with an ex (Jordan Firstman), hires a shady drag queen to assist the football team with a halftime routine and even comes closer to ending his friendship with one other teacher (Stephanie Koenig) during a camping trip. Add to that a temporarily unexcited gym teacher (Sean Patton), a bunch of disinterested students, and a parent who’s outraged because Evan kissed his then-boyfriend at school, and you’ve got the precise ingredients for a comedy that we are able to only hope goes right into a second season. Details: 3 stars; two episodes now available on FX/Hulu.
“The Wonderland Massacre and the Secret History of Hollywood”: Crime author Michael Connelly serves as guide and interviewer for this candid overview of the brutal 1981 murders of 4 people in a Laurel Canyon townhouse and the important thing figures involved within the lurid case. Directed by Alison Ellwood (“San Francisco Sounds”), Connelly served as executive producer, amongst others. Too often, the identical gory crime scene photos are shown. But the varied pieces are also pieced together in intricate ways. The murders had ties not only to a porn star — the late and never all the time honest John Holmes — but in addition to Liberace's drug-addicted friend Scott Thorson, who’s interviewed at length. The case also involves a bribed juror and other instances of corruption, exposing the seedy underbelly of Hollywood. (It's a shock to listen to an investigator tell us that cocaine was factored into filming budgets to fulfill deadlines.) Connelly is a former journalist on the Los Angeles Times (this series relies on his own podcast), and his no-nonsense approach on this four-parter provides a compelling take a look at an investigation and against the law that also exists within the shadow of the Hollywood sign. Details: 3 stars; the primary episode will likely be released on September eighth on MGM+, the person episodes will follow the next week.
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