What to watch on streaming: today's picks from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and more
![Slow_Horses_Photo_020404 Gary Oldman in Slow Horses](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/12/SlowHorsesPhoto020404-6b7400e.jpg?quality=90&resize=980,654)
Showing items 1 to 24 of 75
Slow Horses
- 2022
- Drama
- Crime/detective
- 15
Summary:
Follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve as a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes.
How to watchOur verdict::
Slow Horses has been a slow burn, achieving what many streaming series can only dream of: there it is on AppleTV+, waiting for people to discover it, and gradually they have.
Based on books by Mick Herron, it’s a spy drama that is set in an MI5 shadow office — Slough House — full of rejects and troubled spooks, led by the physically disgusting but mentally sharp Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman). Series three begins with Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Katherine Waterston as spies enjoying a tense tryst in Istanbul.
How does that relate to Jackson noticing he’s being followed as he buys his nightly kebab? As always, Slow Horses will take its time telling us, but the game is soon afoot, and the show remains a laconically savvy take on classic espionage drama.
Jack Seale
Reservation Dogs
- 2021
- Comedy
- Crime/detective
- 18
Summary:
Comedy series about four Native American teenagers growing up on a reservation in eastern Oklahoma.
How to watchOur verdict::
A third and final season for one of America’s most underrated comedies. Co-created by Taika Waititi, it follows a group of four Indigenous teenagers from a small town in the Muscogee Nation, Oklahoma — their coming-of-age exploits are presented in a low-key, off-hand fashion, but are deeply involving and relatable due to the fine work of a young ensemble cast.
As we rejoin the “Rez Dogs”, they’re stranded on an ill-advised trip to California. Once they return, a new focus on the lives of the town elders shows us that youthful recklessness is nothing new.
Jack Seale
Faraway Downs
- 2023
- Western
- Drama
Summary:
The story centers on an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who travels halfway across the world to confront her wayward husband and sell an unusual asset: a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian Outback called 'Faraway Downs.' Following the death of her husband, a ruthless Australian cattle baron, King Carney (Bryan Brown), plots to take her land and she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch. The sweeping adventure romance is explored through the eyes of young Nullah (newcomer Brandon Walters), a bi-racial Indigenous Australian child caught up in the government's draconian racial policy now referred to as the 'Stolen Generations.' Together the trio experiences four life-altering years, a love affair between Lady Ashley and the Drover, and the unavoidable impact of World War II on Northern Australia.
How to watchOur verdict::
Remember Baz Luhrmann’s epic 2008 film Australia, starring Nicole Kidman as an English widow who inherits a massive Australian farm just as the Second World War breaks out, and Hugh Jackman as the gruff cattle drover who becomes her ally? You might have missed it: it wasn’t a huge success, with many negative reviews focusing on its sappingly long 165-minute runtime.
Well, it’s back — this drama is not a spin-off as such but a longer version of the film itself, adding footage that was unused at the time to create a mini-series. Whether you think the characters gel now when they didn’t before is up to you, but you won’t see a TV show this year with better cinematography.
Jack Seale
Uncharted
- Action
- Mystery
- 2022
- Ruben Fleischer
- 116 mins
- 12A
Summary:
Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor `Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. Action adventure based on the video game franchise, starring Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas
How to watchOur verdict::
In this serviceable video-game adaptation, Tom Holland plays Nathan, a bartender who is recruited by a treasure hunter (Mark Wahlberg) to help find a 500-year-old fortune that was stockpiled by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Also on the trail of the loot is a wealthy collector (Antonio Banderas), who may have had a hand in the disappearance of Nathan’s brother.
Venom director Ruben Fleischer keeps the action moving at a swift pace, and Holland is a likeable presence, but the film is oddly devoid of tension.
Alan Jones
Beau Is Afraid
- Comedy
- Horror
- 2023
- Ari Aster
- 178 mins
- 15
Summary:
Middle-aged and riddled with anxiety, Beau Wassermann nervously anticipates a trip home to see his mother, who presides over a pharmaceutical empire. However, Beau oversleeps and in the frantic dash to the airport, he is the victim of a bizarre crime. Writer/director Ari Aster's horror comedy, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan
How to watchOur verdict::
This ambitious, three-hour black comedy stars Joaquin Phoenix as the anxious Beau, whose seemingly simple goal of visiting his mother is hindered by surreal events and characters, including a knife-wielding nudist and a woodland theatre troupe. Writer/director Ari Aster’s follow-up to horror hits Hereditary and Midsommar also has a wicked sense of humour.
Unabashedly indulgent in its unconventional storytelling, the film further cements Aster’s reputation as a master of disquieting cinema.
Patrick Cremona
Belfast
- Drama
- Romance
- 2021
- Kenneth Branagh
- 94 mins
- 12A
Summary:
Period drama starring Jude Hill, Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan and Judi Dench. Northern Ireland, 1969: nine-year-old Buddy starts a new school year, only vaguely aware of the political turmoil that surrounds him. When Buddy's Protestant father is approached to join with dangerous local sectarians, the family is increasingly affected by the violence of the Troubles.
How to watchOur verdict::
Writer/director Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical drama is set in August 1969 and sees a Belfast neighbourhood attacked by Protestants seeking to force out Catholics. Schoolboy Buddy (Jude Hill) is frightened by the turmoil, while his parents (Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan) realise that standing up against the mob may jeopardise their safety. Eschewing any broader overview of the Troubles, Branagh’s film is a heartfelt plea against prejudice. As engaging as it is, there’s a lack of precision and punch, which leaves it a touch short of greatness.
Trevor Johnston
Violent Night
- Comedy
- Thriller
- 2022
- Tommy Wirkola
- 107 mins
- 15
Summary:
Santa Claus materialises down the chimney of greedy matriarch Gertrude Lightstone just as criminal mastermind Mr Scrooge storms the mansion on Christmas Eve with an army of goons to steal 300million US dollars from the Lightstone family vault. Action comedy, starring David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo and Alex Hassell
How to watchOur verdict::
Die Hard meets Home Alone in this festive cracker. Stranger Things star David Harbour plays Santa Claus, who must regain his mojo to take action when mercenaries gatecrash the celebrations of a rich family. The breathlessly entertaining battle of wits takes place in a maze- like mansion.
Beverly D’Angelo (as the acid-tongued matriarch) and Cam Gigandet (as a lunkhead actor) have their moments, but it’s Harbour’s big, bold and ultimately heart-warming performance that anchors this laugh- out-loud romp.
Jeremy Aspinall
The Kill Room
- Drama
- Crime/detective
- 2023
- Nicol Paone
- 98 mins
- 15
Summary:
A hitman, his boss, an art dealer and a money-laundering scheme that accidentally turns the assassin into an overnight avant-garde sensation, one that forces her to play the art world against the underworld.
How to watchOur verdict::
Uma Thurman and Samuel L Jackson reunite here for their first screen appearance together since Kill Bill Vol 2. In a darkly knockabout satire, Thurman plays a struggling art dealer who allows Jackson’s criminal to launder money through her gallery by selling off the artwork of his killer henchman (Joe Manganiello).
This is a lightly Tarantino-esque jaunt, with Thurman and Jackson playing to their strengths. Too many gangsters bog things down towards the end, but Nicol Paone’s film has pace and smarts, and will appeal to anybody who reckons modern art is a con.
Steve Morrissey
Squid Game: The Challenge
- 2023
- Entertainment
- Game show
- 12
Summary:
Released in September 2021, South Korean survival thriller Squid Game became a global sensation and surpassed Bridgerton as the most watched drama series on Netflix. To whet appetites for a second helping in 2024, 456 real players vie for a life-changing prize of $4.56 million by taking part in a spin-off competition series including many of the same nail-biting challenges as the dystopian fiction. Squid Game: The Challenge fits contestants with a black squib that explodes if they are eliminated from one of the physically and mentally gruelling games such as daredevil sprint Red Light, Green Light. To survive each round, players will have to forge alliances and mastermind cunning strategies that target fierce rivals
How to watchOur verdict::
When Netflix announced it was adapting Squid Game into a real-life game show — with 456 people competing for a prize of $4.56 million — some fans thought the streamer had missed the point, replacing social commentary with genial fun. This does feel slightly detached from the drama (the casting was global, it was filmed in the UK, it has an American feel and we see surprisingly few South Korean players), but overall, the result is tense and entertaining, with several games from the drama re-created on dazzling sets.
The show has already proved contentious: contestants complained of cold and fatigue during filming, and the pressure is palpably real. The chance to win such a life-changing amount of money has people crying, arguing, and in one case, almost vomiting.
Laura Rutkowski
Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas
- 2023
- Musical
- Entertainment
- U
Summary:
To herald the festive season, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham is joined by special guests and a big band for a musical extravaganza directed by Hamish Hamilton, filmed on the stage of the London Coliseum in front of a live audience.
How to watchOur verdict::
An actor who was already a star thanks to Game of Thrones and Ted Lasso became a superstar this year by co-hosting Eurovision — but it’s Hannah Waddingham’s musical theatre background that she draws on for this nicely old-fashioned festive special. At the London Coliseum, she sings everything from big-band standards and soul classics to the pure reverence of O, Holy Night.
Often visibly moved to have been given such a showcase, she welcomes many of her Lasso co-stars to the stage for light-hearted song-and- dance fun. She’s even more adept at the inclusive, energising chat between songs.
A Haunting in Venice
- Mystery
- Thriller
- 2023
- Kenneth Branagh
- 103 mins
- 12A
Summary:
Hercule Poirot attends a seance in post-Second World War Venice and he investigates the murder of one of the guests. Agatha Christie mystery directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh
How to watchOur verdict::
Kenneth Branagh turns to Agatha Christie’s lesser-known 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party for his third outing as Hercule Poirot. This time, the extravagantly moustachoied Belgian sleuth is urged to attend a séance by his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), and finds himself with another murder to solve.
This very loose adaptation of Christie’s mystery can feel somewhat rushed and convoluted, but Branagh conjures up a spooky atmosphere that sets it apart from his previous Poirot films, and he makes fine use of the moody Venetian locales. The game cast also includes Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan and Kelly Reilly.
Patrick Cremona
The Velveteen Rabbit
- Action
- Family
- 2023
- Jennifer Perrott
- 40 mins
- PG
Summary:
The beloved children's book penned by Margery Williams, which celebrates the power of unconditional love, is brought vividly to life in a magical 40-minute journey of self-discovery combining live action and animation. Seven-year-old William (Phoenix Laroche) receives a toy animal for Christmas that becomes his lifelong friend and favourite companion. This Velveteen Rabbit (voiced by Alex Lawther) sparks William's imagination and introduces the boy to colourful characters on two and four legs including Wise Horse (Helena Bonham Carter), Playroom Fairy (Nicola Coughlan) and Lion (Clive Rowe). Jennifer Perrott and Rick Thiele direct the live action and animates sequences respectively, working from a script penned by Tom Bidwell
How to watchOur verdict::
The Toy Story movies owe a lot to The Velveteen Rabbit, a 1921 novel by Margery Williams about a toy that can speak to other toys but longs to be seen as “real” by its owner. The story’s now been given a sturdy, reverential new dramatisation. One Christmas, young William (Phoenix Laroche) receives a velveteen rabbit (voiced by Alex Lawther) that gets to meet the other toys in the playroom — a voluble crew voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, Lois Chimimba and Paterson Joseph, among others. Stop-motion-style animation and cartoons are mixed nimbly with live action.
Jack Seale
Leo
- Action
- Comedy
- 2023
- Robert Marianetti
- 101 mins
- PG
Summary:
Leo is a 74-year-old lizard, who observes the world through the glass of a tank in a Florida elementary school alongside his best friend, a turtle named Squirtle. When each student takes Leo home for a class assignment, the resourceful creature helps the children to navigate their growing pains. Animated comedy musical featuring the voice of Adam Sandler
How to watchOur verdict::
A droll classroom lizard hands out pithy advice to young students in this scattershot but life-affirming animated comedy. After spending 74 years in a tank, pet lizard Leo (voiced by Adam Sandler) realises he is almost too old to go on adventures and determines to make one last break for freedom.
However, his plans are repeatedly thwarted by the pupils who take him home each weekend. The film is a wacky stew of energetic high jinks, musical interludes, fun visual gags, and life lessons delivered with a cheeky eye-roll.
Josh Winning
Stamped from the Beginning
- Documentary and factual
- History
- 2023
- Roger Ross Williams
- 91 mins
- 15
Summary:
Using innovative animation and expert insights, this documentary based on Ibram X. Kendi's bestseller explores the history of racist ideas in America.
How to watchOur verdict::
“What is wrong with black people?” is the starting point for this superb documentary from African American film-maker Roger Ross Williams, which traces the demonisation of an entire race. Esteemed writers, activists and scholars — including Angela Davis, Imani Perry and Racquel J Gates — take us through the history of enslavement and othering of African Americans in the US, right through to where the country is today.
Passionately argued, accessible and informative, this makes for essential viewing.
Emma Simmonds
Pren ar y Bryn
- Comedy
- Drama
Summary:
Unlikely heroes Margaret and Clive Lewis' quiet lives are changed in an instant when they find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Dark comedy, starring Rhodri Meilir and Nia Roberts
How to watchOur verdict::
Like Y Golau/The Light in the Hall and Un Bore Mercher/Keeping Faith, this series has been filmed in both Welsh and English — the English-language version, Tree on a Hill, comes to iPlayer next year.
But why wait? Subtitled dialogue is probably a better way to experience this odd, slow-paced comedy drama set in a tiny town. Quiet couple Margaret and Clive (Nia Roberts and Rhodri Meilir) live small lives in cosy knitwear — until the antics of their friends and family put them at the centre of a high-profile mystery.
Jack Seale
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived
- Documentary and factual
- News and current affairs
- 2023
- Dan Hartley
- 86 mins
Summary:
Documentary telling the story of Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter stunt double David Holmes, who was left paralysed from the chest down after an on-set accident in 2009. Featuring personal footage shot over the last decade, behind-the-scenes material from Holmes's stunt work, scenes of his current life and interviews with David as well as Daniel Radcliffe, friends, family and former crewmates
How to watchOur verdict::
The early part of this documentary paints a picture of what a blast it must have been to work as a teenage stuntman on the Harry Potter films. David Holmes had been a keen gymnast before he landed his dream job as Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double, with the two becoming good friends.However, we watch with a sense of foreboding, because the Holmes we see is in a wheelchair. In 2009, a simple jerk-back stunt went wrong and he broke his neck. Not only was he paralysed, but as time goes on, his symptoms have worsened. Holmes calls it “the gift that goes on taking”.At one level, it’s a shocking story about how random and fleeting things can be, but at another, Holmes’s determination to keep embracing life feels anything but tragic.
David Butcher
Mafia Mamma
- Action
- Comedy
- 2023
- Catherine Hardwicke
- 101 mins
- 15
Summary:
An American mom inherits her grandfather's mafia empire in Italy. Guided by the firm's consigliere, she hilariously defies everyone's expectations as the new head of the family business.
How to watchOur verdict::
Part screwball comedy, part Mob-movie pastiche, this outlandish yarn stars Toni Collette as a timid American mom who is installed as the head of a crime syndicate following the death of her grandfather. While attending his funeral in Italy, she finds herself in the midst of a war between rival families and forced to broker peace while dodging assassination attempts.
The broad gagfest isn’t subtle, but there’s a lot to like, including Collette, whose comic timing is exemplary.
Terry Staunton
Rustin
- Drama
- History
- 2023
- George C Wolfe
- 106 mins
- 15
Summary:
Biographical drama about inspirational gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who weathered a storm of racism and homophobia to spearhead the planning and mobilisation of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Starring Colman Domingo
How to watchOur verdict::
Bayard Rustin was a key figure in the civil rights movement and the landmark March on Washington in 1963. George C Wolfe’s absorbing biopic portrays him as a charismatic and driven individual, whose homosexuality and past Communist affiliations led to friction within the various protest groups he was involved with.
Colman Domingo gives a towering performance as Rustin and makes every line of dialogue feel like a call to arms, while Chris Rock, Jeffrey Wright and CCH Pounder also impress in supporting roles.
Terry Staunton
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- 2023
- Action
- Fantasy
Summary:
Legendary Entertainment laid the foundations of its so-called Monsterverse in 2014 with the big screen action adventure Godzilla directed by Gareth Edwards. Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters and Godzilla Vs Kong have expanded this fantastical world of interconnected characters and stories, which will deepen further with the release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in April 2024. This 10-part series provides a narrative bridge to the forthcoming sequel, set in the aftermath of the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that left San Francisco in ruins. Schoolteacher Cate (Anna Sawai) joins forces with Army officer Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) to expose the dark secrets of the shadowy organisation known as Monarch. In flashbacks to the 1950s, the young Lee (played by Russell's actor son Wyatt) works closely with scientist Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) and explorer Bill (Anders Holm) to establish Monarch and protect humanity from hulking kaiju and the omnipresent threat of nuclear war
How to watchOur verdict::
Godzilla/Kong monster movies successfully transition to episodic television in a series that strikes a good balance between creature spectacle and character drama. In Tokyo, when a woman taking care of her late father’s affairs discovers he had a secret second family, a new monster-tracking team is born. Meanwhile, a team of three monsterologists are investigating a site they think contains dormant super-beasts…and they’re dangerously correct.
With twin timelines exploring the origins of the story and a juicy conspiracy to unravel, there’s plenty more going on here than just reptiles stomping on skyscrapers.
Jack Seale
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
- 2023
- Action
- Fantasy
- 12
Summary:
Scott Pilgrim confronts the seven evil exes of the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers. Adult-oriented animated series featuring the voice of Michael Cera
How to watchOur verdict::
It’s been 13 long years since we were treated to a love story that packed quite a punch – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Although it was a box office disappointment, thankfully, it didn’t take long for Edgar Wright’s misunderstood and under-appreciated film to receive the cult following it deserved.
Now all these years later a new show is here led by director Abel Góngora (Star Wars: Visions) and the beloved film cast is back together and along for the ride for new anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. The film’s director Edgar Wright also makes a return, taking on an executive producer role, and Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley is in the writer’s chair for Netflix’s eight-episode anime, which brings us back to his unforgettable world.
Fraser Overington
Twin Love
- 2023
- Romance
- Reality
Summary:
Twin Love is a dating experiment from the producers of Love Island that tests identical twins to see if they’re ready to put newfound love ahead of their siblings. Hosts Brie & Nikki Garcia (formerly known as the Bella Twins) split up sets of twins into two separate houses to find love on their own terms. Will they find an identical match? And will they ultimately choose their twin or their love?
How to watchOur verdict::
With so many high-concept dating shows now available to stream, it’s surprising nobody has thought of this idea before. A house contains ten attractive singletons, who proceed to pair off in the usual Love Island-y way — but there’s a separate, identical house with another ten people looking for love, all of whom are the identical twins of the participants in house number one.
Hosting this intriguing, if potentially confusing, spectacle are former WWE tag team Brie and Nikki Bella.
Jack Seale
The Crown
- 2016
- Drama
- History
- PG
Summary:
Historical drama following the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, focusing on both the politics of her successive governments and the more personal battles in Buckingham Palace
How to watchOur verdict::
More than ever, this series of The Crown has generated reams of column inches before it has been released. There have been whispers about the depiction of Diana’s ghost, further controversial storylines teased and rumours about what has (and hasn’t) been included from this period of the royal family’s recent history. That hubbub befits the opening episodes of this sixth and final season, where it’s the summer of 1997 and the world’s eyes are on Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and her burgeoning relationship with Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla).
Hushed conversations behind gilded doors in early series have now given way to retelling splashed headlines of 1990s tabloids, with fusty palaces swapped for glamorous yachts bobbing in the Med. As a consequence, the Queen (Imelda Staunton) and Prince Charles (Dominic West) are relegated to the sidelines. As The Crown prepares to wind down, it’s certainly still shiny — even if it’s not quite as opulent.
Frances Taylor
jackass forever
- Comedy
- Drama
- 2021
- Jeff Tremaine
- 96 mins
- 18
Summary:
Daredevils Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Dave England return for another round of wildly absurd and often dangerous stunts, with help from a new cast of stuntmen and women including Sean `Poopies" McInerney, Zach Holmes, Jasper and Rachel Wolfson. Comedy, directed by Jeff Tremaine
How to watchOur verdict::
Ten years after their last proper outing, Johnny Knoxville and his troupe of daredevils return for another compilation of slapstick sketches best avoided by the squeamish.
The premise remains the same: the gang challenge one another to variously cartoonish, puerile and outright dangerous stunts, taking in electrocution, groin wallops and live animals. The quality can vary, but the sheer physicality of the mayhem, with its dastardly devices and ample on-screen injuries, is a joy to view — even if through your fingers.
Calum Baker
The Lazarus Project
- 2022
- Action
- Family
- 15
Summary:
A man keeps reliving one day from his past and is approached to join a secret organisation that has the power to turn back time each time the world is at threat from extinction. Sci-fi thrilller, starring Paapa Essiedu
How to watchOur verdict::
Joe Barton’s whipsmart drama, an apocalyptic take on Groundhog Day, returns with hero George (Paapa Essiedu) very much in the doghouse. To recap quickly, the Lazarus Project is “a top-secret multinational organisation dedicated to preventing and undoing mass extinction events” by turning back time. But there are rules, and in the first series George broke many of them in order to save his girlfriend, in the process tossing the planet into a three-week time loop that will destroy the universe. Now the team, led by a ferocious Caroline Quentin, need to find the scientists who might know how to fix things. And they definitely don’t want George, who’s racked with guilt about his actions, on board.
It’s fast, furious and occasionally confusing, but boosted by a top-class cast including Tom Burke and Anjli Mohindra, it’s quite irresistible.
Gill Crawford