The Olympics are over, which means trucks have pulled up to the content factories and are shipping wares again. The biggest new titles to launch this week is new animated Marvel show What If...? (it's really for devout fans only), youth dramedy Reservation Dogs (it's good - but best enjoyed if you're a younger viewer), and then there's new new oddball Netflix drama Brand New Cherry Flavor.
I haven't seen Brand New Cherry Flavor, but I'm pretty keen to give it a look tonight. It'll be interesting to actually see Rosa Salazar on my screen. She starred in two really great things in recent years - the inward-looking, really beautiful show Undone and the underrated action sci-fi film Alita: Battle Angel. In both her filmed performance was animated. Strong performances both, but I have no real conception of what she actually looks like.
I'm told that feature film CODA on Apple TV+ is rather good.
Netflix movie Beckett is an interesting thriller. It isn't especially thrilling, but I still found it particularly engaging. It's about a guy (John David Washington) on the run in regional Greece from people shooting at him, but he doesn't understand why. When I say he's on the run, it's more of a stumble. With a lethargic tone, I think of this film as The Bourne Identity meets the Antonioni film The Passenger.
Critics are divided on Beckett - yes, the story is thin and the performances distant. But I dug its mood.
returning:
Riverdale (s05), Brooklyn Nine Nine (s08), The L Word: Generation Q (s0), My Life is Murder (s02), Ghosts (s03), Five Bedrooms (s02), Star Trek: Lower Decks (s02), Five Bedrooms (s02), Slasher (s04), Titans (s03), Modern Love (s02), Valeria (s02)
new:
Reservation Dogs - FX on Hulu | Binge
Stars: D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Elva Guerra, Sarah Podemski
Comedy series about four Native American teenagers growing up on a reservation in eastern Oklahoma.
The Kissing Booth 3 - Netflix
Stars: Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi
It's the summer before Elle Evans is set to head off to college, and she has a big decision to make.
CODA - Apple TV+
Stars: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur
As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
Beckett - Netflix
Stars: John David Washington, Boyd Holbrook, Vicky Krieps, Alicia Vikander
Following a tragic car accident in Greece, Beckett, an American tourist, finds himself at the center of a dangerous political conspiracy and on the run for his life.
What If...? - Disney+
Stars: Jeffrey Wright, Chadwick Boseman, Hayley Atwell
Exploring pivotal moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turning them on their head, leading the audience into uncharted territory.
Brand New Cherry Flavor - Netflix
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Mark Acheson, Daniel Doheny
Lisa Nova, an aspiring film director in the sun-drenched but seamy world of 1990 Los Angeles, embarks on a mind-altering journey of supernatural revenge that gets nightmarishly out of control.
Fantasy Island - Fox
Stars: Roselyn Sanchez, Kiara Barnes, John Gabriel Rodriquez
People who walk in with a desire, but end up reborn to themselves through the magical realism of Fantasy Island.
RFDS - 7Plus
Stars: Rodney Afif, Camila Ponte Alvarez, Justine Clarke
RFDS captures the beauty and brutality of Australia's vast centre where the doctors and the nurses, pilots and support staff of the Royal Flying Doctor Service negotiate the unique challenges of emergency rescues across some of the most inhospitable places in the country.
That's it for this week. Please everyone stay safe. Let's be careful out there.