More murders in the building, a gay romcom people will actually watch, and Gal Gadot thrills
More murders in the building, a gay romcom people will actually watch, and Gal Gadot thrills
Always Be Streaming - August 11, 2023
It’s a solid week for finding good quality TV to watch.
The beloved Only Murders in The Building is back for its third season. I’m still back in season 2, but I have lofty plans to catch up. HBO basketball show Winning Time is also back, with a second season. I’m still only a few episodes into season 1, but I have lofty plans to catch up. And The Chi is in season 6, but I’m still yet to start it and six seasons sounds like too many to even try. If anyone out there wants to make the case to me for The Chi, please hit reply back on this email. I’m not closed off to the idea of it…
In terms of new shows:
I really liked Strange Planet. It’s an odd animated show that won’t be to most peoples tastes. Not a great show for binge-watching, but it makes for a good half-hour appointment each week.
I haven’t yet seen any of US opioid crisis limited series Painkiller, but I also didn’t watch it when it was called Dopesick on Hulu/Disney+.
But this week’s new streaming movies are more compelling:
Prime Video’s gay romcom Red, White, and Royal Blue looks big, broad, and royally fun. A big deal was made of Billy Eichner’s big screen gay romcom Bros last year. Where that felt like it was being marketed as a must-see to support allyship, Red, White, and Royal Blue actually seems to be released purely as an entertainment. High real-world stakes does not benefit the frivolity of the romcom genre. It’s just a shame the name of the film is so clumsy.
Dark Korean superhero drama Moving has a compelling trailer, even if it does look a bit too stylised for my taste.
Netflix has a big $130 million action film called Heart of Stone. While that isn’t exactly in the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part One budget range, it is still massive enough that you’d think there would be more buzz about it. This one stars Gal Gadot in a spy thriller with big locations and a big car chase. Benjamin Lee at The Guardian gave it a 3/5 and says it is a step above most of the Netflix action films. He says it is on the level of what is so-far Netflix’s best actioner The Old Guard, which makes sense as The Old Guard writer Greg Rucka is also credited on the screenplay for Heart of Stone.
