Sure. You *could* watch Task. But press play on the best streaming film of 2025 instead.
I could talk to you about Task, the new crime drama from Mare of Easttown’s Brad Ingelsby. I’ve only seen the first episode and, while it has promise, it also felt a little like a prestige show going through the motions a bit.
The first episode ends with an action sequence where it all goes down and it suddenly became compelling as hell. That alone will put it on my must-watch list for the rest of the season, but despite the always-charismatic Mark Ruffalo leading the show, the characters in this lack the immediate watchability of Mare of Easttown.
But, what you really need to be pressing play on this weekend is the Spike Lee film Highest 2 Lowest. I know you didn’t press play on it last weekend when it dropped on Apple TV+. And you made a huge mistake.
I made that same mistake, only getting to it mid-week. It’s fantastic.
Denzel Washington plays a big-time record label owner whose son is kidnapped with a $17.5m ransom on the table. He’ll do anything to get his son back, but the situation changes when it is revealed that it wasn’t his son that was nabbed - it was the son of his good friend and personal valet that was grabbed by mistake.
That’s a must-watch premise and it is backed up with the lively, kinetic film making one expects from Spike Lee. But that’s not all the film is doing - it has this really interesting thematic idea about a guy whose intentions are only kept in check by fear of being cancelled by social media.
It’s yet another excellent film in a year where most of the best films at the cinema this year have been original, late 90s/early 00s-feeling big screen outings.
This film absolutely should have seen a proper theatrical release… only without the final scene attached which feels way too much like a TV movie. Seriously Spike, what was that about…
Returning TV
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (s03), Les Armes (s02), Only Murders in The Building (s05), Beauty in Black (s02), Wolf King (s02)
New TV
Task — HBO Max
Top cast: Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, Emilia Jones
What it’s about: An FBI agent heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man.
The Girlfriend — Prime Video
Top cast: Robin Wright, Olivia Cooke
What it’s about: Laura's picture-perfect life starts to unravel when her son brings home a new girlfriend named Cherry; she becomes convinced that Cherry is a manipulative social climber -- or is she just being paranoid?
Diary of a Ditched Girl — Netflix
Top cast: Carla Sehn
What it’s about: Amanda, 31, navigates the complexities of modern dating through apps and bars, meeting diverse men; she and her friends struggle to move beyond first dates as they explore the dynamics of finding love.
Top End Bub — Prime Video
Top cast: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee
What it’s about: Laura and Ned are living their best lives in Adelaide when they become guardians to their eight-year-old niece and have to leave their city life behind to live in Australia's tropical Top End.
Kiss Or Die — Netflix
Top cast: Mamoru Miyano, Gekidan Hitori
What it’s about: Male comedians face off in a steamy improv drama where they must resist the advances of irresistibly seductive co-stars and deliver the ultimate kiss.
The Dead Girls — Netflix
Top cast: Arcelia Ramírez, Paulina Gaitán
What it’s about: Based on Jorge Ibargüengoitia's novel, the series tells how the Baladro sisters built a brothel empire and became merciless killers in 1960s Mexico.
Tempest — Disney+ [AUS] | Hulu [US]
Top cast: Gianna Jun, Gang Dong-won, John Cho, Michael Gaston
What it’s about: A former UN ambassador and a mysterious operative uncover a deadly conspiracy that threatens the stability of the Korean peninsula.
Confidence Queen — Prime Video
Top cast: Park Min-young, Park Hee-soon, Joo Jong-hyuk
What it’s about: The story of Yi-rang, a smart woman who becomes the ultimate con artist; she teams up with James and Gu-ho, working as a trio of swindlers, to expose scammers and take their ill-gotten gains.
The Sunshine Murders — Channel 5
Top cast: Peter Andre, Stephanie Beacham, Camilla Rutherford, Nick Moran, Marina Sirtis
What it’s about: Greek Detective Helen Moustakas finally takes a holiday on the island of Aegina, with her daughter Thalia and her half-sister Shirley Rangi, only to be caught up in the bizarre death of a local heartthrob at the residence of a titled English widow.
New Movies
Kontrabida Academy — Netflix
Top cast: Barbie Forteza, Eugene Domingo
What it’s about: A restaurant worker finds a new purpose and a way to get back at her enemies after a mysterious TV transports her to a school for on-screen villains.
That’s the TV listings newsletter for this week.
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