Colin Vickery’s TV streaming recommendations!
AND JUST LIKE THAT (Binge) – Fans of Sex and the City have approached this reboot with equal parts excitement and trepidation. The original series was a watershed moment in television but two movies – especially the dire second one – have tarnished the legacy. Over time there has also been criticism about lack of diversity. And then there was the news that Kim Cattrall wouldn’t be returning as Samantha. Seventeen years after the original do Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) have anything fresh to say in 2021 or is it a case of flogging a dead horse?
LANDSCAPERS (Stan) – This is true crime with a twist. Olivia Colman and David Thewlis are Susan and Christopher Edwards – better known as the Mansfield Murderers. This unassuming couple were sentenced to 25 years in prison after killing Susan’s parents and burying them in the backyard. The series is written by Colman’s husband Ed Sinclair. Colman is a world away from Queen Elizabeth in The Crown as she plays the mousy Susan who is prone to fantasies about old Hollywood. The stylish production takes its cues from that and at times turns quite surreal.
A CASTLE FOR CHRISTMAS (Netflix) – It has been quite a while since I have seen Brooke Shields front and centre in a major production so it is a pleasure to see her star in the Yuletide confection – a romantic comedy about an author Sophie Brown who escapes scandal by heading to her father’s ancestral village in Scotland. It is there that she considers buying a castle – Dun Dunbar – but that puts her in the crosshairs with Duke Myles (Cary Elwes of Princess Bride fame) who owns it.
SELLING THE BIG EASY (9Life) – I’m a sucker for a good property show and this one has got me hooked because of its New Orleans setting. Each episode features realtor and interior styler Brittany Picolo-Ramos and her team showing houses to couples looking to move to the Big Easy. The range of properties – from Greek Revival to French-style chateaux, Spanish Revival, Queen Anne and more – is astonishing. And everything is around US$1 million to $1.5 million – so cheap compared to Melbourne.
BECOMING COUSTEAU (Disney+) – As a kid I remember being intrigued by the magical underwater movies of Jacques Cousteau. This documentary is a detailed look at the famed explorer and conservationist – and shows that the inventor of the aqualung and skipper of the Calypso was also a largely absent father, initially had no qualms about blowing up reefs, took money from oil companies to keep operating but then became a vocal environmentalist.
THE PROTEGE (Amazon Prime) – There is nothing wrong with a couple of hours of mindless action and The Protege delivers. It isn’t John Wick standard, but Maggie Q (star of the Nikita TV series) is commanding as a female assassin, Anna, who goes on a revenge mission after her boss Moody (Samuel L Jackson) is killed. That puts her up against another assassin, Rembrandt (Michael Keaton). Directed by Martin Campbell who helmed Bond film Casino Royale.
THE POWER OF THE DOG (Netflix) – The new Jane Campion western is top of my list to see this weekend. Benedict Cumberbatch plays fearsome Montana rancher Thomas Savage whose world changes when his brother George (Jesse Plemons) marries Rose (Kirsten Dunst), a widow and mother to teenage boy Peter (Aussie Kodi Smit-McPhee). There is already talk of multiple Oscars. Smit-McPhee has already won the New York Film Critics circle award for Best Supporting Actor.
GET BACK (Disney+) – I am sure Scott Ellis has recommended this Beatles documentary series to 3AW listeners but – having watched all eight hours – can I say that if you are a fan of the Fab Four you absolutely have to track this down. It is thoroughly enthralling – the best thing I have seen all year.