Netflix Australia
The Thursday Murder Club
TV, US, 2025 – out 28 August
Like Only Murders in the Building and A Man on the Inside, Netflix’s new murder mystery series (adapted from the bestselling Richard Osman novel) belongs to a suite of storylines involving ageing folk investigating crimes – at their own ambling speed, with some afternoon tea of course, maybe a nap or two. Set inside a retirement village where a group of residents meet every Thursday to investigate cold cases, the plot swings into gear when an actual murder occurs, putting their novice sleuthing to the test.
The director is Hollywood veteran Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire, the first two Harry Potter movies) and the cast is pretty stacked – including Helen Mirren as a former spy, Ben Kingsley as a former psychiatrist and Pierce Brosnan as a former union man.
The Brutalist
Film, 2024, US – out 30 August (also on Binge)
There are many reasons not to miss Brady Corbet’s epic 40s and 50s-set period drama about a Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor (Adrien Brody’s László Tóth) who emigrates to the so-called land of the free to start again. When Tóth arrives, Corbet deploys the film’s centrepiece image: the State of Liberty upside down, suggesting his journey might not be a carefree lark.
The film has a peculiar and enigmatic energy; it moves and shifts in strange ways. All the cast are great, including Brody (who won an Oscar for the role) and Guy Pearce, who plays a rich industrialist who recognises Tóth’s brilliance.
Long Story Short
TV, US, 2025 – out 22 August
I love Netflix’s animated adult series BoJack Horseman, one time even voting it the second-best TV show of the century. So a new series from its creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg was always going to be a must-watch for me. Long Story Short uses a time-jumping narrative to follow a Jewish family from northern California: in the first episode, for instance, we meet several characters as kids, and in the next they’re much older, with children of their own. Bob-Waksberg has described it as “visually more grounded than BoJack”, with a “comic strip” sensibility.
Honourable mentions: Wednesday season 2 part 1 (TV, 6 August), The Iron Claw (film, 10 August), Fixed (film, 13 August), Night Always Comes (film, 15 August), The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies (TV, 15 August), Hostage (TV, 21 August), The Beekeeper (film, 23 August).
Stan
In Vitro
Film, Australia, 2024 – out 24 August
Strange things are afoot on an Australian cattle farm in this suspenseful, atmospherically on-edge film that’s part relationship drama, part sci-fi, set in a not-too-distant future where the climate crisis has had a horrible impact on the agricultural industry. Married couple Layla (Talia Zucker) and Jack (Ashley Zukerman) are sheep farmers; one of them is hiding a dramatic secret. In Vitro maintains, as I wrote in my review, a “spare approach, building anticipation for an interestingly peculiar final act”.
The Assassin
TV, UK/Germany/Australia, 2025 – out now
“The Assassin” is one of those terribly generic titles that suggest an utter lack of imagination. They really couldn’t think of anything better? Thankfully, the early buzz around this new series from creators Harry and Jack Williams (who helmed the explosively entertaining The Tourist) is very good. Keeley Hawes leads the cast as the titular assassin, who’s living on a Greek island when she’s asked to do One More Job – just as her estranged son (Freddie Highmore) comes to visit. In her review, the Guardian’s Lucy Mangan said “a menopausal assassin has been a long time coming”, and called the show “perfectly crafted preposterousness” that’s “stylish, witty, [and] tightly written”.
Cosmopolis
Film, Canada/France, 2012 – out 3 August
Most of David Cronenberg’s intoxicatingly surreal head trip is based in and around the limousine of 28-year-old billionaire Eric Packer (Pattinson), which he uses as a penthouse and travelling office. From the safety of this vehicular cocoon, which slowly moves through congested New York streets, Packer is informed about threats to the president, threats to himself and the economy, the movements of protesters and other things that imply a volatile world outside. Cronenberg (adapting Don DeLillo’s novel of the same name) makes circumspect commentary on wealth disparity and the grotesqueries of late-stage capitalism.
Honourable mentions: Bran Nue Dae (film, out 5 August), A Silence (film, 5 August), Let Me In (film, 6 August), Outlander: Blood of My Blood (TV, 9 August), The Iron Claw (film, 10 August), I Know What You Did Last Summer (film, 15 August), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (film, 16 August), The Rainmaker season 1 (TV, 16 August), The Beekeeper (film, 23 August), The Daughter (film, 27 August), The Rover (film, 31 August).
SBS on Demand
The Eight Mountains
Film, Italy/Belgium/France, 2022 – out 1 August
Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s very handsomely staged drama contemplates big themes – fatherhood and lifelong friendships – via the story of thirtysomething men and former childhood pals Pietro (Luca Marinelli) and Bruno (Alessandro Borghi), who reunite after many years apart. It certainly has a grand setting: the Italian Alps, where amazing mountains loom in the background in an almost spiritual way, as if the characters are being watched by ancient forces. Despite a big, heavy heart, it’s an accessible and crowd-pleasing film, told with a gentle ebb and flow.
The Prestige
Film, UK/US, 2006 – out 15 August
I love how Christopher Nolan’s great movie about feuding magicians is itself a bit of a magic trick, with lots of spectacle and some cunning narrative sleight of hand – including a ripping twist associated with Christian Bale’s character. He plays Alfred Borden, arch nemesis of Robert “The Great Danton” Angier (Hugh Jackman), who cannot work out how Borden performs his signature trick, the “Transported Man”. Angier’s desperation leads him to consult Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), who provides him with a mysterious contraption that sends him, and the narrative, into another stratosphere.
Honourable mentions: Unforgiven (film, 1 August), Death in Brunswick (film, 1 August), Midnight Special (film, 4 August), Body Melt (film, 4 August), Alphaville (film, 4 August), The Man Who Fell to Earth (film, 4 August), Absolute Power (film, 6 August), Syriana (film, 8 August), Marcella seasons 1-3 (TV, 9 August), Leonardo da Vinci (TV, 9 August), Little Fires Everywhere (TV, 16 August), Safe Harbor (TV, 21 August), Aguirre: The Wrath of God (film, 22 August), Fatal Crossing (TV, 28 August).
ABC iView
The Family Next Door
TV, Australia, 2025 – out 10 August
This new series from director Emma Freeman is the first ever mystery-drama to be set in an Australian coastal community. Boom-tish! The opposite of course is true: it feels as though we get new additions to this genre every other week. Not all star the excellent Teresa Palmer, however (though one recently did). She plays Isabelle, an “enigmatic stranger” – to quote the official synopsis – who’s central to “a mystery that disrupts the seemingly harmonious beachside community of Pleasant Court”. Yeah, we’ve been here before, but I’ll watch anything from Freeman, whose oeuvre includes Stateless, Love Me, Fake and The Newsreader.
Honourable mentions: Professor T season 1 (TV, 15 August), Stories From Magic Beach (TV, 15 August), In the Heights (film, 22 August), I, Jack Wright (TV, 24 August), Killer Whale: Australia’s Megapod (TV, 26 August).
Amazon Prime Video
Conclave
Film, UK/US, 2024 – out 9 August
Edward Berger’s film about the highly secretive process of electing a new pope was exactly what I was hoping for: a tight, taut, thriller-ish production with a cloak-and-dagger feel. Ralph Fiennes headlines as Cardinal Lawrence, who’s in charge of the electoral process, which involves a large number of cardinals choosing a successor from among various factions and ideological persuasions, from progressive and reformist to staunchly conservative. It’s loaded with juicy twists and turns.
Top End Wedding
Film, Australia, 2019 – out 11 August
The screenplay of Wayne Blair’s romantic comedy is a bit of a dog’s breakfast, awkwardly balancing comedy and drama – though there’s still lots to appreciate, including laugh-out-loud jokes and Miranda Tapsell’s charming lead performance. She plays Lauren, a lawyer who searches for her missing mother in the lead-up to her wedding. As I wrote in my review: “The Tiwi Islands provide a wonderful location and stories involving Indigenous Australians marrying non-Indigenous people have won little consideration in Australian cinema’s 120-odd-year existence.” A TV sequel to the film, Top End Bub, arrives on Prime Video next month.
Honourable mentions: Lord of the Flies (film, 1 August), Licorice Pizza (film, 1 August), The Wolf of Wall Street (film, 4 August), The Pickup (film, 6 August), Butterfly (TV, 13 August), John Wick (film, 20 August), The Terminal List: Dark Wolf (TV, 27 August).
Max
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Film, US, 2025 – out now
I’m a big fan of the Final Destination franchise. The writing can be a bit shonky and the performances not exactly Oscar-worthy, but the core premise – that people who escape their fates are tracked down and killed by Death himself – leads to some unique and perversely creative set-pieces, in which characters are killed off by a combination of elements around them. Bloodlines – the sixth Final Destination movie, and the first in 14 years – takes a playful approach, increasing the stakes and giving its protagonist Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) an ability to “see him coming”. Him being Death.
Honourable mentions: I’m Alan Partridge season 1 and 2 (TV, 1 August), The Hobbit 1-3 (film, 2 August), The Yoghurt Shop Murders (TV, 4 August), Dead Hot (TV, 18 August), Peacemaker season 2 (TV, 22 August), Alma’s Not Normal seasons 1-2 (TV, 25 August).
Binge
Wolf Man
Film, US, 2025 – out 9 August
Leigh Whannell’s remake of 1941’s excellent monster movie The Wolf Man didn’t get a good rap from critics, but I reckon it’s hugely underrated: a sad and deeply contemplative film about the fear of being a bad parent, and the horror of realising you’re part of the problem. These emotions are experienced by Blake (Christopher Abbott), who returns to his childhood home in rural Oregon with his daughter (Matilda Firth) and wife (Julia Garner) after learning that his father has died. He gets bitten by a werewolf and slowly transforms into one, while trying to protect his little girl from another ravenous beast stomping around outside.
Honourable mentions: The Good Doctor seasons 1-7 (TV, 1 August), Emmanuelle (film, 2 August), The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer (TV, 4 August), Gladiator 2 (film, 8 August), The Lord of the Rings 1-3 (film, 9 August), The Brutalist (film, 30 August), The Lost Tiger (film, 30 August).
Disney+
King of the Hill season 14
TV, US, 2025 – out 4 August
The previous season of Mike Judge’s classic animated sitcom aired 15 years ago, and I think it’s fair to say a few things in the world have happened since then. Texan protagonist Hank Hill (Judge) would almost certainly vote Trump; ditto for his redneck pals, maybe even his wife, Peggy, (Kathy Najimy). One of the great things about the show is how genuine, how real the characters feel, and how much you care for them despite their many inadequacies and prejudices.
The 14th season jumps forward in time, ageing the characters by about eight years, though certain things remain the same: Hank of course still sells propane and propane accessories. How will he respond to an ever-changing world, contemplating contemporary initiatives such as all-gendered bathrooms? Not well, I’m guessing.
Honourable mentions: Eyes of Wakanda (TV, 1 August), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (film, 1 August), Leap of Faith (film, 1 August), Reservation Dogs seasons 1-3 (TV, 6 August), Alien: Earth (TV, 13 August), The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox (TV, 20 August), Eenie Meanie (film, 22 August).
Apple TV+
Chief of War
TV, US, 2025 – out now
Jason Momoa’s hands are all over this epic period drama set in 18th and 19th century Hawaii. In addition to starring in the lead role as real-life warrior chief Kaʻiana, he co-created the series, executive produced it and directed the season finale. According to the official synopsis, the story begins “when the four major kingdoms of the Hawaiian Islands were in a state of war” and follows the protagonist as he “joins a bloody campaign” then “rebels against the unification of Hawaiʻi that took place from 1782 to 1810”.
The Guardian’s Phil Harrison described it as a show that’s “steeped in Polynesian cultural practices” but also “full of universal, action-adventure staples”.
Honourable mentions: Stillwater season 4 (TV, 1 August), Platonic season 2 (TV, 6 August), Invasion season 3 (TV, 22 August).
