Netflix
Jupiter’s Legacy
TV, US, 2021 – out 7 May
Just when you think the superhero genre has been flogged to death, every modicum of originality extinguished by umpteen-million variations on the same concept, a production comes along that makes you think: hmm, yeah, I’ll watch that. The twist in Jupiter’s Legacy is that the superheroes are old codgers who received their powers in the 1930s and must adapt to a changing world. An ageing hero is largely what made Frank Miller’s classic graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns so interesting: long since retired, Batman returns Rocky Balboa style as a much older man – but every punch hurts, and the ol’ knees ain’t what they used to be.
Unfortunately in the case of Jupiter’s Legacy (adapted from a comic book series of the same name) there are youngsters too: a “new guard” trained by the veterans, presumably to combat some new albeit narratively regurgitated threat against humankind.
Army of the Dead
Film, US, 2021 – out 21 May
Talking about genres that keep replenishing themselves: zombies! Ever since George Romero pioneered the modern zombie story in the late 60s, the genre has stuck to the public consciousness like wet innards to a blanket. The title of director Zack Snyder’s latest work hat-tips Romero’s Living Dead franchise, and arrives with a genre-bending twist, merging zombie movie and heist thriller.
Similar to the way thieves took advantage of a hurricane in the straightforwardly titled but criminally underrated 2018 action-thriller The Hurricane Heist, a group of former soldiers (led by Dave Bautista) intend to capitalise on a zombie outbreak, targeting a vault in a casino.
Honourable mentions: And Tomorrow the Entire World (film, 6 May), Dance of the Forty One (film, 12 May), Puberty Blues (film, 12 May), The Woman in the Window (film, 14 May), Love, Death & Robots: Volume 2 (TV, 14 May), Pitch Perfect 2 (film, 16 May), Black Space (TV, 27 May), Master of None season 3 (TV, undated), Halston (TV, undated)
Stan
I Am Greta
Film, Sweden/UK/US/Germany, 2020 – out 1 May
Nathan Grossman’s documentary about climate activist Greta Thunberg is – along with Thunberg’s life more generally – a testament to the great, inspiring words of the anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
The film charts Thunberg’s meteoric rise from a solo protester, sitting by herself outside the Swedish parliament building, to the world’s most famous climate activist, inspiring countless youth to fight for climate justice. Its purpose isn’t to “convert” anybody but to provide a fuller perspective with which to view Thunberg’s life, showing many scenes for instance with her father, Svante, and moments in which she reflects on having Asperger’s.
Senna
Film, UK/France, 2010 – out 14 May
You don’t need to be interested in motor racing (I’m certainly not) to be completely compelled by director Asif Kapadia’s portrait of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, who died after crashing a car at a grand prix in 1994. Kapadia modernised the documentary format by removing all kinds of commentary – such as voice-over narration and talking heads – and relying entirely on pre-existing materials including news reports, home movies and other video recordings.
This approach is thoroughly suited to an era in which so much is recorded – particularly when it comes to celebrities – and even puts forward its own theoretical perspective: film as an editing-driven art of assemblage. Productions inspired by this approach include the electrifying Adam Goodes documentary The Final Quarter.
Honourable mentions: Where the Wild Things Are (film, 1 May), Bloods season 1 (TV, 6 May), Belushi (film, 6 May), High Flyers season 1 (TV, 6 May), Girls5Eva (TV, 7 May), Whitney (film, 12 May), Kiss or Kill (film, 17 May), You Cannot Kill David Arquette (film, 29 May), Venus and Serena (film, 29 May)
ABC iView
Art Works
TV, Australia, 2021 – out 5 May
Any new arts program is thoroughly welcome: the era of David and Margaret feels very distant these days, and memories of the more recent Good Game are receding fast. But how do you make a good one? Any review program competes with a zillion other, more specialised shows on YouTube, and “behind the scenes” programs featuring chit-chat with artists (who invariably believe their work represents the most significant statement in the history of humankind) are also a dime a dozen. This weekly half-hour program will be hosted by Namila Benson, the presenter of Radio National’s The Art Show.
Honourable mentions: Would I Lie to You season 11 (TV, 5 May) Smother (TV, 9 May), The Durrells season 2 (TV, 15 May), The Leadership (film, 16 May), Love on the Spectrum season 2 (TV, 18 May), Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell (TV, 26 May)
SBS on Demand
See What You Made Me Do
TV, Australia, 2021 – out 5 May
Walkley-award winning investigative journalist Jess Hill is a highly engaging screen presence with a great knack for unpacking complex issues. Inspired by her prize-winning book of the same name, this three-part series explores the epidemic of domestic abuse in Australia, making the point early on that women are most at risk not when walking home at night but when they’re in their own home.
So far I’ve watched the first episode, which is confronting but critical viewing: very compelling, alarming, sometimes outright shocking. The subjects, whose bravery is commendable, make it clear the kind of abuse examined in this series can happen to any woman.
A Lion Returns
Film, Australia, 2020 – out 1 May
This Sydney-set family drama about a radicalised man, Jamal (Tyler De Nawi), returning home to visit his dying mother after joining Islamic State deserves a wider audience; it didn’t make much of a splash when it opened last year. Writer/director Serhat Caradee’s script configures long, tense conversations between the protagonist and his family, who understandably have strong feelings about the person he has become. Very well acted and directed with minimalism, it has a filmed play vibe – but not in a bad way.
Honourable mentions: The Eight Hundred (film, 1 May) Wiener-Dog (film, 1 May), Zero Dark Thirty (film, 1 May), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film, 11 May), The Motorcycle Diaries (film, 12 May), Shrill season 3 (TV, 7 May), La Vie En Rose (film, 18 May) Bugsy Malone (film, 18 May), Hard (TV, 20 May), Antidisturbios (TV, 20 May), Creamerie (TV, 25 May), Bloodlands season 1 (TV, 26 May), Hunt for a Killer (TV, 27 May), The Sandhamn Murders seasons 1-5 (TV, 27 May), QAnon: the Search for Q (TV, 30 May)
Binge
David Byrne’s American Utopia
Film, US, 2020 – out 14 May
As in all filmed theatre productions, there are two kinds of choreography at work in David Byrne’s American Utopia: the choreography of the stage and the choreography of the camera. Both are exceptional in this Spike Lee-directed production, which manages the difficult task of fusing cinematic and stage language, and was one of the most sheerly enjoyable films released last year.
The legendary singer-songwriter was the central figure in one of the greatest ever concert movies: 1984’s Stop Making Sense, in which he famously wore an oversized white suit and performed on an increasingly crowded stage. In his new Broadway show-cum-film, Byrne has still very much “got it”. The songs are great and his dance moves simple but somewhat irresistible. Everything comes together beautifully.
Blade Runner 2049
Film, US, 2017 – out 21 May
Creating a sequel that does justice to the original Blade Runner – Ridley Scott’s highly influential chef-d’oeuvre – must have been one monumentality intimidating task. But Denis Villeneuve shows nothing but bravado on screen: his return to this rain-clogged world, with Ryan Gosling playing another handsome replicant killer, is a magnificent work based in a future that (like the one in the original) feels eerily plausible.
Gargantuan holographic advertisements perform on loop in neon-lit streets, and an entirely AI girlfriend raises the kinds of serious ethical questions we can expect more of. This fascinating, bleak, climate-devastated Baudrillardian world is nothing if not dystopian. The film should be interpreted as a clarion call to fight for a better future.
Honourable mentions: Unpregnant (film, 1 May), Young Rock (TV, 2 May), The Lego Movie (film, 2 May), The Great North (TV, 3 May), Life season 1 (TV, 14 May), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film, 15 May)
Amazon Prime Video
The Underground Railroad
TV, US, 2021 – out 14 May
There are cinematic looking productions, then there are productions so eye-watering they spill over into the realm of the painterly. Such is the case with the latest project from Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk director Barry Jenkins who, adapting Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, tells the story of two slaves (Thuso Mbedu and Aaron Pierre) in a Georgia plantation planning an escape through the titular subterranean rail network. Expect hard-hitting drama and brilliantly sculpted shots.
Movie 43
Film, US, 2013 – out 3 May
I’m more than accustomed to giving bad films a right royal thumping from time to time, however it’s important to go into any viewing experience with an open mind – even if it is a movie featuring Hugh Jackman with testicles dangling from his chin. This is the most famous – or notorious – moment in the much-maligned anthology comedy Movie 43, which contains 14 chapters helmed by 13 directors, stacked with an amazing cast including Jackman, Kate Winslet, Richard Gere, Gerard Butler, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, Uma Thurman and Emma Stone.
The film uses irreverent and gross-out humour to pry open a range of Twilight Zone-ish and Black Mirror-esque scenarios. One of the best, Rusty Cundieff’s “Victory’s Glory”, uses a basketball game to comment on how achievements of white people are often pumped up in society while the achievements of black people are simultaneously downplayed. When the film arrived in 2013, I unintentionally became one of the only critics in the world to defend it; I am, to be honest, a little nervous to watch it again.
Honourable mentions: Never Too Late (film, 1 May) Fat Pizza (film, 10 May), Solos (TV, 14 May), Horizon Line (TV, 14 May), Million Dollar Baby (film, 17 May), Pink: All I know So Far (film, 21 May), Panic (TV, 28 May)
Disney+
Cruella
Film, US, 2021 – out 28 May
I can’t remember the last time – in fact any time – I saw the character design for a live action Disney movie and thought: that looks impressive! It’s a surprise, then, that Emma Stone’s new version of the dog-thieving titular fashionista looks so striking, given the costume designer for Cruella is Australian Jenny Beavan, who was the costume designer for Mad Max: Fury Road.
Directed by fellow Australian Craig Gillespie (who helmed the terrific I, Tonya), Cruella is an origins story based before the character became a ghastly villain obsessed with Dalmatian fur jackets. The beginning of the latest trailer shows her mopping floors; by the end she is busting up soirees in a fancy red gown, whacking people with a black cane and engaging in high-speed chases. Want. To. Watch. Now.
Honourable mentions: High Fidelity season 1 (TV, 7 May), High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season two (TV, 14 May), Bruce Almighty (film, 21 May), Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K (TV, 21 May), The Full Monty (film, 28 May).
