We are spoilt for choice when it comes to the variety of streaming platforms and the range of content we have at our fingertips.
Recently Whakaata Maori (Maori Television) released MaORI+, a free, streaming service with nearly 2000 hours of content commissioned or curated especially for local audiences. It supports Chromecast and Airplay and can be easily added to most Smart TV’s, meaning you can take your favourite content anywhere and share it with friends and whanau.
Netflix
Black Lightning
Cres Williams is a compelling superhero wrangling with the injustice and devastation of a black community dominated by gang culture; or is it?
Season 1 is a roller coaster ride through the reality of a community oppressed by crime and drugs to the point of hopelessness. Many feel their only hope for salvation is a vigilante meta-human super hero (Black Lightning) who disappeared from sight a decade ago.
As tensions in Freeland, Georgia, ramp up, Black Lightning reluctantly returns only to discover a more insidious source to the communities woes and his continued criminalisation by authorities.
The diverse female supporting characters emerge as the real superheroes of this series. The authentic urban storyworld and very contemporary nature of the social political backdrop it creates elevates Black Lightning above the typical formula for this genre giving the viewing experience a bit of a jolt.
3.5 stars
TVNZ
Science on Ice
From start to finish, Sonny Ngata, host of this incredible docuseries draws you in to the Antarctica experience and a world of science on ice. Young and old will be taken on a fascinating journey into the coldest and windiest place on earth.
From singing seals and penguins to waste management and historic huts, Sonny has a wonderful way of describing what he is feeling and seeing, making it feel like you are there with him.
There are so many facts, features and fascinating phenomena to discover in Antarctica that these are truly fully packed episodes. It is a whirlwind adventure that is over too soon and leaves you wanting to know and experience more.
4.5 stars
Amazon Prime
The Pursuit of Love
Sexy, period, costume dramas continue to have allure and deliver; this captivating mini series just released on Amazon is an easy binge. Over three episodes, strong fascinating female characters present a pre-war coming of age story that will appeal to the 17 year old optimist in all of us, especially those that are hopeless romantics at heart.
YOLO - you only live once - may be the catch cry of contemporary teenage girls, but the concept is one that has motivated generations of women who are not content to follow a formula dictated to them by others.
While many have compared The Pursuit of Love to other popular steamy historical costume dramas like Bridgerton and The Great (which really is great), The Pursuit of Love is less sexually charged and more thoughtfully provoking.
Fanny and Linda are aristocratic English cousins and best friends with divergent personalities and an almost unbreakable bond. It is their intertwined character arcs, not the plot or lavish sets - though the costuming is fantastic - that drive this story forward.
Perhaps the most scandalous thing revealed by The Pursuit of Love is that no matter what epoch of time you examine, women are consistently told by society how to dress, think and behave as sexual beings in a way men never are.
4 stars
Maori+ App
Ake Ake Ake
This three part documentary evokes a powerful emotional response as it recounts the confronting and often devastating events that led to the most recent Ihumatao occupation. It’s a series that illustrates just how well placed MaORI+ (the streaming app from Whakaata Maori - Maori Television) is to become a media game changer for local stories that matter.
Ambitious, innovative and compelling, Ake Ake Ake is an example of the commitment by our Maori broadcaster to not only entertain, but to bring important stories to the fore.
Ake Ake Ake is must see cinematic storytelling with visually compelling cinematography that unpacks some of the more complex nuances around the fight to save Ihumatao.
Understanding the occupation of Ihum-atao through the eyes of six cousins who recount their experience and retell the stories of their whenua provides a unique insight and appreciation of a struggle that for many seems never ending.
All three episodes of Ake Ake Ake are now available on MaORI+ (which supports both Chromecast and Airplay) along with almost 2000 hours of great content.
4.5 stars
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Published 6 August 2021