It’s time to savour things and set routines. While it’s always tempting to binge a compelling new series, sometimes it is even more satisfying to savour it and make it last.
Lockdown can be a great opportunity to let yourself become really immersed in a story world, take time to pick up on the nuanced clues planted in a mystery plot or truly notice how characters develop and grow in a drama. This month’s streaming guide is full of shows that are worth savouring, re-watching and sharing.
TVNZ onDemand
One Lane Bridge (Season 2)
This is a gripping well written mystery series that will keep you guessing. It’s filled with excellent performances by local talent and leverages it’s delicious Queenstown backdrop really well. The blend of supernatural themes within the accessible supernatural police procedural genre gives this show wide appeal.
One to savour.
4 stars
The Panthers
The message, the music, the history, a travesty on Ponsonby’s door step, this is a must view series; the most horrific aspect of it is that it has taken until 2021 for the nation to acknowledge its crime. The soundtrack is epic just like the Panther heroes who endured the dawn raids era.
One to watch and re-watch.
4.5 stars
AMAZON PRIME
Val
In this raw and incredibly honest self-portrait Val Kilmer gives the audience a window into the soul of an actor who truly believes in the art of his craft and continues to evolve despite adversity.
The richness of this doco comes from thousands of hours of home video footage captured by Val Kilmer over almost 40 years in Hollywood. Combined with frank ‘take-no-prisoners narration' (voiced by his son) this self-captured footage offers a truly unique insight into the rise and fall of one of Hollywood's often misconceived actors.
From priceless behind the scene moments before Val and his contemporaries, like Kevin Bacon and Tom Cruise, became stars to the stark reality of having to make a living by attending fan events for the role that was among his least favourite. This is a story that asks you to see the human behind the mask.
One to watch and re-watch.
4.5 stars
Cinderella
A cross between Teen Beach Movie and Moulin Rouge with just a dash of Glee, this will delight your 6 year old and have your teens singing along despite themselves. It’s a reinvention of the classic Cinderella story that shows our fairytale heroine at her most ‘active’. Ella chooses her own dreams and shapes her own destiny in this narrative. Sure, she’s still beautiful, kind, and talented but in this highly entertaining musical version she is far more feminist than her predecessors.
It’s fun, colourful and packed with great singing talent with just enough irreverent humour to stop it being too saccharine.
One for the whole family to watch together and sing-a-along.
4 stars
Netflix
Dark (Season 1)
This supernatural suspense thriller creates the kind of tension that makes you want to close your eyes and turn away; but you can’t.
Moody, dark and steeped in complex mystery, this clever thriller set in a small German village has been described by critics as a cross between Lost and Stranger Things. It is refreshingly paced, giving moments of tension time to breathe as well as time to reflect on the action and read the subtitles without missing any of the clues.
We dare you to watch this one slowly alone.
4 stars
Virgin River (Season 2)
This comfy slipper style soap opera drama series returns for another season. Seemingly untouched by Covid-19, Virgin River is full of people with normally ordinary problems in the picturesque town of Virgin River.
Of course central to the story is the pending romance between Mel and Jack (played by New Zealand’s own Martin Henderson) which evolves against the rise and fall of a range of other Virgin River love stories that run the full age spectrum from teens to the 70+. Love and romance has no age limit in Virgin River.
Watch after hard day of online school and endless Zoom meetings.
3.5 stars
Fantastic Fungi
Full of stunning footage and interesting facts about the role of fungi and the magic of mushrooms in our modern world, this is an interesting yet curious doco. It covers everything from the vast range of fungi species and their incredible ability to adapt to ideas about how the fungi have an intelligence that could be instrumental in saving the world.
Packed with beautiful imagery and peppered with useful information and different perspectives, this is a journey into a world beyond the magic mushroom.
Watch and rewatch - ’edutainment'.
3.5 stars
Published 3 September 2021