With so many shows and movies to choose from on Australia's major streaming services, it can often be difficult to find the best new stuff to entertain yourself with each end of week, and which stuff to avoid.
In an effort to make things easier, we've singled-out the most high profile new shows and movies on Aussie streaming platforms this weekend, covering the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus, Binge, Foxtel Now, Stan, Apple TV Plus and Amazon Prime video. Our goal is to give you the low-down on what to watch and what to skip.
Below, you'll find a list of new streaming highlights, with TV shows sitting alongside some note-worthy movie arrivals. Of course, not everything will be worth your time, so we've taken the liberty of giving each entry a 'stream' or 'skip' grade.
The week brings some hitters to Australia's streaming scene, including more episodes of Ms. Marvel and The Boys, Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller's psychological thriller Spiderhead on Netflix, a reboot of Father of the Bride on Binge, the series finale of The Offer on Paramount Plus, and season 3 of Love, Victor on Stan. Here are our streaming picks for the weekend of June 17-19, 2022.
Spiderhead
(Movie – available 17/6/2022)
Riding high off their success with Top Gun: Maverick, which is now the highest grossing movie of the year, director Joseph Kosinski and star Miles Teller team up for a third time with Spiderhead, a smaller, weirder film shot in Australia during lockdown. Set in the near future, Spiderhead sees Teller play a convict who volunteers to be the subject of emotion-controlling drug tests as a way to shorten his prison sentence. Chris Hemsworth plays the man in charge of the program, and he doesn't seem to hold the health and safety of his subjects as a high priority...
Verdict: STREAM
The Boys (season 3)
(TV series – episode 5 available 17/6/2022)
The Boys third season marches on this weekend, with Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and the gang continuing their fight against the unchecked power of 'supes' like Homelander (Antony Starr). Unfortunately for them, Homelander has lost his freakin' mind since we last saw him, and now Billy must take on temporary super powers in order to level the playing field. In the last episode, Homelander cottoned on to a plan to stop him, and now Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is left to suffer the consequences.
Verdict: STREAM
Stream The Boys on Amazon Prime Video
Father of the Bride
(Movie – available now)
Andy Garcia (Ocean's Eleven) might be a surprising choice to fill the shoes of funnyman Steve Martin in a Father of the Bride reboot, but that might be the best way to approach such a movie. In this updated version, we get a look at how the father of a large Cuban American family might handle his daughter's upcoming wedding.
Verdict: STREAM
Stream Father of the Bride on Binge
Cha Cha Real Smooth
(Movie – available 17/6/2022)
The always lovely Dakota Johnson stars in this romantic dramedy about an aimless Bar Mitzvah party host and motivational dancer (Cooper Raiff, who also writes and directs) who strikes up a friendship with a mother (Johnson) and her autistic daughter (Vanessa Burghardt). Looks cha-cha-charming.
Verdict: STREAM
Stream Cha Cha Real Smooth on Apple TV Plus
Halftime
(Documentary – available now)
Jennifer Lopez, also known as J.Lo, knows what J.Lo deserves, and J.Lo will do anything J.Lo can to make sure J.Lo reaches her goals, whether it be as a superstar performer or as a prominent Latina and mother. To be candid, this writer didn't make it through the whole trailer for Netflix's J.Lo documentary Halftime – all of these star-driven music docos just seem so insufferably self-centred and borderline narcissistic, but hey, if you like that kind of thing, you'll love this.
Verdict: J.LO MEGAFANS ONLY
Ms. Marvel
(TV series – episode 2 available now)
What happens when superhero-obsessed teen Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) starts to become one of the very heroes she so admires? That's the premise of Marvel Studios' latest original series, Ms. Marvel. Of course, it won't be an easy road for this Jersey City fangirl – feeling like an outsider at school and even at home on occasion, Kamala will have to find a way to take charge of her own destiny. After an excellent opener, episode 2 of Ms. Marvel wonderfully delves into her culture and community, while also exploring her mysterious lineage.
Verdict: STREAM
Stream Ms. Marvel on Disney Plus
Love, Victor (season 3)
(TV series – season 3 available now)
The Love, Simon spin-off series Love, Victor has arrived on Disney Plus for its third and final season this week, kicking off with Victor (Michael Cimino, not to be confused with the director of The Deer Hunter) finally making his decision between Benji (George Sear) and Rahim (Anthony Kayvan). Of course, we imagine that decision will lead to some kind of fallout.
Verdict: STREAM
Stream Love, Victor on Disney Plus
Players
(TV series – available 17/6/2022)
Players is a new mockumentary series from the makers of Netflix's American Vandal which playfully skewers eSports. It follows a League of Legends team that's looking to win its first championship in years. But can they get a handle on their veteran player Creamcheese (Misha Brooks) following the arrival of new prodigy, Organizm (Da'Jour Jones)? While the show isn't laugh-out-loud funny in the traditional sense, those familiar with the eSports scene will find plenty of humour in Players.
Verdict: STREAM
Stream Players on Paramount Plus
The Offer (series finale)
(TV series – series finale available 17/6/2022)
It's well known by cinema buffs that the making of the classic film The Godfather was fraught with behind-the-scenes drama. In fact, it got so bad that the film was almost never made. Now, the Paramount Plus-exclusive series The Offer gives us an inside (and somewhat exaggerated) look at the making of this incredible movie. Forget what the critics are saying – audiences love The Offer and for good(e) reason – Matthew Goode (Watchmen) absolutely kills it in his portrayal as Paramount studio head Bob Evans, and Miles Teller continues his winning streak in the lead role of Godfather producer Al Ruddy. Catch the series finale this weekend, only on Paramount Plus.
VERDICT: STREAM
