This week in the Watchlist the Rock has a couple of cool criminals to deal with on Netflix, there’s a hard-hitting drug drama over at Disney Plus, a hidden gem of a whodunit and much more. It’s that time again people, welcome to The Weekend Watchlist.
“I drink your milkshake” – There Will be Blood
New Movie
Red Notice (Netflix)
Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds are two of the most charismatic, not to mention bankable Hollywood stars going, so Netflix will be expecting plenty of acclaim from this big budget ($200m) adventure-thriller.
Johnson plays the FBI’s top profiler on the trail of Reynolds’ art thief Nolan Booth. Rocky quickly finds himself framed by criminal mastermind Bishop (Gal Godot), over the heist of some priceless golden eggs once owned by Cleopatra and is tossed into a maximum-security Russian prison along with Booth. The dynamic duo are forced to team up to break out of the slammer and stop Bishop from getting her hands on the two remaining eggs.
The whole thing looks great on paper, but in reality feels a little by the numbers, added to that this isn’t the Rock’s finest hour. Saying that it’s not all doom and gloom, Red Notice whips along at pace and packs in enough globetrotting to make us feel like we’ve actually had a holiday this year.
Stream It
Dopesick (Disney +)
This eight-episode series over on Disney Plus puts a steely focus on the opioid crisis that has destroyed countless American lives. The show tracks the rise and fall of Purdue Pharma who developed Oxycontin, looking at different lives that were affected in different ways, from Michael Keaton’s doctor, who goes from prescriber to pill addict, to drug reps like Will Poulter’s Billy Cutler, who helped push the drug on a trusting public.
It’s a fairly harrowing watch at times, yet to some degree essential viewing, displaying the at times reckless abandon shown by the big pharma industry. Steam it on Disney Plus from today.
Did You Know?
O.J. Simpson was very nearly cast as the Terminator in James Cameron’s 1984 film. The film’s funders Orion Pictures had earmarked the former American Football star to play the part, but director Cameron objected to Simpson playing the role of bad guy because he felt the ex-football player was “too nice,” so wouldn’t be believable as a killing machine like the T-800. We’re not saying a word.
Hidden Gem
Drowning Mona (2000)
This underrated Danny DeVito comedy is currently getting a much deserved second life on Amazon Prime. It centres around the suspicious death of Mona (Bette Midler) after her sabotaged car goes off a cliff. DeVito plays the small town cop trying to solve the puzzle of whodunit, with many of the local figures, from her wayward hubby to disgruntled son, all having plenty of motives to bump off the abrasive Mona. It’s a black comedy with a heart of gold and a fascinating look at oddball characters living out small town lives. Stream it for free on Amazon Prime.
New Trailer
The Book of Boba Fett
Star Wars fans have been salivating over this long-awaited series that sees the infamous bounty hunter take centre stage. Here Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) starts his own crime syndicate with assassin Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) on the desert world of Tatooine, staking their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt. The Book of Boba Fett comes to Disney Plus on December 29th.
Quick Question Answer: Last week we asked you what was the highest grossing movie of the 1980s? It was in fact the 1982 Spielberg classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which took a cool $792,962,972 at the box office worldwide.
This week we’d like to know who’s the only actor to receive an Oscar nomination for acting in a Lord of the Rings movie? We’ll give you the answer in next week’s Weekend Watchlist.
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