A limited-series western, birth of ‘SNL’, World War 2 photojournalist, Spanish punk film and dark political thriller
10 January 2025 - 05:00
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Peter Berg directs this limited series starring Kaylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin, which tells a sprawling, multicharacter story of survival and violence in the unforgiving environment of Utah during the early days of the American West. There are Mormon pioneers, Church of the Latter Day Saints intrigue, rugged frontiersmen, embittered Native Americans and an overall desire for freedom, land and revenge, which pits various groups against each other as they fight to claim their piece of the frontier pie. Not always as original as it thinks it is, but still a gritty and authentic entry into a genre that’s found new life.
Saturday Night — rent or buy from Apple TV+
Jason Reitman’s ensemble drama offers plenty for those who are interested in the free-spirited eccentric creatives and comedians who began their rise to fame on Saturday Night Life (SNL). On October 11 1975, SNL creator Lorne Michaels and his team, which included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner and Andy Kaufman, changed the face of late-night American television forever. It has a stellar cast, including Willem Dafoe, Gabriel LaBelle, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt and Dylan O’Brien, and is a tightly directed, high-pressure re-enactment that takes place in the real-time 90 minutes of chaos that preceded the show’s on-air debut.
Lee — rent or buy from Apple TV+
Kate Winslet earned a Golden Globe nomination for her dedicated and rugged turn as pioneering World War 2 photojournalist Lee Miller in Ellen Kuras’ solid biopic of an under-celebrated but remarkable subject. Miller began her professional life as a fashion model before turning her photographic hobby into a powerful tool during the war, where she risked life and limb to bring the horrors of Europe under occupation to the predominantly female American readers of Vogue magazine. It doesn’t reinvent the biopic wheel, but, thanks to Winslet’s strong performance, it manages to pay fitting tribute to Miller, her life, work and legacy.
Pepi, Luci, Bom — Mubi.com
This homemade Spanish punk film from 1980 is directed by Pedro Almodóvar and marked the auteur’s first commercially released entry into the European cinema scene he has come to dominate. It’s an intriguing window into many of the themes and preoccupations that have since gone on to mark his far more polished and critically acclaimed career. Almodóvar’s enduring interest in the themes of identity, sexuality and the power of art to change life are all evident in a film, which may be the most chaotic, punk-fuelled and exuberant expression of the director’s dark humour and impish satire.
The Manchurian Candidate — Prime Video
More than six decades since its release, John Frankenheimer’s dark, paranoid political thriller is even more prescient than it was in the tumultuous 1960s. Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and a memorably fiendish Angela Lansbury, it’s the story of a Korean War hero, who is not the man those around him believe him to be. He has a mission to fulfil that will bring down everything and everyone around him if he’s not stopped in time.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Five things to watch this week
A limited-series western, birth of ‘SNL’, World War 2 photojournalist, Spanish punk film and dark political thriller
American Primeval — Netflix
Peter Berg directs this limited series starring Kaylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin, which tells a sprawling, multicharacter story of survival and violence in the unforgiving environment of Utah during the early days of the American West. There are Mormon pioneers, Church of the Latter Day Saints intrigue, rugged frontiersmen, embittered Native Americans and an overall desire for freedom, land and revenge, which pits various groups against each other as they fight to claim their piece of the frontier pie. Not always as original as it thinks it is, but still a gritty and authentic entry into a genre that’s found new life.
Saturday Night — rent or buy from Apple TV+
Jason Reitman’s ensemble drama offers plenty for those who are interested in the free-spirited eccentric creatives and comedians who began their rise to fame on Saturday Night Life (SNL). On October 11 1975, SNL creator Lorne Michaels and his team, which included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner and Andy Kaufman, changed the face of late-night American television forever. It has a stellar cast, including Willem Dafoe, Gabriel LaBelle, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt and Dylan O’Brien, and is a tightly directed, high-pressure re-enactment that takes place in the real-time 90 minutes of chaos that preceded the show’s on-air debut.
Lee — rent or buy from Apple TV+
Kate Winslet earned a Golden Globe nomination for her dedicated and rugged turn as pioneering World War 2 photojournalist Lee Miller in Ellen Kuras’ solid biopic of an under-celebrated but remarkable subject. Miller began her professional life as a fashion model before turning her photographic hobby into a powerful tool during the war, where she risked life and limb to bring the horrors of Europe under occupation to the predominantly female American readers of Vogue magazine. It doesn’t reinvent the biopic wheel, but, thanks to Winslet’s strong performance, it manages to pay fitting tribute to Miller, her life, work and legacy.
Pepi, Luci, Bom — Mubi.com
This homemade Spanish punk film from 1980 is directed by Pedro Almodóvar and marked the auteur’s first commercially released entry into the European cinema scene he has come to dominate. It’s an intriguing window into many of the themes and preoccupations that have since gone on to mark his far more polished and critically acclaimed career. Almodóvar’s enduring interest in the themes of identity, sexuality and the power of art to change life are all evident in a film, which may be the most chaotic, punk-fuelled and exuberant expression of the director’s dark humour and impish satire.
The Manchurian Candidate — Prime Video
More than six decades since its release, John Frankenheimer’s dark, paranoid political thriller is even more prescient than it was in the tumultuous 1960s. Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and a memorably fiendish Angela Lansbury, it’s the story of a Korean War hero, who is not the man those around him believe him to be. He has a mission to fulfil that will bring down everything and everyone around him if he’s not stopped in time.
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