Netflix
Love is in the Air
Film, Australia, 2023 – out 28 September
Several Australian films have been made about pilots – for instance 1946’s excellent Charles Kingsford Smith biopic, Smithy; the patchy 80s adventure Sky Pirates; and 2013’s atmospheric survival drama Canopy. I can’t recall any about female pilots. That’s set to change with Love is in the Air, starring Deltra Goodrem (in her first film role since 2005’s Hating Alison Ashley) as a seaplane pilot whose company provides essential services to island communities off the coast of far-north Queensland. Cupid’s arrow arrives when a financial auditor comes along and the protagonist, in the words of the official synopsis, “finds herself falling for the man sent to sink her business”. That summary, combined with the film’s cheesy sounding title, suggests something rather sentimental.
Cocaine Bear
Film, US, 2023 – out 24 September
Moving on to something a little less sentimental: an angry, coked-up bear on a murderous rampage! Elizabeth Banks’ well-paced creature feature belongs to the Snakes on a Plane school of film-making, boasting a high concept title intended to be taken literally. This film does what it says on the tin, following a narcotised furry fiend as it unleashes grisly havoc in an American national park. In my favourite scene, the bear not only chases an ambulance but, with its back doors flapping open, jumps right in, much to the displeasure of those inside. Better call the ambu– no, that won’t work.
Honourable mentions: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (film, date TBC), Disenchantment: Part 5 (TV, 1 September), Scream (film, 2 September), Infamy (TV, 6 September), Dear Child (TV, 7 September), Class Act (film, 13 September), Spy Kids Armageddon (film, 22 September), Castlevania: Nocturne (TV, 28 September).
Stan
C*A*U*G*H*T
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 28 September
This offbeat and very dippy comedy revolves around four Australian soldiers (Kick Gurry, Ben O’Toole, Alexander England and Lincoln Younes) sent to a war-ravaged island country, where they’re mistaken for Americans and taken hostage. The first episode makes it clear the series (directed by Kick Gurry) is knowingly idiosyncratic, with weird rhythms and an intentionally disjointed structure. Near the beginning there’s a cameo from executive producer Sean Penn for some reason, who appears on the Today show next to Karl Stefanovic, preparing vegetarian tacos. The jokes can be lewd, the tone slapdash.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Film, US – out 29 September
For me, John C Reilly’s never been funnier than as the titular superstar in Jake Kasdan’s hilarious parody of music biopics. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is one of those films, like Blazing Saddles and the Scary Movie series, that pokes fun at a well-flogged genre, spotlighting its codes and conventions. For example Dewey Cox, like so many musicians in biopics, experiences a traumatic childhood incident that both inspires and haunts him. Here it involves him accidentally slicing his brother in half; said brother, in two pieces, tells him to “be double great – for the both of us”.
Honourable mentions: Cujo (film, 3 September), The Farewell (film, 6 September), Rocketman (film, 8 September), Paddington (film, 15 September), Paddington 2 (film, 15 September), A Quiet Place (film, 15 September), Jane the Virgin: seasons 1-5 (TV, 21 September), Widows (film, 21 September), Pet Sematary (film, 23 September), The Box (film, 25 September), Jack Irish: season three (TV, 28 September).
ABC iview
The Newsreader season two
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 10 September
The first season of The Newsreader vividly captured an Australian TV newsroom during the 1980s. This setting provided narratively justified means to draw on significant media events from that era, such as the release of Lindy Chamberlain from prison and the bombing of the Russell Street police headquarters in Melbourne. Presenters-cum-lovers Helen (Anna Torv) and Dale (Sam Reid) are back, introduced early in the second season as the “golden couple of news”. Events bubbling away in the background include the 1987 federal election and the Hoddle Street mass shootings.
The Whiteley Art Scandal
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 19 September
This is one of those shows that begins with a potted explanation outlining the topic, context and findings, like an abstract for an academic paper. It’s unimaginatively staged, but gets more engaging as it unpacks its interesting subject: a high-profile case of art fraud, involving a couple of fake paintings purported to be by Brett Whiteley. The Whiteley Art Scandal also offers insights into how art is bought and sold, including the kinds of people doing it and the politics and processes involved.
Honourable mentions: The Control Room (TV, 1 September), Makers of Modern Australia (TV, 5 September), Starstruck season three (TV, 6 September), Sherwood season one (TV, 22 September).
SBS on Demand
While the Men are Away
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 27 September
The past can only ever be viewed through the lens of the present. This sassy, spritzy series created by Kim Wilson, Alexandra Burke and Monica Zanetti mines this inevitability for comedic potential, bringing a knowingly contemporary feel to its recreation of 1940s Australia. After her husband is sent to war, Michela De Rossi’s Frankie is left to run their apple farm, enlisting help from various parties including new recruits of the Women’s Land Army. Dripping with sarcasm and self-consciousness, the jokes don’t always land but the show is high-spirited and blithely idiosyncratic.
The Fog
Film, US, 1980 – out 9 September
This handsomely atmospheric early work from the great horror auteur John Carpenter delivers the titular weather element in spades. Crafted with old-timey charm, it begins with a classic framing device: an elderly man from a coastal community recounts a spooky story to children around a campfire. He speaks of shipwrecked sailors killed long ago, whose ghosts will return … on this very night! Most of the runtime is a steady, creeping build up to an eventual explosion of mayhem. When you remember this film you do indeed recall that thick, gluggy, glowing fog.
Honourable mentions: River (TV, 7 September), Arcadia (TV, 7 September), Shiva Baby (film, 9 September), The Box (film, 9 September), Dark Winds season one and two (TV, 14 September), The Change (TV, 18 September), The Prize of Silence (TV, 21 September).
Amazon Prime Video
Till
Film, US, 2022 – out 10 September
Chinonye Chukwu’s drama about the life of activist Mamie Till-Mobley collected not one or two, but three positive reviews from this very masthead. Played by Danielle Deadwyler, Till-Mobley was the mother of teenager Emmett Till, whose brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955 helped spark America’s civil rights movement. After the death of her son, Mamie declares “I want America to bear witness”, triggering what Mark Kermode described as a “stirring mix of courtroom drama, social activism and personal tragedy”.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick
2023 – out 22 September
Personally I think the John Wick movies are overrated, but I suppose I can muster the energy to mention this prequel spin-off series. There’s no Keanu Reeves in it, but thank God we get Mel Gibson – said nobody ever. Gibson plays Cormac, a goon kingpin who manages the titular NYC hotel, which belongs to a chain that provides safe havens for assassins – no killing allowed inside. This villainous character is a mentor to a younger version of Winston Scott (played by Colin Woodell), who was Ian McShane’s character in the John Wick films.
Neighbours: A New Chapter
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 25 September
I’d prefer to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick or run face first into a brick wall then watch the new series of Neighbours. We were so close to having this soap opera dead – only for it to come back like a reanimated corpse, resurrected by Prime Video. Its inclusion here is a grudging recognition that Neighbours is indeed a mainstay of Australian television, thus of interest to many. Of course Ryan Moloney, who plays Toadfish, will return for the revival. But Guy Pearce … what the hell were you thinking?
Honourable mentions: John Wick 1, 2 and 3 (film, 11 September), Sitting in Bars with Cake (film, 8 September), A Million Miles Away (Film, 15 September) Cassandro (film, 22 September), Gen V (TV, 29 April).
Binge
Babylon
Film, US, 2022 – out 8 September
Margot Robbie is something else in this movie – so wild and scenery chewing. She plays insatiable drug fiend Nellie LaRoy, who, despite being a rough-as-guts actor from New Jersey, becomes a Hollywood superstar in the 1920s. In one scene LaRoy attends a fancy soiree and yells “YOU’RE NOT BETTER THAN ME!” at rich, well-dressed people around her before projectile vomiting on to a character inspired by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. And that’s far from the worst body fluids scene in Damien Chazelle’s overlong but sensationally bold period piece. It’s famous – or infamous – for a no holds barred moment involving elephant excrement.
Honourable mentions: 65 (film, 1 September), Knock at the Cabin (film, 3 September), Black Ops (TV, 4 September), The Lovers (TV, 7 September), The Sixth Commandment (TV, 14 September), The Son (film, 15 September), Cocaine Bear (film, 24 September).
Disney+
The Little Mermaid
Film, US, 2023 – out 6 September
I agree with the singing crab Sebastian: Ariel had it much better, down where it’s wetter, under the sea! But of course the iconic mermaid had to pursue the baffling dream of wanting to become human. The latest Disney animated classic to be converted into live action contains many surreal sights, director Rob Marshall’s devotion to a realistic aesthetic creating immersion-breaking visuals. The fish Flounder for instance is kind of freaky, with strange beady little eyes and a curved smiling mouth. The humans fare better – particularly the utterly radiant Halle Bailey, who brings great charm and presence to the titular role.
Honourable mentions: The Jewel Thief (film, 1 September), The Other Black Girl (film, 13 September), Welcome to Wrexham: season two (TV, 13 September).
Apple TV+
The Changeling
TV, 2023 – out 8 September
So far I’ve only seen the first episode of this adaptation of Victor LaValle’s folkloric New York-set novel, but I’m in. It opens with perhaps the least original way to commence a story – the words “once upon a time” – but goes on to carve out a very interesting space, infusing the narrative with tantalisingly magical qualities. Written by creator Kelly Marcel and directed by Melina Matsoukas, the first episode focuses on the romantic union of LaKeith Stanfield’s Apollo and Clark Backo’s Emmy, who have a baby together. Apollo experiences odd dreams relating to his youth, and Emmy encounters a witch who gives her a thread bracelet she says grants her three wishes. Apple is aptly marketing the series as “a fairytale for grownups”.
Honourable mentions: Morning Wars season three (TV, 13 September), Still Up (TV, 22 September), Flora and Son (film, 29 September).
Paramount+
One Night
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 1 September
Shot on the south coast of New South Wales, affording plenty of opportunity for dialogue exchanges performed in front of picturesque settings, this six-part mystery-drama (created and written by Emily Ballou and directed by Catherine Millar) revolves around three old friends whose relationship is rocked by the publishing of a novel outlining a traumatic event that happened many years ago. The author, Simone (Nicole da Silva), did not request permission from Hat (Yael Stone) and Tess (Jodie Whittaker) to write about this event, despite Tess being the victim of a terrible crime. While the lead performances are all strong, the drama feels too neatly calibrated, too staged – at least across the first three episodes. The show might have benefited from a more intensely styled look too.
Sunset Boulevard
Film, US, 1950 – out 1 September
Billy Wilder’s lurid noir features posthumous narration from a protagonist who falls dead in a swimming pool at the start. It’s an amazing film, dripping with style and flair, turbocharged by an unforgettable performance from Gloria Swanson as Norma “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small” Desmond. She’s a faded silent film star, very much over-the-hill but unwilling to accept her career is over. Desmond is also potentially dangerous and slowly losing grip on reality, eventually culminating in one of cinema’s strangest and most famous arrest sequences.
Honourable mentions: Chinatown (Ghost (film, 1 September), Rosemary’s Baby (film, 1 September), The Conversation (film, 1 September), Roman Holiday (film, 1 September), Footloose (film, 1 September), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (film, 1 September), The Untouchables (film, 1 September), Saturday Night Fever (film, 1 September), On The Line: The Richard Williams Story (film, 8 September), Babylon (film, 8 September), The Gold (TV, 14 September), The Son (film, 15 September), Far North (TV, 22 September).
