Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sizzlin' Summer Streaming 24' - Population 11 - Season One

As we head into Easter, here is a little Aussie comedy to pop on this chocolate filled long weekend, Population 11.

Streaming now on Stan. The 12 part dark comedy landed mid this month.

It's inspired by the 2017 disappearance of Paddy Moriarty in the Northern Territory.

Centring around Andy Pruden (Ben Feldman) attempting to solve the disappearance of his estranged father from a small town in the Australian outback home to only a dozen residents, who all end up as suspects.

Following Prosper, this is the second series to be co-commissioned by Stan and Lionsgate. Population 11 was filmed entirely in the Kimberley in Western Australia. It honestly looks beautiful across the 12 half hour (or so) episodes.

Yes finally a half hour series to land on streamer Stan. This is the first Stan original to be filmed in Western Australia.

So alongside Ben Feldman as Andy Pruden (a suburban bank teller from Ohio) it's an all-star Aussie cast. With Perry Mooney as Cassie, Wentworth's Boomer AKA, Katrina Milosevic as Sgt. Geraldine Walters, Darren Gilshenan as Hugo Drivas, Andy's missing father, the super hot! Chai Hansen as Gareth Biggins with Stephen Curry as Noel Pinkus, Genevieve Lemon as Valerie Hogarth along with a killer support cast!


Population 11 may not be the best thing to stream on Stan, however it has a lot of heart. It's a lot of fun, with some very coarse language along the way!

In an era of so much content, it's hard to stand out in a crowded pack, however this is super Aussie, a bit of light fun, so from me to you, if you to chill out this long weekend, pop this on.

Happy Easter folks!

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Post Strike Cinema 24' - Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two is (so far) the highest-grossing film of 2024!

The sequel to 2021's Dune, it is the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Dune: Part Two was originally scheduled for a November 2023, however was delayed by the 2023 Hollywood strikes. 

Principal photography took place in Budapest, Italy, Jordan and Abu Dhabi July-December 2022. So the special effects took a fair whack of time, for the film to finally land last month in Australia.

Most of the first part stars are back. Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Souheila Yacoub all star in this BIG ass budget film!

This film is completely visually spectacular! The film however was overly long, with no real conclusion after two long parts. Except that a third film Dune Messiah, is set to finish the tradegy.

I also thought HBO Max were developing a TV series too. But what is the basic, one liner for the plot?

It follows Paul Atreides as he unites with the Fremen people of the desert planet Arrakis to wage war against House Harkonnen. 

Look I love me some versatile Zendaya, particularly now we have a longer wait for the third season of Euphoria. But Timothée Chalamet I don't get the hype.


Overall this was a big change in gears from all the recent horror films I have seen below/recently.

Next up more big blockbusters. There is another Ghostbusters film along with a King Kong/Godzilla mash up. Oh dear, summer in the USA is clearly coming.

Dune: Part Two scores 3 stars. Visually sensational, run time, insanely too long!

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Sizzlin' Summer Streaming 24' - Expats - Miniseries

Expats is brilliant! Straight up. There has been a lot of shit in Q1 TV. Sizzlin' Summer Streaming 24' won't be my strongest TV list once I post the results on the other side of Easter.

Expats is a miniseries directed by Lulu Wang, based on the 2016 novel The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee. 

Landing on Amazon on Invasion Day 2024, then with episodes weekly until mid-February. Again whilst I was away living my best life in Vietnam.

Expats follows the vibrant lives of a close-knit expatriate community: where affluence is celebrated, friendships are intense but knowingly temporary, and personal lives, deaths and marriages are played out publicly—then retold with glee.

Set in Hong Kong, the plot orbits the abrupt disappearance of Margaret's (Nicole Kidman) youngest son during a nighttime market excursion. 

The convergence of three American women, their clandestine affairs, amorous entanglements, and deceit unfurls against the backdrop of the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests in Hong Kong.

Margaret grapples with an overwhelming sense of culpability and desolation, while her companion, Hilary (Sarayu Blue), maneuvers through the intricacies of a disintegrating marriage. At the same time, chance acquaintance and young Columbia graduate Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) descends into a series of self-destructive choices.


While Nicole Kidman is the leading lady on all the artwork. It has to be said, Sarayu Blue as Hilary Starr, (whose birth name is Harpreet Singh) is truly fabulous. Not only does she look a million bucks in every outfit, her character is so real.

Brain Tee is excellent as Kidman's husband Clarke, while Ji-young Yoo as Mercy Cho is also brilliant!

Amazon have done well with this miniseries. Brilliant TV. If you need something to watch this Easter, make sure you fire up Amazon Prime for some Expats.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Post Strike Cinema 24' - Immaculate

Immaculate is my third horror film in a row. Yes 2024 is surely the year of horror films.

Directed by Michael Mohan, the film stars Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte (Money Heist), Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, and Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus). 

The film follows a young woman of devout faith, who is invited to reside at a picture-perfect Italian convent, but slowly realizes that the convent harbours terrifying secrets.

Immaculate is a full on assault of jump scares, horrific images, along with scary AF nuns and priests.

Not at all for the faint heart is Immaculate. That said it is the best of all three of the horror films I have taken in, in the past few weeks.

With Easter incoming, this is not for the church following. There are some deeply disturbing images, themes throughout the film. I did watch a lot of the film through my t-shirt.

Sydney Sweeney is actually excellent in this changing of gears from excellent rom-com Anyone But You.

With fear in her eyes from early on in this less than 1.5 hour film, Sweeney excels at a terrified young nun from Detroit way out of her league in Italy.

This was at times a tough watch, but a refreshing horror film after the recent tired supernatural run of the mill films.

Immaculate is rough AF, but worthy of 3 shook to the core stars.