The Chi has finally had part 2 of the sixth series land in Australia, on Disney+. This second batch of eight episodes landed back on Showtime in May last year.
I have been eager to conclude the solid sixth season for months now. The longest of all The Chi seasons. Consisting of 16 episodes split into two parts. This was largely due to the Hollywood labour strikes. With Part 1 commending August, 2023, and part 2 the following May. Concluding late last June.
So it had been a long wait for me to check in with my favourite Emmett, and his wild ride with multiple kids to multiple baby mommas. Emmett and Kiesha underpinned a lot the final eight (short) episodes. Taking the spotlight off the crime on the Chicago streets, bringing it back to real life family struggles.
Back in May last year, the newly named Paramount+ With Showtime renewed the series for a seventh season. Production warped early October 2024, so here is hoping like previous seasons we will get it June-August like previous seasons.
Warning: This post contains spoilers from Season 6 finale from here on in....
The South Side of Chicago just got a little less populated. With the exit of three cast members, via two deaths and a long-time-coming departure from the city.
When we saw the credits rolling, two characters — Curtiss Cook‘s Otis “Douda” Perry and Iman Shumpert’s Rob — were dead, and one — Tyla Abercrumbie’s Nina — had said goodbye to friends and family and moved out of town with girlfriend LaPorsha.
Both murders were related. After a season-long battle for power between Douda and Alicia (played by Lynn Whitfield, being promoted to series seven regular this year), the former mayor/crime kingpin was taken out instead by Nuck (Cortez Smith), his former henchman.
And when Nuck announced to Douda’s staff that he was the new boss in town, Rob refused to fall in line. So Nuck shot him several times as he was walking away, then dumped his body on the steps of his mother’s townhouse for Alicia to find.
The Chi is now Showtime's longest living dramas. The show has survived the new naming of Paramount+ With Showtime, out lived Billions, Shameless and any of the former 30 minute style sitcoms from Showtime.
The Chi has a lot to offer, I just hope for season seven Disney+ delivers it to Aussie viewers in a timely manner.
School Spirits is a series I caught up on last winter. It then entered my week-to-week dance card during a super busy US network TV period.
The series returned with three episodes back at the end of January, making it's eight episode run ending quickly, wrapping up yesterday morning.
Streaming on Paramount+, the series like many of recent (Taylor Sheridan) titles Lioness, Landman and Tulsa King awaiting renewal. When on Earth will they renew their recently concluded series.
The second season, opens with Peyton List as Maddie Nears realising Mr. Martin was there when she became a ghost and Janet took over her body, confronting him, making him run away into hiding.
Meanwhile, Janet; inhabiting Maddie’s body, takes a journey to her family’s now-crumbling farmhouse, starting a trip down memory lane. Simon wrestles with his desire to help Maddie and the possibility he had been hallucinating.
The ghostly gang finds traces of Janet's captivity in the school's basement. Xavier wakes up, but not in the land of the living.
Across the second season, death is just the beginning.While Maddie is still trapped in the afterlife, and time is running out. Now, she must work together with her friends in the spirit and living worlds to find a way back before it’s too late.
In the finale, Mr. Martin revealed that, at an extremely low point in his personal and professional life, he did consider doing something rash, even detaching the hose in the lab to create a gas leak. He changed his mind at the last minute, but it was too late; unbeknownst to him, Janet was testing flint torches, causing an explosion when exposed to the gas.
Back in their shared scar, an exit door appeared to the world beyond. Not only did Janet prevent Mr. Martin from going through it, but she also allowed it to close before she entered herself, saying that she had “unfinished business” to attend to before moving on.
Catching Mr. Martin in the first place required the spirits to reenter their scars, generating an enormous amount of energy within the walls of the school and triggering a mysterious change.
The next day, all seemed well enough, at least for Maddie, who woke up in her own body at the hospital, where Xavier revealed that he had spoken to her father. But Janet’s mission wasn’t over.
In the season’s final moment, she confronted Mr. Martin in their scar with more questions. He countered with a question of his own, gesturing to Simon, who had gone back into the school to find Maddie the night before.
We do get some cliffhangers at the end of the season, with Simon's fate not the only one, that remains uncertain after the Season 2 finale. When we last saw Wally, he was facing an exit door in his own scar, presenting the opportunity for him to finally cross over.
The we have Janet, who chose to stay behind and help her fellow spirits!
Let's see of Paramount+ finally start revealing a large number of their shows fates. However for me this one could go either way. The supernatural teeny booper series does feel a little 2000 and late....
Anora was named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. On Monday, at the 97th Academy Awards, the film won a leading five awards out of its six nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Madison), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Director
Anora is considered a comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Sean Baker.
Starring Mikey Madison as Anora Mikheeva, a stripper who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, played by Mark Eydelshteyn.
Alongside Madison and Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Darya Ekamasova, & Aleksei Serebryako star.
I am late to Anora, only seeing it last night. The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival back in May last year, where it received critical acclaim and won the Palme d'Or. Later it was theatrically released in October. So it isn't a new film by any measure.
OK so I had been warned about the sex. Whilst not super graphic, its constant for the first half of the film.
Also the film is LONG AF! Almost 2.5 hours LONG!
It really needed some strong editing. However the film has grossed $41 million worldwide, against a $6 million budget, making it Baker's highest-grossing film. Also that is damn fine for a film about a Russian oligarch finding. a pretty NY stripper who also speaks Russian.
Anora was wild and fun for the first act.
However the second half of the film really lost its way. Was it also the best film had to offer in 2024? I'm not sure or sold.
My friend also thought it was random AF as did the younger kids around us.
With Oscars hype, this film is an interesting one. Its more like a modern Pretty Woman less Julia Roberts/Richard Gere, with way more sex and drugs. Plus a banging soundtrack!
A wild ride, some NY to Las Vegas party vibes, this is definitely a film for the younger generation.
Prime Target is a maths (yes 1+1 = 2 maths) thriller miniseries starring The White Lotus and Bridget Jones (the latest one) Leo Woodall as a mathematician.
This was a really low quality Apple TV+, which gave US procedural network TV vibes. It was super basic, but tried to be complex. Whilst being mega fucking dull.
Even a gay(ish) lead storyline was not even to keep any of the 8 episodes interesting.
Basic plot, and I mean BASIC! A post-graduate mathematics student discovers an effort being made to destroy his work in finding a pattern in prime numbers that would allow him to access every computer in the world.
Leo Woodall is Edward Brooks, a mathematics student at Cambridge University, the lead who works with Quintessa Swindell as Taylah Sanders, an NSA agent remotely spying on various academics.
The weakest link had to be bad girl, Martha Plimpton as Jane Torres. So bad man. Like so bad!
If this wasn't a miniseries and easy to have on in the background, I might even have dumped this. Which is weird cause Apple TV+ originals of late have been great.
Bad Sisters had a solid second series. Not as good as the first, but still solid. Bad Monkey was a bit of fun whilst Severance still airing its second series is one of the weirdest things on TV.
Prime Target just doesn't fit the regular Apple TV+ thang. Maybe give this one a hard pass. Its not great.
Paradise is the latest political thriller on Hulu/Disney+ in Australia.
Created by Dan Fogelman & starring Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, and James Marsden.
The eight part first season commenced streaming late January, concluding last night.
Receiving generally positive reviews from critics, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of the finale.
Set in a city-sized underground bunker in Colorado three years after a doomsday event, the series follows United States Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) as he seeks to discover the truth behind the killing of the President of the United States(James Marsden).
As Xavier comes under suspicion for President Bradford's death, he searches for answers about what really happened, and is unsure of who he can trust as his questions lead to many shocking revelations.
Paradise is set in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world's most prominent individuals. But this tranquility explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high stakes investigation unfolds.
So how does it all end... SPOILER ALERTS!
Twelve years before the present day, a project manager demands that the bunker construction be shut down due to arsenopyrite poisoning of the workers and gets locked out of the site. Disgruntled and aware of the prediction, he infiltrates a press conference in the White House lawn to assassinate the President but fails, shooting Collins instead.
In the present day, Collins, Robinson and their team surrender and return the weapons. Driscoll assures Redmond that Presley will stay quiet, but is denied the Wii as a reward for her loyalty. Robinson and Dr. Torabi examine the arrival list and confront the diner waitstaff Maggie who confesses that she infiltrated with Trent.
Meanwhile Collins finds notes hidden by Bradford in library books; Trent knocks him unconscious and steals the notes. When Collins awakens, Trent recounts the story how he and the waitstaff stole the identities of the real Trent and his wife Maggie.
Initially comfortable with life in the bunker, the false Trent's desire to assassinate the President resurfaced upon meeting him; Trent snuck in Bradford's bedroom, then killed him with a construction tool on display.
Trent leaves the library, then commits suicide in front of Robinson and Collins, jumping off the skylight's maintenance station.
Collins confronts Redmond and demands his daughter back, while Driscoll shoots her non-lethally. Presley and Robinson encourage Collins to find his wife and other survivors using Bradford's notes.
Redmond is in recovery, Driscoll enjoys the Wii, Jeremy gathers supporters, and Collins pilots an aircraft out of the bunker to search for his wife.
With some answers, some questions and a search for Collins wife, season two of Paradise will be a must watch!
Disney+ has done well with content of late. Sadly that came with a price hike. With streaming services running out of ways to generate income, a year CPI price hike seems something we streamers sadly will need to live with.
Tonight, the finale of Prime Target. The big finales week has just started!
Spit is my first Aussie film for 2025! I never saw the OG Gettin' Square, however through brief flashbacks, recaps throughout the film, you get the gist. It was a heist film gone wrong with bad cops.
After 20 years on the run overseas, Spit returns home with a super fun airport scene.
The small-time ex-criminal Johnny Spitieri (Spit) slips back into Australia on a false passport only to find himself locked up in an Immigration Detention Centre with a massive target on his back as old enemies come looking for him, determined to settle old scores.
As he struggles to stay one step ahead, the resourceful Spit finds new friends in detention, teaching them his version of mateship, and what it means to be truly Australian.
Starring David Wenham as lead Spit, this film has a hell of a lot of heart. Even rounding things off with a dance sequences to one of Australia's biggest bands, Amyl and the Sniffers. There is also a classic Frenzal Rhomb song thrown into the soundtrack. While the chaotic opening scene is set to the legendary Genesis Owusu.
The Genesis Owusu song is also now doing the rounds for KFC. Will it be the next I Love It!
Alongside Wenham, David Field, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Bob Franklin, Sofya Gollan, Arlo Green, David Roberts, Pallavi Sharda, Gary Sweet and Helen Thomson from Colin from Accounts all star.
This was a solid effort. There are heart warming moments, laugh out loud moments, all with a load of Aussie swearing!
This was a fun night out at the cinema. If only more people would see this as I read Gettin' Square was a flop back in the day. And that had Sam Worthington in the cast!
Spit is as Aussie as you get. While also showing the wonderful diversity this country hosts in 2025.
I enjoyed this a lot. It's getting a random star rating though, 4.25 locally created stars. Yep. Can't quite give it 4.5, but close enough. Excellent. Well done all invovled!
Heart Eyes is considered a romantic comedy slasher, is that a new Valentine's Day genre? So no longer does Hollywood need to reserve their horror films for Halloween.
Starring a fun duo, Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding as a pair of coworkers who are mistaken as a couple by a serial killer. Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa (what a comeback he is making, first the Chucky series, now another horror film!), and Jordana Brewster also star.
Heart Eyes landed earlier in February, with the romantic notion that, for the past several years, the Heart Eyes Killer (AKA HEK) has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine’s Day, no couple is safe!
This is the second horror film I have seen this week. It's the second horror film to not take itself too seriously and have fun! The kill scenes are still intense, it almost begs for a sequel with Gooding already a scream king, starring in the Scream series, with a seventh film to come out.
Surprisingly the "Seattle based horror was actually filmed across the ditch, in New Zealand last year.
For a horror film, Rotten Tomatoes, scores the film high at 82%, with the film also grossing $30 million worldwide. That is against a modest $18 million (USD) budget. Not bad.
This film was decent. It was also, short, sharp and 100% to the point.
Good job all involved. You even managed to make NZ look like Seattle. One of my favourite US cities to visit in my youth.
It's been a quiet TV week this week. However next week will make up with that with finales galore. Tuesday Paradise on Disney+, Wednesday Prime Target on Apple TV+, later in the week it's School Spirits on Paramount+ and the soon to be HBO less The Way Home on Binge.
See you next week for a massive TV week. I am also seeing another Aussie film tomorrow night too. So many films before Japan! Cherry Blossoms here I come!
Apple Cider Vinegar is set for all sorts of Boy Shallows Universe awards in coming months/2026. The Netflix Aussie limited series starring Kaitlyn Dever and Alycia Debnam-Carey as wellness guru Belle Gibson and Milla Blake, respectively, who both use their platforms to promote alternative medicine is excellent.
Gibson fools her following and the world with a fake cancer diagnosis, while Milla convinces her mother to join her in eschewing scientifically prescribed medical treatment. Following the series the famous Channel Nine 60 Minutes interview has again being doing the rounds and documentaries and news stories are flooding in around Gibson.
So who remembers Belle Gibson?
Across the six excellent episodes, the local Netflix production follows Belle Gibson as she commits fraud by pretending to have cancer to promote alternative medicine.
Gibson launches a wellness recipe app and cookbook, but soon her lies are uncovered. Alongside Dever and Debnam-Carey, it's an all-star outstanding local cast.
With Aisha Dee as Chanelle, Milla's friend and Belle's assistant, Tilda Cobham-Hervey as Lucy, cancer patient and fan of Belle, ABC's Mystery Road star, Mark Coles Smith as Justin Guthrie, Lucy's husband with Ashley Zukerman as Clive, Belle's partner.
Smaller roles are covered by Phoenix Raei as Hek, crisis manager, the incredible Susie Porter as Tamara, Milla's mother, Matt Nable as Joe, Milla's dad, an Aussie icon, Catherine McClements as Julie, Belle's book publisher, the unstoppable, Essie Davis as Natalie, Belle's mother, the beautiful Chai Hansen as Arlo, Milla's partner, Five Bedroom's Doris Younane as Dr. Chidiac, Sibylla Budd as Tara Brown, Jeremy Stanford as Dr. Walsh and Kate Lister as Jordan.
The finale is titled Tapeworm. Spoilers below. Read at your risk. However I was late to this series and most people absolutely smashed it!
In 2015, Belle lies in an interview, and Hek uses that to remember a suspicious story she had told about expelling a tapeworm from her nose after drinking apple cider vinegar.
In 2014, Belle arrives late at Milla's funeral, making a scene that makes everyone uncomfortable. During the funeral, Hunter's mother Fiona calls Belle charging her for the donation, and her excuses lead Fiona to realise the journalists were correct about the fraud claims.
Belle tries to manipulate Milla's widower Arlo, who kicks her out of his room. Justin publishes a story on Belle's charity frauds. Belle victimises herself online, and while she starts with public support, the tide turns against her once people start questioning her finances.
Desperate, Belle decides to do a fresh start in Beverly Hills and schedules an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, where she has a disastrous, contradictory performance. Justin comforts Fiona, who cannot afford further treatment for Hunter, and decides to fully support Lucy as she goes after traditional cancer treatments.
Okay it's HOT but its apparently Autumn. Hope Nuclear power fixes this Dutton. Or should we saw Monopoly Dutton with 26 properties to his trust, that's right 26!
OK sorry an election is around the corner and God help us if we get the kings and (occasional) queen of Liberal fake news. Like Belle Gibson we live in an alternative facts world now. This series exposures how desperate people, will do and believe almost anything.
In a world of scams, Belle Gibson is the OG local queen of scam!
Brilliant work Netflix. Now produce more local content since you are charging Aussie's more for shit like sub-par Cobra Kai.
