Fittingly on Mother’s Day weekend, J-Lo action-thriller The Mother leads new streaming releases. She’s supported by a Ben Affleck’s Nike sneaker film Air, touching Michael J. Fox doc, a Conor McGregor sports doc, rom-com Ticket to Paradise, the Gossip Girl creators’ new show, and more!
MOVIES
The Mother
Netflix – 12 May 2023
Word to your mothers! With perfect timing for a Mother’s Day weekend release, Jennifer Lopez leads this new action thriller from acclaimed director Niki Caro (The Whale Rider, Mulan). Lopez stars as the titular character (never named in the movie other than “Mother”) a government assassin forced to give up her newborn daughter for adoption and go into hiding due to some very bad people out to get her. Years later, after living in isolation, those villains track down her daughter as a way to get to her, it’s time for mom to start spanking some naughty boys!
Air
Amazon Prime Video – 12 May 2023
Well, this one came out of nowhere (hence why I had to update this article after publication). Without any fanfare, Prime Video just added Air, the recently released sports sneaker drama directed by Ben Affleck. The multi-hyphenate co-stars alongside Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Marlon Wayans, and more in this extraordinary tale. Damon plays shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro who in 1984 came up with a crazy idea to salvage shoe manufacturer Nike’s heavily troubled basketball sneaker division: Create the greatest basketball shoe ever made built wholly around a completely unknown rookie named Michael Jordan.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Apple TV+ – 12 May 2023
With iconic TV and movie roles in Family Ties, Back to the Future, Teen Wolf, The Frighteners, and more, Michael J. Fox was one of the most beloved Hollywood stars of the 80s and 90s. It was during this time though that Fox first discovered early signs of Parkinson’s disease, a chronic degenerative order affecting the motor system. Fox was told that within a few years he would not be able to work, much less control his own body. But possessed by a heart very much like his fan-favourite characters on-screen, the actor would not only continue working for quite some time, but become an advocate for research into curing this crippling disorder. And as this touching, in-depth documentary examining his life attests, Fox never lost that spark for life that made him a star to begin with.
Crater
Disney+ – 12 May 2023
Moms, are you looking for a break from the kids this weekend? Well, Disney is offering at least 90 minutes of colourful and exciting diversion with Crater. Boasting an Amblin-esque vibe and produced by Shawn Levy (Real Steel, Stranger Things), the sci-fi family adventure film is set in the 23rd century in a lunar mining colony. It follows a young boy, who is left a mysterious map by his late father about an unexplored crater. Before being permanently relocated to a new a planet, he and his friends decide to set out on their own to discover what makes this crater so special. Cue the adventure!
The Legend & Butterfly
Amazon Prime Video – 12 May 2023
And now for something completely different! Produced as part of legendary Japanese studio Toei’s 70th anniversary, The Legend & Butterfly is a mega-budget Japanese historical epic like we haven’t seen in a while. Starring acting/singing legend Takuya Kimura, this tale spanning three decades offers up a fictionalized account of warlord Oda Nobunaga (the inspiration for many Japanese movies and plays) and his romance and eventual marriage with Nohime (Haruka Ayase), set to the backdrop of all sorts of social and political upheaval. This romantic drama is truly epic in every sense of the word as it boasts a 2h48m running time, so be prepared!
Ticket to Paradise
Showmax – 15 May 2023
Let’s be clear: Ticket to Paradise ticks all the formulaic romantic comedy boxes. It’s never winning any originality awards. However, it also boasts true Hollywood megastars in Julia Roberts and George Clooney having an absolute blast as a divorced couple who cannot stand each other, forced to come together when their daughter shockingly announces she is marrying the local young fisherman she met while on holiday in Bali. As the parents agree to put aside their differences just to sabotage a wedding they both consider a big mistake, it sets off all sorts of odd-couple hilarity and charm.
SERIES
Mulligan S1
Netflix – 12 May 2023
We’ve all seen it in movies before: The alien invasion turned back at the last minute by an unlikely hero, saving the remnants of humanity from extinction. But what happens afterwards? That’s where animated comedy series Mulligan picks up. Having saved the final handful of humans left on Earth, the titular Mulligan is elected to become President of the world! Slight problem though: He’s a bit of an idiot who only beat those conquering aliens through pure dumb luck and his ability to throw stuff, and now he is in way over his head!
City on Fire S1
Apple TV+ – 12 May 2023
If you’re fans of Gossip Girl and The O.C., you’ll be intrigued to know that co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are back with a new twisty teen drama. Set in the early 2000s, City on Fire kicks off with the shooting of a college student in Central Park. But as the investigation into her shooting digs deeper, it reveals surprising connections to a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.
Black Knight S1
Netflix – 12 May 2023
Based on the popular webtoon of the same name, Black Knight is South Korean sci-fi drama series set in a dystopian near future where extensive air pollution has destroyed most of the world, turning the Korean peninsula into a wasteland where all but 1% of its original population survives. Unable to safely travel around, these people have to depend on elite delivery drivers, called “Knights”, for supplies to survive. When legendary knight 5-8 (yes, that’s his name) meets a young boy with dreams of grandeur, he decides to train him to be a knight as well, with all the dangers that entails.
High Desert S1
Apple TV+ – 17 May 2023
Partricia Arquette stars in this new comedy-drama series as Peggy, a dysfunctional ex-addict lived with her mom in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California. With her mother’s passing though, the fifty-something Peggy decides she needs to finally correct her life’s wayward course with a fresh start: Becoming a private investigator!
McGregor Forever
Netflix – 17 May 2023
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying there’s never been anybody like him. Conor McGregor rose with meteoric propulsion from the relative obscurity of the Irish MMA circuit to becoming a two-division UFC champion, the biggest star the sport has ever seen, and the world’s highest paid athlete in 2021. But the problem with reaching the top – especially a top as high as his – is that there’s nowhere to go but down. A series of setbacks, culminating with a devastating in-ring injury, threatened to turn the long-standing rumours of McGregor’s retirement a reality, but the always brash and cocky Irishman refuses to be counted out. This unfiltered docuseries details Conor’s unprecedented climb, his downfall, and everything he is doing to get back to the top of the heap.