The VOD releases of slapstick legacy sequel The Naked Gun and Darren Aranofky’s crime caper Caught Stealing, as well as a modern remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle headline this week’s streaming releases.
SERIES
The Diplomat S3
16 October 2025 – Netflix
It’s always been odd to me just how little buzz I hear for The Diplomat. The Keri Russell-starring political thriller is phenomenal and based on the fact that the trigger-happy Netflix keeps renewing it, it’s clearly got the audience numbers. It’s even got a bunch of Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. So, why did the latest season – just like the first two – seemingly drop without much fanfare yesterday? I can’t explain it. All I can tell you, is that if you haven’t watched it yet, catch up! For those uninitiated, Russell stars as Kate Wyler, a veteran U.S. diplomat who is unexpectedly appointed as the ambassador to the United Kingdom amid an emerging international crisis. Making things even more complicated is that this new post was formerly occupied by husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell), who may be beloved by nearly everybody in the political world, but with whom she shares a very complicated marriage, exacerbated by him seemingly not being able to let go of his past duties. All of which comes to a head when an unprecedented military disaster occurs in the Persian gulf. That’s pretty much where the first season kicks off, and I won’t spoil anything further in case you are planning to catch up. Just note, there’s a bunch of homework, as a fourth season has already been ordered.
Mr. Scorsese
17 October 2025 – Apple TV
It’s absolutely undeniable that Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest filmmakers in history, and at 82, he’s still doing his thing. That particular thing mainly being directing some of the most iconic movies ever made, including Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Color of Money, Shutter Island, The Age of Innocence, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Departed, Mean Streets, and many more. It’s a legacy that few can live up to. And in 5-part documentary series Mr. Scorsese, acclaimed director Rebecca Miller explores this icon through the lens of his work, examining the many facets of a visionary who redefined filmmaking with his extraordinary career and unique personal history, starting with his New York University student films and continuing to the present day. Miller had unrestricted access to Scorsese’s private archives and features extensive conversations with the filmmaker himself and never-before-seen interviews with friends, family and creative collaborators including Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Thelma Schoonmaker, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Jay Cocks and Rodrigo Prieto, along with his children, wife Helen Morris and close childhood friends.
MOVIES
The Twits
17 October 2025 – Netflix
Written, directed, and produced by Academy Award nominee Phil Johnston (Ralph Breaks the Internet), The Twits is somehow the very first screen adaptation of beloved author Roald Dahl’s book of the same name which has sold 16 million copies worldwide since its publication in 1980. Just like that original tale, this Netflix animated feature film follow Mr. and Mrs. Twit, the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world who also happen to own and operate the most disgusting, most dangerous, most idiotic amusement park in the world, called Twitlandia. But when the Twits rise to power in their town, two brave orphans and a family of magical animals are forced to become as tricky as the Twits in order to save the city. This wild ride of a film (chock-full of the Twits’ beloved tricks–from the Wormy Spaghetti to the Dreaded Shrinks) boasts the voice talents of veterans Margo Martindale and Johnny Vegas in the title roles, with the cast rounded out by the likes of Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke,Jason Mantzoukas, Alan Tudyk, Nicole Byer, and more!
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
22 October 2025 – Disney+
Yes, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is getting a remake. Now before you recoil in horror at the dreaded “R” word and start ranting about there being no originality left in Hollywood anymore, a history lesson is in order. 1992 saw the release of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, a psychological thriller starring Rebecca De Mornay as a recently widowed women who miscarried her pregnancy after the shocking suicide of her obstetrician husband, who had stood accused sexual misconduct by several women. Aggrieved, she poses as a nanny for the pregnant woman (Annabella Sciorra) who first accused her husband, slowly infiltrating the family with dark intentions. Upon release, the film was a massive box office success and elevated De Mornay’s character to iconic Hollywood villain status. It was also kind of a remake, as it was an original story but took its inspiration from a 1917 silent film of the same name. So, it should come as no surprise that a new version of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is here, this time featuring Maika Monroe as the “nanny”, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays the woman whose family she infiltrates. Strangely enough, based on the trailer (which may be hiding it), the whole “sexual assault accusation” angle appears to have been dropped despite how fitting it would be in a post-MeToo era. Either way, Monroe and Winstead are always great, so I’m definitely willing to give this one ago.
RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Caught Stealing
Purchase: Apple TV – R160
Rental: Apple TV – R130
Looking at acclaimed director Darren Aranofsky’s entire filmmography, you can easily see why Caught Stealing is quite the career swerve. With the likes of Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Mother!, and The Whale, Aranofksy is known for emotionally intense character studies and dark slow-burn dramas. I’ve not seen it yet, but I’m very confident that Caught Stealing is none of those things. Austin Butler stars as Hank Thompson, a burned-out ex-baseball player working as a bartender to make ends meet in late 1990s New York City. When his punk rock neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to take care of his cat while Russ returns to London to see his ailing father, Hank unexpectedly finds himself thrown into the middle of a criminal storm when Russian mobsters come looking for Russ, leaving behind a trail of carnage, resulting in Hank losing a kidney. As Hank and his squeeze Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz) suddenly find themselves the center of attention for several different seedy elements from New York’s underbelly, they are forced to fight for survival in a dangerous world. Upon release just two months ago, Caught Stealing got pretty good reviews (especially for Butler’s performance, and Aranofsky’s direction) but it was a considerable box office flop. If you missed it then, you can now watch it at home.
The Naked Gun
Purchase: Apple TV – R170
Rental: Apple TV – R45
One of the unexpected success stories of the year, legacy sequel The Naked Gun has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. And most of that success can be laid at the feet of director/co-writer Akiva Schaffer and star Liam Neeson who didn’t waver one bit from the droll slapstick humour that made the original three Naked Gun films starring the late, great Leslie Nielsen such beloved hits in the late 1980s/early 1990s. We don’t really get slapstick parody movies anymore (not good ones at any rate – right, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer???) so watching the perfectly cast Neeson play Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen’s iconic Police Squad buffoon was seemingly a breath of fresh air. This one sees Drebin Jr.’s investigation into the fatal car crash of software engineer lead him crime novelist femme fatale Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the sister of the car crash victim who believes her brother was killed due to his work with tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Somehow, this all also ties into a bank robbery which Drebin stopped, but unbeknownst to him, was actually a diversion to steal a literal P.L.O.T. Device. Yes, it’s that kind of movie. So, if you like your comedy silly, where you can just switch off your brain and giggle at some absurd buffoonery, then check this one out.