The latest high-profile TV series adaptation of James Clavell’s acclaimed novel Shōgun leads a rather quiet week for new streaming releases.
SERIES
Shōgun S1
27 February 2024 – Disney+
The biggest release of the week, without a doubt, is Disney’s high-profile adaptation of Shōgun, the acclaimed 1975 novel by author/screenwriter James Clavell (The Fly, The Great Escape). This is the second such series adaptation, with a star-studded miniseries, featuring the likes of Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, John Rhys-Davies, and more, previously produced in 1980. That miniseries would go on to win a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy, so will this new version match up? It certainly looks the part! Starring the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, Cosmo Jarvis, and more, the ten-episode series is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.
Dead in the Water S1
28 February 2024 – Prime Video
From the award-winning producers of The Tinder Swindler and Don’t F**K With Cats, comes a new three-part true-crime documentary series surrounding the mysterious disappearance of British couple Chris Farmer and Peta Frampton, while backpacking in Central America in 1978. For four decades, their families had no idea what had happened to them, until their mutilated bodies were discovered buried four decades later in Guatemala. But who tortured and killed the couple and why?
Koek S1
29 February 2024 – Showmax
Is Showmax’s new series Koek a comedy? Definitely not. Did I still chuckle at the name of the strip club at the centre of this local crime drama? Obviously, because I am child. Immaturities aside, Koek looks to be a wild ride, as it follows housewife Christelle, who discovers her husband is having an affair with a local stripper. When an aggrieved Christelle and her best friend decide to confront the exotic dancer at her place of work, emotions flare up, resulting in Christelle suddenly finding herself caught up in a violent web of sex and organ trafficking.
MOVIES
Wanted Man
23 February 2024 – Prime Video
Look, I’m not going to pretend that Wanted Man doesn’t look exactly like the shoestring budget B-grade schlock that it is, but in a week as quiet as this one I’m adding it in here purely because this action thriller was written by, directed, and stars Dolph Lundgren. That’s triple the Lundgren in one movie!
Fool’s Paradise
29 February 2024 – Showmax
And here’s another movie helmed by its star! Making his directorial debut, Charlie Day brings us this hilarious looking, and absolutely star-studded comedy about the absurdity of Hollywood. Day plays a recently deaf and mute man recently discharged from a mental institution, who happens to get spotted by a big shot movie producer, as he is a dead ringer for a hot-headed movie star that the producer is struggling with. When the producer replaces the volatile star with his silent doppelganger to finish shooting the final scenes in a major film, it propels the oblivious man into accidental celebrity with all the money, fame, and attention that comes with it. Fool’s Paradise also stars Ken Jeong, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Edie Falco, Jason Bateman, Common, and the late Ray Liotta.