Chris Rock fans are in for treat – if they can wake up early enough – as the funnyman’s groundbreaking live stand-up comedy special leads a list of streaming releases this week that includes Oscar hopeful drama Empire of Light, a new Siya Kolisi documentary, and more!
MOVIES
Empire of Light
Disney+ – 1 March 2023
Actually released a few days ago – unfortunately Disney+ didn’t share their schedule in time for last week’s article – Empire of Light is a star-studded new film from multi-Oscar-winning writer/director Sam Mendes. Led by fellow Oscar winner Olivia Colman, this 1980s-based romantic drama “about the power of human connection during turbulent times”, is set in a small English coastal town following the bipolar manager of a small cinema who strikes up an unconventional relationship with a new employee.
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Netflix – 5 March 2023
Missed seeing Kevin Hart live in South Africa recently? Well, one of his peers is being so kind as to bring the live stand-up comedy experience right to your home! In a first-of-its-kind event, Netflix will be doing a live international broadcast of Chris Rock’s new comedy special, Selective Outrage. The special has obviously been scheduled with US time zones in mind so if you actually want to watch the show live instead of catching up on it later, you will have to be up at 05:00 on Sunday morning.
Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story
Showmax – 6 March 2023
DSTV has done a fantastic job of producing compelling documentaries digging into the lives and mindsets of some of South Africa’s best sportspeople. And the latest one to add to that list is Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story. Described as “deeply personal”, this documentary aims to show “a different side to the Springboks’ first black African captain, who led South Africa to victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup”. Rise actually debuted on Showmax Pro this past Wednesday, 1 March, but for those of us not on the local streamer’s premiere tier, it hits normal Showmax this coming Monday.
SERIES
Daisy Jones & The Six S1
Amazon Prime Video – 3 March 2023
Are you ready to rock?! If your answer is a loud “YES!” then you definitely need to check out now musical miniseries Daisy Jones & The Six. Based on the best-selling book of the same name written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, this miniseries is a Fleetwood Mac-inspired drama starring Riley Keough and Sam Clafin as members of a fictional 1970s rock band who rose from obscurity in Los Angeles to become one of the biggest in the world but saw it all fall apart at the height of their success.
Leopard Skin S1
Showmax – 3 March 2023
I must admit, up until about a week ago, I had never even heard of Leopard Skin. However, all I needed to hear to get me hyped was that this crime thriller series reteams star Carla Gugino with creator/writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez. The duo had delivered the brilliant but criminally underwatched Jett a few years back, so I am most definitely down for anything they do together. This one follows a group of criminals who attempt to lie low in the remote paradise of Playa Perdida, Mexico, following a botched jewellery heist, only for things to escalate and unravel when the thieves take some hostages who end up being far more crafty than expected.
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared
Netflix – 8 March 2023
In 2014, Malayasia Airlines Flight MH370, 227 passengers and 12 crew members, took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bound for Beijing, China. It never made it. Somewhere over the South China Sea, the huge Boeing 777 aircraft had simply vanished without a trace. What followed was the most expensive search effort in the history of aviation, gripping global headlines and newsfeeds for years, and spawning conspiracy theories that rage to this day. Looking at everything from hard evidence, to interviews with experts and family members, to wild speculation, this new miniseries attempts to try understand how a massive airliner could simply disappear.
You S4 – Part 2
Netflix – 9 March 2023
If you were left wanting more last month when Netflix’s You debuted just the first five episodes of its fourth season, well your craving for more psychotic boyfriend crushes is about to answered. The final half of the show’s fourth season will be dropping next week Thursday. There’s no official word yet on a season five renewal, but chances are very high that this will not be the last time you see Joe Goldberg, as the show has continued to be hugely successful with audiences.