A Muslim Female Punk Band?! Yep, and It’s Unmissable
Need a new show yesterday? Don’t hit play on that 90s sitcom for the gazillionth time. Here’s some entertaining AND socially-conscious streaming you’ll be raving about. Thank us later!
good.film
9 months ago
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Here’s What You’ve Been Watching
We love bringing you the best new stuff on streaming, but we’re not the only opinion that counts. Thanks to good.film user reviews, there’s a grab bag of great shows feeling the love.
Here’s some examples the good.film community have been into – we’ve just added a new feature so you can add them to your Watchlist faster than you can say “What are we watching tonight?!” Go ahead and click on a fave review to try it out!
Our Streaming Pick of the Month is…
Okay, we’ll admit an all-female Muslim punk music comedy wasn’t on our bingo card for 2024. But now the second series of this infectious and subversive British hit is here, and we just can’t ignore its seriously edgy + hilarious vibes. You’ll be grinning (and, occasionally, gasping) as the girl band with a difference, Lady Parts, aims for musical fame and fortune.
Aside from poking at a raft of important and timely themes – say, modern-day Muslim attitudes, cultural stereotypes, gender oppression, and homophobia – We Are Lady Parts is just joyously, smashingly funny. Vogue called it a “riotous comedy unlike anything you’ve ever seen before” and hey, they’re not wrong.
Series creator Nida Manzoor won a BAFTA for her first series, which rocks a killer soundtrack (as you’d expect for a punk band!) driven by a fivesome of fierce, fizzy women – and yes, the actresses all really do play their own instruments in the show. It’s a riot. You can check out the trailer and add We Are Lady Parts to your watchlist below.
Not for you? How about…
You might’ve caught wind of this electrifying 7-episode limited series when on-set pics first leaked of a disguised Robert Downey Jr… at least, we think that’s Robert Downey Jr.? Clad in all kinds of wigs & prosthetics, Downey plays multiple roles in this Vietnamese-via-America story: a CIA agent, a professor, a Congressman, a Priest and more.
But The Sympathizer is so much more than a costume party. Stylish and gripping, the show revolves around “The Captain” (Hoa Xuande), a North Vietnamese communist who’s been planted in Saigon to spy on the South – then forced to flee. His new life in the United States triggers more demands from the Viet Cong, and the Captain soon finds his loyalties torn.
Based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning best seller by Viet Thanh Nguyen, this tough-to-categorise A24/HBO series has serious pedigree. Salon describes The Sympathizer as “a spy tale, a black comedy, a hazy war memoir and a coming-of-age story” to which we’d add “political thriller”, too. Love deeper shows that are lively and layered? Or just keen to see Iron Man in a bunch of wigs? This could be your next great binge.
Our Festival Films are GO in 3, 2, 1…
As we mentioned last week, we’re proud to be supporting three eye-opening new films at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, with screenings starting THIS weekend – and we’re thrilled to announce that tickets are almost totally sold out!
Covering everything from disability inclusion, gender equality, sports psychology and the performing arts, these three powerful films are more than just popcorn-munching fare – they’re guaranteed to swell your heart and lift your spirits.
If you’re not in Sydney, sign up to the films you’re interested in via the buttons below, and we’ll keep you in the loop when they’re in cinemas near you : )
We Cannes Hardly Wait!
It might be half a world away, but the Cannes Film Festival always delivers a mouthwatering teaser for some truly exceptional films heading our way soon(ish).
Headed up this year by Greta Gerwig, the Cannes jury awarded the Palme d’or to New Jersey filmmaker Sean Baker for his exotic dancer dramedy Anora – the first American film to win the fest’s illustrious top honour since The Tree of Life in 2011.
But if we could only pick one, we’re seriously amped for French director Jacques Audiard’s musical crime comedy, Emilia Pérez, which won the prize for Best Actress. Actually, make that Best Actresses, because the jury awarded the prize equally to all four of its leading ladies: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, and Selena Gomez… yes, the Selena Gomez!
The plot? “An escaped Mexican cartel leader enacts a plan he has been secretly preparing for years: a sex reassignment surgery to evade the authorities, and become the woman he has always dreamt of being.”
It’s an audacious idea, but it paid off – Emilia Pérez got a 10-minute standing O at its Cannes screening and was scooped up by Netflix not long after. The date it drops is still TBC, but you can watch the trailer and read more about the incredible Cannes award winner below.
Streaming with Pride!
June is Pride Month – yep, a whole 30 days to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community! (that’s 800 back-to-back episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race, in case you keep track of days that way).
To get your rainbow flag flying, here’s three intriguing, brand new, queer-themed series and specials that are all coming out (so to speak) across June… add them to your Watchlist today using the links below!
Lost Boys and Fairies (streaming now): Funny and heart-wrenching, this three-part Welsh miniseries explores parenting through the perspective of gay adoption. Rated 8.9/10 on IMDb.
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (streaming from June 7): This glossy French language drama has it all: glamour, ego, extravagance and passion. Just as you’d expect watching young designer Karl Lagerfeld rise to become a fashion icon.
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution (streaming from June 18): This rapturous documentary steps into the dynamic world of queer stand-up comedy, and examines the powerful cultural influence it’s had on social change in America.
