Out This Week - In Australia, May 5 - 11 2025
On Streaming:
One of my favourite shows on TV, Poker Face, returns to Stan for season 2. This is a Colombo-esque show where Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie, a woman who can tell when someone is lying. Although she is just trying to get on with her own life and get away from folks who are chasing her, she keeps stumbling onto murders where her dandy trick is super helpful. Packed to the gills with hilarious characters played by tonnes of familiar faces, this one is a bunch of fun and I can’t wait to get stuck into season 2.
On Binge this week is Ghost Cat Anzu (2024), which looks like an adorable anime film about a young girl sent to live in the Japanese countryside with her grandfather (classic), who befriends Anzu, who, as the title suggests, is a ghost cat who becomes a guardian for her.
Also on Binge, and Paramount+, is Transformers One (2024). This origin story for Optimus Prime and Megatron hit cinemas last year to middling reviews, but looks fun for kids.
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back on the road for another bike trek, this time across Europe in Long Way Home, premiering on Apple TV this week. If you’re into the show already, you’ll be pleased; if not, the series does promise some stunning vistas and highlights of local cultures as they travel through 17 countries.
At the Cinema:
Last Breath (Alex Parkinson)
Based on the true story of Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), who was trapped at the bottom of the North Sea when a dive went wrong. This also stars Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu as his companions trying to survive themselves and save him. This looks horrifying if you’re like me and being deep in the ocean is your worst nightmare, but otherwise seems a little by the books.
With or Without You (Kelly Schilling)
An Australian film about a young woman, Chloe (Melina Vidler), who wants to help her alcoholic mother (Marta Dusseldorp) get herself straight. When they lose everything, they must travel across the Australian countryside together with a West African man, Dalu (Albert Mwangi). All are hoping for a better life at the end of their trip. Its giving Saturday arvo movie, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Emmanuelle (Audrey Diwan)
Likely appearing in select cinemas here is Audrey Diwan’s remake of the infamous erotic series, this time starring Noémie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire). Also starring Will Sharpe and Naomi Watts, it will be interesting to see how this gets updated for a contemporary audience, if at all. Nevertheless, it promises to be sexy.
On the Shelves:
Rytual - Chloe Elisabeth Wilson
This new lit fic book sees Marnie land a job at a cool but mysterious beauty brand, Rytual. Marnie is taken in by Luna, the brand’s enigmatic CEO, and finds herself increasingly obsessed with her. But of course, something sinister is happening beneath the surface of the cult-like brand. Will Marnie be able to figure out what it is before she gets in too deep?
Vanishing World - Sayaka Murata (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori)
From the author of everyone’s favourite weird books Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings, comes a new book examining our ideas of family and sex. Set in a near future where sex is taboo, even in marriage, and children are born of artificial insemination, our protagonist Amane has been born of the, um, usual way. Her family is conventional and wants her to have a loving (loving) marriage. But Amane does not want that, and when she hears of a town running an experiment where everyone is one big family, she wonders if this is the ideal middle ground.
That’s all I’ve got this week. Let me know what you’re watching and reading!
