This weeks releases range from 1971 to, er, today. That’s a spectacular 57 years. Which must make Clint Eastwood about 88 years old by our reckoning. Not a bad innings eh! Anyway and as usual, we’ve picked three of the weeks releases for special attention. Two old and one long running.
Dirty Harry was the first appearance of inspector Harry Callaghan. Clint had made his name in Rawhide and became the Man With No Name in the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. This, then, is the first of 5 Harry Callaghan movies and, unusually for a series, it’s difficult to pick out a best. The Dirty Harry character is so strong and the stories so well portrayed that each movie stands on it’s own but works within the series. And then there are the quotable quotes. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!” and “Go ahead, make my day!” (to pick just two) are both in common usage in the English language. That’s a huge testament to one of the most powerful movies of it’s time. It’s still very watchable today.
The Dead Pool was the last in the series of Dirty Harry movies. Magnum Force, The Enforcer and Sudden Impact came in between. It is far from clear when or why “Hollywood” started mixing British and American casts (and often some Australians too) but we have a young Liam Neeson here. We’ll leave the why debate for another time but suffice it say that the juxtaposition of a British baddy against an American antihero works really well. The most extraordinary thing is the observation at the time that Harry was getting old! Clint’s best work as both and actor and a director had yet to come. The nice conceit here is that Harry Callaghan has become a celebrity. If you can watch the quintology (is that a word?) in one sitting, you should.
Heartland seasons 1 to 10 we hear you cry. This weeks release is season 11. Heartland is an enduring multi-generational saga set in Canada which follows the struggles of a family through good and hard times. What family saga wouldn’t? The origin of the idea came from books that were actually set in Virginia by the way. Like all good stories well told, you’ll quickly become attached the characters but, if you want to get to season 11 the hard way, you’ve got some major bingeing to do. Some spoilers: There are a lot of horses but you don’t need be horse lover to enjoy Heartland. There’s love, coming of age and environmental concerns but you don’t need to view this as a light offering. It has plenty of depth.
Here are all 31 Netflix Australia releases this week. Let us know what you think.
16 New Movies Added This Week
- Dirty Harry (1971)
- Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986)
- Mersal (2017)
- Mom (2017)
- My Sister’s Keeper (2009)
- One Last Shot (1998)
- Pad Man (2018)
- Paterson (2016)
- Risen (2016)
- The Beyond (2017)
- The Dead Pool (1988)
- The Lodgers (2017)
- Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017)
13 New TV Series Added This Week
- GHOUL (Season 1) Netflix Original
- Great News (Season 1) Netflix Original
- Heartland (Season 11)
- LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu (Season 6)
- Leo & Tig (Season 1)
- Marlon (Season 2) Netflix Original
- Take My Brother Away (Season 1) Netflix Original
- The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour (Season 1)
- The Innocents (Season 1) Netflix Original
- Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (Season 3) Netflix Original
3 New Documentaries/Docuseries
- Murder Files (Season 1)
- Peculiar Pets (2010)
- The Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2017) Netflix Original
1 New Standup Special
- Bert Kreischer: Secret Time
