March has been the quickest month of the year so far, and for me it’s been another month filled with dramatic TV shows and attention-grabbing movies from the best streaming services. This month, I used five different streaming platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video and even Mubi to get myself in the mood for a new season – and it really helped.
There were plenty of new titles to watch this month, and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off my monthly roundup than by mentioning the most-watched Netflix show Adolescence, a show that has been inescapable and one that has really divided viewers. As always, I like to fill out my list with a balance of movies I’ve never seen and re-watches, and two of my newer watches come from recent Oscar-winner Sean Baker, which has compelled me to visit his earlier works next month.
It was another difficult one to narrow down to just nine, but that’s when you know you’ve watched a lot of good stuff and I’m determined to keep up this momentum – bring on April.
Adolescence (2025)
Creators: Jack Thorne & Stephen Graham
Age rating: TV-MA
Episode length: ~51 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix (US, UK and AU)
Adolescence is the show that everyone is talking about right now, and rightly so. In a world where violence against women has become a frightening epidemic there’s never been a more important time for a show like this to emerge, and for that we have Stephen Graham to thank.
The show’s one-shot filming approach is nothing new to Graham who starred in the one-take drama Boiling Point (2021) – another thrilling watch that I urge you to watch. Set across four hour-long episodes the limited series follows the Miller family, whose youngest child Jamie (Owen Cooper) is arrested for the murder of a girl in his school year.
Flipping the script on the classic ‘whodunnit’ story line, Adolescence is an exploration of why he did it, bringing attention to the motivations that fuels men to commit merciless acts of violence against women and young girls, at the same time offering an insight to the effects crimes like this have on the parents and the family of the perpetrator.
The Substance (2024)
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Age rating: R
Length: 141 minutes
Where to stream: Mubi (US & UK)
I’ve watched The Substance twice and frankly, I can’t get enough of it. If you know me, you know I love a movie with a strong underlying commentary of culture and society – especially when its thrown in your face in the most absurd and artistic way. For me, Coralie Fargeat smashed it out of the park with The Substance from the writing, cinematography, and all the way down to its unique use of symbolism.
When aging actress and fading celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is let go from her TV job, she’s faced with the harsh realities of neglect that women of her age face in the entertainment industry. But her chance at an extended career presents itself when she uses a black market drug that creates a younger version of herself played by Margaret Qualley. Switching between Elisabeth and her younger-self every seven days, Elisabeth finally feels seen, but it comes with strict terms and conditions that when abused, result in catastrophic consequences.
Anora (2024)
Director: Sean Baker
Age rating: R
Length: 139 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US)
I loved Demi Moore in The Substance, but there’s something about the fierceness yet vulnerable nature of Mikey Madison’s performance in Anora that had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. There’s no doubt that she deserved the Best Actress Oscar, and Sean Baker finally received his flowers for his directing, editing, and writing talents.
In Brooklyn, New York City, Ani (Madison) is a young sex worker with a strong sense of self and admirable confidence. One night during her shifts she meets Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of an incredibly wealthy Russian oligarch and spoiled rich kid. The two fall into a relationship rather quickly, resulting in a hasty marriage, but when the news of their marriage reaches Vanya’s family in Russia they send a band of henchmen after them to annul the marriage.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Age rating: PG-13
Length: 122 minutes
Where to stream: Starz (US); Netflix (UK); Prime Video, Paramount Plus (AU)
It’s embarrassing for me to admit but I had never seen Jurassic Park from start to finish. It’s one of those movies that I’ve caught glimpses of, but that’s it. I watched this on one of my sick days, and it was the best movie I could’ve picked, which I gave an immediate 4.5 stars on Letterboxd. And it’s not just because I’m obsessed with Laura Dern.
Palaeontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Dern), and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are reached out to by billionaire mogul John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to take a trip to a new theme park island he’s been developing. When they arrive, they’re amazed to find that the park is home to all kinds of dinosaur species that have been cloned using prehistoric DNA. It’s nothing like they’ve ever seen before, but things turn left when a power failure shuts down the park’s security, leaving the dinosaurs roam wild while the visitors hatch a plan to escape.
Tangerine (2015)
Director: Sean Baker
Age rating: PG-13
Length: 122 minutes
Where to stream: Max, Hoopla (US); Prime Video, Freevee, Mubi (UK)
I was really having a Sean Baker month wasn’t I. After being captivating by Anora, it inspired me to revisit Baker’s earlier works that have been sitting in my watchlist for months and months. Naturally, I started with Tangerine – a movie shot entirely on an iPhone 5S.
While I think Anora is the strongest of the two, Tangerine is still nonetheless another entertaining watch about a different kind of sex worker with a comedic revenge storyline. On Christmas Eve sex worker Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is released from jail after serving a 28-day sentence. When she returns to normal life she discovers that her boyfriend and pimp has been cheating on her during her time behind bars. Furious, she and her best friend venture across the city to track him and his mistress down to enact their revenge.
Priscilla (2023)
Director: Sofia Coppola
Age rating: R
Length: 113 minutes
Where to stream: Max (US); Mubi (UK); Stan (AU)
I put off watching Coppola’s Priscilla Presley biopic purely due to the over-saturation of the Elvis Presley hype that was ignited in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (2022), so now that I’ve allowed the time to pass I gave it a watch. While I thought it was an average biopic and one that I’m not in a rush to watch again, there’s no denying that it’s cinematography and visual elements are the movie’s main USP.
As you can probably tell from the title, Priscilla does what it says on the tin and chronicles the events of Priscilla and Elvis’ relationship from their very first meeting right up until the last day of their marriage. Teenager Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny) meets rock n’ roll legend Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) for the first time, a person who she sees differently to the superstar persona he projects to the rest of the world, putting Priscilla’s point-of-view at the forefront, showing her side to the story.
Rivals (2024)
Directors: Elliot Hegarty, Dee Koppang O’Leary & Alexandra Brodski
Age rating: TV-MA
Episode length: ~48 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US); Disney+ (UK and AU)
I don’t watch as many TV shows as I do movies, and I don’t know what was going through me this month but TV shows are slowly making their way into my streaming calendar bit by bit. As soon as I finished the first episode of Rivals, I was hungry for more of its drama, scandal, and lust – thankfully, a second season is on the way.
Unapologetically British in its nature, Rivals brings Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel of the same name to life packing a cast of British icons David Tennant, Danny Dyer, and Katherine Parkinson. Following a selection of intertwining groups and families and of upper-class backgrounds, Rivals follows the long-standing conflict between TV studio boss Tony Baddingham (Tennant) and ex-Tory Minister for Sport Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell). As the tension between them grows, others are dragged into the mix and a ruthless battle for the top spot is sparked.
Black Swan (2010)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Age rating: R
Length: 108 minutes
Where to stream: Max (US); Disney+ (UK and AU)
As far as acting performances go, Natalie Portman really pushed herself in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller, and it worked. For me, it’s one of those performances that you just can’t take your eyes off of, especially when it comes to her character’s descent into madness and determined chase for perfection.
Passionate ballerina Nina (Portman) eat, sleeps, and breathes her craft, and is one of the most dedicated dancers at the New York City Ballet. She lands her dream role as the lead in Swan Lake to play both White Swan and Black Swan, a role that requires both fragility and sensuality. Nina has all the qualities needed for the perfect White Swan, but newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) embodies the Black Swan. Nina feels the pressures of getting the balance between the two personas, but when she starts to embrace her darker side she takes a turn for the worst and starts to lose grip on her mental stability.
Nickel Boys (2024)
Director: RaMell Ross
Age rating: PG-13
Length: 140 minutes
Where to stream: Fubo (US); Prime Video (UK and AU)
When I saw that Nickel Boys had been added to Prime Video, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to challenge myself and read Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name before watching its Oscar-nominated adaptation. It’s safe to say that the movie did more than honor its literary predecessor, and it’s unique first-person perspective challenges the norms of fleshing out a powerful narrative.
In the 1960s deep south during the Jim Crow era, Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) is a bright scholar and admirer of Martin Luther King, whose inspiring speeches fuel him with optimism for a brighter future. He has a successful future ahead of him, but this is stripped away from him when he’s sent to reform school Nickel Academy for a crime he didn’t commit. When he meets fellow inmate Turner (Brandon Wilson), whose view of the world is the complete opposite to Elwood’s, the two form an alliance to power themselves through the brutal and abusive teachings of Nickel.
Whitehead’s story is a powerful account of friendship set in the back drop of the Civil Rights Movement, bringing light to the harsh realities of deep southern culture and racism during the 1960s.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
