My month of streaming
I’ve officially kicked off my summer of streaming, and June has been another month of watching quality titles across the best streaming services. Over the past few weeks, I’ve managed to tick off an array of different titles, and I’ve noticed that there’s been a common theme: Hugh Grant.
That’s right, somehow I ended up watching three Hugh Grant movies – unintentionally I must add – but each one of them was the perfect way to end each day and settle into the evening. Aside from my Hugh Grant marathon, I’ve checked off two documentary titles and a Netflix miniseries starring Sofía Vergara that I’ve finally got round to watching, as well as my usual wave of drama movies – because I simply cannot say no.
Heretic (2024)
Directors: Scott Beck & Bryan Woods
Age rating: R
Runtime: 111 minutes
Where to stream: Max (US); Prime Video (UK & AU)
Despite hearing overwhelmingly positive things about Heretic, I went into it with an open mind because although I’m a huge horror fan, there’s always that chance a movie can easily flop. But not in the case of Heretic.
Heretic sees ’90s rom-com actor Hugh Grant in a completely different light compared to the typical love interest characters we know him for playing, and I have to say Mr Grant does have range.
When two young Mormon preachers (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) arrive at the reclusive home of Mr Reed (Grant), he welcomes the young missionaries in and the three engage in a deep discussion about religion. But all is not as it seems, and the two young women sense that something is wrong. Before they know it, they’re caught in a twisted cat and mouse game where they must prove their faith.
The Godfather (1972)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Age rating: R
Runtime: 175 minutes
Where to stream: Paramount+ (US, UK & AU)
I found myself having a good few hours to spare while I was suffering at home with a flu this month, so I decided to brave all three hours of Coppola’s epic crime drama The Godfather.
As the head of the family, Marlon Brando is simply brilliant as Vito Corleone and the story introduces one messy drama after the next. But while I can appreciate its craftsmanship, I felt it dragging quite a bit and some parts were just a little boring – sorry to all the film bros out there.
In a post-World War II New York, the Corleones are the most notorious crime family lead by patriarch Vito (Brando). As Vito comes to terms with age and declining health, he must select one of his children to become the next heir and lead the family empire. He turns to his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino), but his reluctancy to take on this responsibility draws a divide between family members.
Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy (2025)
Directors: Yemi Bamiro & Hannah Poulter
Age rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 80 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix (US, UK & AU)
The new Astroworld documentary on Netflix was the first of two documentary titles that I watched in June, but this one was by far the most harrowing.
I remember when the Astroworld tragedy happened and, as a huge concert and live music attendee, I couldn’t begin to fathom how something so tragic and deadly could’ve occurred at a music event.
Chronicling the events leading up to the Astroworld festival and recalling the aftermath, several groups of attendees are interviewed to discuss their experiences at the concert, featuring some heart-breaking interviews with the friends and families of those who lost their lives.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Director: Mike Newell
Age rating: R
Runtime: 117 minutes
Where to stream: Prime Video (US, UK & AU)
At last, I finally watched Four Weddings and a Funeral after being nagged by my closest friends to watch it for years, and yes, I obviously loved it.
This is where Hugh Grant shone as an actor before taking on his role in Heretic, and while there’s not a lot of separation between his character here and in Notting Hill (1999), he has great on-screen chemistry with Andie MacDowell.
Hugh Grant plays his typical British archetype as Charles, a young bachelor who has serious commitment issues and is famously single by choice. Over the course of five different social events he meets and forms a close bond with an American girl Carrie (MacDowell), and the two hit it off right away. However despite their immediate connection, it takes them several attempts to decide that maybe they were meant to be together all along.
The Founder (2016)
Director: John Lee Hancock
Age rating: PG-13
Runtime: 115 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix (US & UK); Stan (AU)
The Founder came up on my Netflix recommendations and since I was being very indecisive after searching through services for something to watch, I said ‘why not’ to the McDonald’s movie – it was also Michael Keaton that sold it for me, I loved Birdman (2014).
Set during the early 1950s, The Founder tells the story of how a small hamburger business was transformed in to a global empire. Struggling salesman Ray Kroc (Keaton) finds himself at a red light in his career, but that all changes when he meets hamburger restaurant owners Dick and Mac McDonald (Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch).
Impressed with their fast food business plan, Kroc sees huge potential for the brothers’ business and is enrolled as their franchising agent, but as the business skyrockets to success Kroc’s taste for power grows too.
Griselda (2024)
Creators: Doug Miro, Eric Newman, Carlo Bernard & Ingrid Escajeda
Age rating: TV-MA
Episode runtime: ~ 55 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix US, UK & AU)
I watched Griselda on a whim when I didn’t know what to watch next, and I ended up being completely dragged into her crazy and dramatic world. I’m also a huge fan of Sofía Vergara as Gloria in Modern Family, so it was quite a shock to see her in a non-comedic light.
Inspired by true events, the miniseries follows Griselda Blanco (Vergara), one of Colombia’s biggest drug lords who went by the name of ‘Godmother of Cocaine’. Over the course of eight episodes the show depicts every detail of her story from her arrival to Miami, to how she rose to power and become a notorious figure despite facing brutal misogynistic treatment.
Depp v Heard (2023)
Director: Emma Cooper
Age rating: TV-MA
Episode runtime: ~ 47 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix (US, UK & AU)
The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial was inescapable, filling everyone’s social media feeds and every news channel alike. But no matter how much of it I saw online, there were still a lot of unanswered questions – enter the three-part docuseries.
In just three episodes, Cooper’s docuseries takes you through one of the most high-profile domestic abuse cases which was widely televised for the world to see. Switching between both sides of the story, the series deeply explores what really went on between the two actors and how the case was put to rest.
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
Director: Sharon Maguire
Age rating: R
Runtime: 92 minutes
Where to stream: Max (US); Prime Video (UK); Paramount+ (AU)
This is (unintentionally) the third Hugh Grant movie in my list this month. What can I say, perhaps Four Weddings and a Funeral ignited something in me.
A rom-com classic and one of the best British movies ever made, Bridget Jones’ Diary never fails to make me laugh out loud every time with each clumsy mishap and every F-bomb. And Colin Firth’s British stiff upper-lip is just as endearing.
Based on the novel by Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is a notorious singleton in her early thirties who keeps a diary to track every happy, sad, and awkward moment of her love life. Each entry marks a significant event in her life, be that failed romances and sex, but her life gets more awkward when two men battle it out for her affection – a first for Bridget.
Ghost (1990)
Director: Jerry Zucker
Age rating: PG-13
Runtime: 127 minutes
Where to stream: Paramount+ (US); Prime Video, Paramount+ (UK); Stan, Foxtel Now (AU)
Before watching the iconic ’90s romance movie on Prime Video, I had never seen it all the way through and had only seen parts in clips online or when it was airing on TV when I was younger.
Since I’m a fan of Dirty Dancing (1987) you can get me to watch almost anything with Patrick Swayze, and he’s just as great in Ghost alongside Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg – who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Successful banker Sam (Swayze) and artist Molly (Moore) are a couple madly in love, and having just moved into a new apartment they’re ready to take the next steps in their relationship. This is ripped from them when Sam is murdered by a mugger in an alleyway, but his spirit lives on. When he finds out that Molly’s life is in danger, he enlists the help of psychic medium Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg).
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