There is so much cool content released every month that we have decided to offer you a summary of the best shows to watch every month! Let’s start with February:
For All Mankind – Season 2
WHY
This new season of For All Mankind takes us 10 years after the first season, in the middle of the 80’s with a new President, Ronald Reagan, and especially at the peak of the cold war, all this through a sublime opening sequence! What a pleasure to see again this excellent cast and to learn what they have become over the last decade, it feels weird to discover one of them in an office! Gone are the days of the small base on the moon, it is now a very imposing structure with a big team and just like the army’s presence within NASA! As you can imagine, cohabitation will not be easy without counting on the many tensions with Russia. The series continues to offer us interesting multiple points of view on American society and the challenges that each character will have to face. And let’s admit it, it’s going to start in a very spectacular way for one of them! Without spoiling anything, prepare yourself for many tensions on the family, military and political levels but above all for sublime sequences of emotion and action! Ready to embark for the Moon?
WHAT
“For All Mankind” season two picks up a decade later in 1983. It’s the height of the Cold War and tensions between the United States and the USSR are at their peak. Ronald Reagan is president and the greater ambitions of science and space exploration are at threat of being squandered as the US and Soviets go head-to-head to control sites rich in resources on the moon. The Department of Defense has moved into Mission Control, and the militarization of NASA becomes central to several characters’ stories: some fight it, some use it as an opportunity to advance their own interests, and some find themselves at the height of a conflict that may lead to nuclear war.
WHERE
Malcolm & Marie
WHY
Get ready for an evening rich of dispute! Malcolm & Marie is starring Zendaya and John David Washington as a very glamorous couple returning from the premiere of the film directed by the character of John David Washington. Set in a sumptuous villa, we are going to have a multi-part couple’s quarrel that will last a good part of the night. Sam Levinson, the director who has already worked with Zendaya on the series Euphoria, offers us a very sober and almost contemplative direction that leaves a lot of space for our couple to play. And on this side, we will have really excellent performances, each actor will have their own stunning scene and the dispute turns into a sort of long fight and verbal joust. The moments of pause and breathing are well rhythmed and we are looking forward to the resumption of the fight. The film industry and especially the film critics will not be spared, especially in a great and very funny monologue by John David Washington. Hold your breath and dive into this memorable fight!
WHAT
Sam Levinson teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success. The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love. Working with cinematographer Marcell Rev, Levinson creates a film of rare originality; an ode to the great Hollywood romances as well as a heartfelt expression of faith in the medium’s future.
WHERE
News of the World
WHY
Tom Hanks offers us with News of the World to discover the wide plains of Texas just after the end of the Civil War! It is also the occasion for him to work again with the director Paul Greengrass with whom he had made Captain Phillips. The duo offers us a very calm and contemplative western which may discourage some people because the film really takes its time to tell its story. This allows us to admire the superb cinematography created by the master Dariusz Wolski (Raised by Wolves). The surprise encounter between Tom Hanks and a lost little girl (Helena Zengel) is interesting because of the age difference and also because of the language barrier. Their growing complicity is really nice to see. And the various sequences in which Tom Hanks reads selected pieces of newspapers to the population of different towns and villages is very interesting. He targets the articles very judiciously according to his audience, discovering their reaction is a very good moment. The slow pace of the film is also thought-provoking. You won’t regret this trip!
WHAT
Five years after the end of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Hanks), a veteran of three wars, now moves from town to town as a non-fiction storyteller, sharing the news of presidents and queens, glorious feuds, devastating catastrophes, and gripping adventures from the far reaches of the globe. In the plains of Texas, he crosses paths with Johanna (Helena Zengel, System Crasher), a 10-year-old taken in by the Kiowa people six years earlier and raised as one of their own. Johanna, hostile to a world she’s never experienced, is being returned to her biological aunt and uncle against her will. Kidd agrees to deliver the child where the law says she belongs. As they travel hundreds of miles into the unforgiving wilderness, the two will face tremendous challenges of both human and natural forces as they search for a place that either can call home.
WHERE
Netflix (except US, Canada and other select territories)
Pelé
WHY
This documentary takes us on a unique journey as it follows the career of a talented 16 year old footballer until his third World Cup win! Pelé remains the only player in the world to have achieved this record, as well as having scored more than 1000 goals! But the documentary does not only speak to sports fans, it will also show the important social changes in Brazil and how the morale of the country depended on the victories of the Brazilian national team and of course of Pelé. We can see how the popular and political pressure was extremely strong on this young player. He was literally constantly harassed in his daily life. And this will be even more so when the country falls into dictatorship. From a sporting point of view, the film gives an insight into the difference in the style of football practiced by Brazil and that of European countries. A rather brutal game that will make Pelé withdraw from the national team for a while. We discover all these moments thanks to an impressive number of archive footage of stunning quality and often never seen before! All these events are told to us by a great number of quality speakers and especially by Pelé himself! His first appearance is quite surprising, as is his magnificent last sequence! The reunion scenes between him and his former teammates are extremely touching and very funny, especially when they evoke their best memories. Ready to meet the king?
WHAT
This documentary feature tells the story of iconic footballer Pelé, his quest for perfection and the mythical status he attained. As well as unprecedented interview access to Pelé, the film includes astounding archive footage and interviews with legendary former team-mates including Zagallo, Jairzinho and Rivellino. The story looks back at the extraordinary 12-year period in which Pelé, the only man to win three World Cup titles, went from young superstar in 1958 to national hero in 1970; a radical yet turbulent era in Brazil’s history.
WHERE
Red Dot
WHY
Get ready for a very intense and challenging getaway with Red Dot that will take you to the mountains in Sweden! We follow a young couple who are looking for a trip in the wildlife. As you can imagine, this is not going to happen at it was planned. What seems to be at first a simplistic opposition between people from the cities and those from the countryside will take a much more interesting turn and at the same time lead to an escalation of violence. After a tense first act, the film will take on another dimension through various flashbacks that will allow us to have another point of view on what is happening and to understand the reasons for this hunt. We won’t tell you any more so as not to spoil your pleasure. But what is going to happen is very interesting and will make you ask a lot of questions about our couple of heroes. In terms of action, you will be served and the film won’t let you breathe, especially in its last act! Prepare your hiking bags!
WHAT
Red Dot is a Swedish action thriller set in the Swedish mountains and follows David and Nadja, a couple in their late twenties, who’ve been struggling with their marriage. When Nadja becomes pregnant they make an attempt to rekindle their relationship and decide to travel to the magnificent expanses in the north of Sweden for a ski hike. But after what started as a quarrel with two local hunters, their romantic trip slowly turns into a nightmare. Soon, a red laser dot appears in their tent and they are quickly forced to flee into the cold, unforgiving wilderness. Totally isolated in the mountains, they are now being pursued by reckless shooters. Meanwhile, during this sadistic hunt, the couple’s past also comes back to haunt them.
WHERE
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
WHY
Fans of time loop films, you are in luck because after the excellent Palm Springs last summer, here comes The Map of Tiny Pretty Things. If at the first look it seems to be another teenage love story, the film turns out to be much richer and more interesting! Stuck in a time loop, the two heroes each have their own routine and they are quite different, Mark (Kyle Allen) spends his day enjoying little things and helping people while Margaret (Kathryn Newton) has a much more random routine and doesn’t really care about others. The romance between them is going to take a long time to work. We discover the first Mark’s routine through a beautiful long continuous shot! The film becomes really touching when it gets to the subject of its title, the Tiny Pretty Things. Our two heroes go hunting for these many little moments of life like clouds with strange shapes, an eagle catching a fish, … We have a great time discovering these “accidents” with them. The acting duo works very well and we get really attached to what happens on the screen and to see their relationship build and evolve.
WHAT
The film tells the story of quick-witted teen Mark, contentedly living the same day in an endless loop whose world is turned upside-down when he meets mysterious Margaret also stuck in the time loop. Mark and Margaret form a magnetic partnership, setting out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect. What follows is a love story with a fantastical twist, as the two struggle to figure out how – and whether – to escape their never-ending day.
WHERE
Tribes of Europa
WHY
The Netflix’s new German series, Tribes of Europa, does not offer us a very joyful vision of Europe since it has sunk following a mysterious attack. The countries have disappeared in favour of the famous tribes of the title. Life was rather quiet for a family belonging to a small tribe until a major discovery which will attract the appetite of a terrifying tribe on them. Things started in a very classical way but the real interest will be to discover this new world and its different tribes through the three destinies of each member of the family. These three courses will be radically different, each one will have major challenges and will have to do their best to survive including alliance, betrayal and terrible moral choices. We will discover the inner workings of the terrifying tribe but also the ideology and ambitions of the other groups. Technology has not totally disappeared and this creates a kind of hierarchy among the tribes, especially one that is very mysterious and benefits from the latest technology! It is also interesting that the languages are also different. Once the introduction is over, we really enjoy discovering this new Europe and we can’t wait to know more!
WHAT
2074. After a mysterious global catastrophe, what remains of Europe is fractured into countless micro-states with several so-called ‘Tribes’ fighting for dominance over the continent. This is the post-apocalyptic, adventurous saga of three siblings who are forced to set out to change the fate of this new “EUROPA.”
WHERE
WandaVision
WHY
The wait is finally over with today’s release of WandaVision. It’s an understatement to say that this Marvel series for Disney+ was expected! It represents the first step of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and above all it reunites Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) with her love Vision (Paul Bettany) even though he died in Avengers: Infinity War. And it starts with a dive into the sitcoms of the 60’s and more precisely Bewitched. Everything has been thought of to make us relive this era, starting with the black and white look, the 4/3 aspect very TV cathodic but also in the actors’ acting and their stories such as how to organize a dinner with the boss and the neighbourhood fair. About the acting, the casting is excellent in this tribute to the old sitcoms. But we will soon realise that something is wrong with this idyllic and cliché vision of American life, such as the appearance of coloured elements or strange radio messages. As a bonus, we’ll even get some fake ads from that time with mentions of Stark Industries and Hydra. After these first two episodes we are really hyped and we can’t wait to know more about the story and especially who is behind this trick.
WHAT
Marvel Studios presents “WandaVision,” a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) – two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives – begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
WHERE