There’s a goldmine of streaming options coming out this month, but are any worth your precious time? Here’s our look at some of this week’s releases. The good news? There isn’t a bad one in this bunch.
“The Perfect Couple”: The premise of Netflix’s addictive six-episode murder mystery series would make an Agatha Christie or “White Lotus” fan salivate. The morning after an obscenely over-the-top wedding rehearsal dinner on Nantucket, a member of the wedding party washes up dead on a beach near the groom-to-be’s sprawling family mansion. Whodunit? The list of suspects would make Miss Marple run screaming from the scene of the crime. They include: an ice princess of a mystery author (Nicole Kidman) who’s the mother of the groom; her handsy hubby (Liev Schreiber, so strange but good); the dreamy best man (Ishaan Khatter) and his insane abs; the cruel, obnoxious brother (Jack Reynor), his gossipy, snide pregnant wife (Dakota Fanning) and a bride-to-be (Eve Hewson) who has imposter syndrome and isn’t so turned on by her bland fiancé (Billy Howle). There are more potential suspects; even the all-seeing, all knowing “help” aren’t above suspicion.
Director/executive producer Susanne Bier and showrunner Jenna Lamia are well aware they’re making the screen series equivalent of a summer beach read (it is, after all, based on a Elin Hilderbrand page-turner) and they fully commit to that concept, and succeed, thanks to the ever-game A-list cast and the witty writing that grills the rich and the privileged and unspools a red-herring-laden mystery. “The Perfect Couple” does walk down a crime-solving aisle many mysteries have traveled before, but this one does it with so much class and sass you just won’t care. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; drops Sept. 5 on Netflix.
“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist”: Peacock comes out swinging with this eye-opening eight-episode Atlanta crime story inspired by an iHeart podcast. Like “The Perfect Couple,” it comes loaded with talent in front of and behind the cameras, and it pays off. Showrunners Shaye Ogbonna and Jason Horwitch know how to give audiences a hell of a good time as they riff on ‘70s blaxploitation flicks — splitting the screen at points — while relating the shocking story about a small-time hustler “Chicken Man” (a well-cast Kevin Hart, also an executive producer) who hosts a house party on the night of the iconic 1970 fight between Muhammad Ali (Dexter Darden) and Jerry Quarry. The gathering went seriously awry when all of the guests — including members of the Black Mafia — got robbed and sometimes humiliated by low-level criminals. The bold but stupid attack doesn’t sit well with East Coast mobster Frank Moten (Samuel L. Jackson) who’s convinced that Chicken Man and his business partner/part-time lover Vivian (Taraji P. Henson) had a hand in the crime. Later, detective J.D. Hudson (an outstanding Don Cheadle) crosses paths with Chicken Man once he’s done guarding Ali, and the two reluctantly form an alliance. “Fight Night” is funny and violent and not only touches on the blatant racism of that time but has an assured grasp of ’70s styles (the feathered locks of Terence Howard — who plays a member of the mob — are a sight to behold). But it really punches above its weight when Cheadle, Hart, Jackson and Henson are onscreen. Details: 3 stars; three episodes drop Sept. 5 with a new episode released every week after.
“Rebel Ridge”: Underrated actor Aaron Pierre lands a killer lead role at last and it’s one that plays to one of his greatest strengths — those piercing, intense eyes that burn through you. Pierre’s cobra-like onscreen presence is a good match for his role of Terry Richmond, a solid guy on his way to post bail for a cousin held in the small Southern town of Shelby Springs. The local cops greet him in the most unfriendly manner, nearly mowing him down on his bike and then badgering him about the bag of loot he has to pay his cousin’s bail. Indie filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier’s Southern fried thriller makes police corruption the real culprit here and that arrives in the slick form of police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson). The dirty top cop targets not only Terry and his cousin, but also a helpful court clerk (AnnaSophia Robb). Netflix’s track record for stand-alone features hasn’t been so great of late. “Rebel Ridge” ups the genre game for the streamer; it’s not only smart and thrilling, but shot, written and directed well. And the acting is terrific, particularly by Pierre, who injects a steely intensity when it’s needed. Details: 3½ stars; debuts Sept. 6 on Peacock.
“Slow Horses Season 4”: You can breathe a collective sigh of relief, “Slow Horses” fans. Season 4 maintains the high quality of previous seasons. The disgraced batch of British MI5 spy outcasts overseen by the crude, rude but sharp Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman, in a deservedly revered performance) get drawn into an age-old feud. Season 4 opens with a slap to the face, which involves the addled actions of slow horse agent River Cartwright’s (Jack Lowden) grandfather David (Jonathan Pryce) — a former MI5 figure with clout. That act dredges up old vendettas, buried secrets and cold ambitions. The less said about the story line and its many potential spoilers the better, especially when it comes to the enormous, fall-out-of-your-chair surprise delivered in Episode 6. “Slow Horses’” complex characters continue to hash out their issues this season, and while everyone is exceptional, this is Lowden’s finest hour. He’s a tremendous actor, and in one of the season’s most intense scenes, he conveys so much with just a look in his eye. Let’s hope this series just keeps on going. Details: 3½ stars; first episode dropped earlier this week, with an episode following every week after.
“English Teacher”: Never underestimate the therapeutic powers of a good workroom comedy. They often make us feel like we’re not alone when we run into that annoying coworker who does or says something that makes us scream on the inside. The talented Brian Jordan Alvarez is aware of characters like that but his new FX series “English Teacher” takes a kinder eye at the absurdity of the human condition, even joshing about the understandable messiness of the person he plays, high school English teacher Evan Marquez. In this breezy, sunny series (each episode is just under 30 minutes), the gay Marquez tries to keep a level head above troubled waters, but somehow winds up back in the bed of an ex (Jordan Firstman), hires a shady drag queen to help the football team on a half-time routine, even moves closer to breaking up his friendship with another teacher (Stephanie Koenig) while on a camping trip. Toss in an un-woke, at times, PE teacher (Sean Patton), a bunch of disinterested students, and a parent outraged over Evan kissing his then boyfriend in class, and you have the right fixings for a comedy that we can only hope will graduate to a sophomore season. Details: 3 stars; two episodes available now on FX/Hulu.
“The Wonderland Massacre & the Secret History of Hollywood”: Crime novelist Michael Connelly serves as guide and interviewer for this straightforward overview of the savage 1981 murders of four people in a Laurel Canyon townhouse and the key personalities involved in the lurid case. Directed by Alison Ellwood (“San Francisco Sounds”) and executive produced by Connelly amongst others, it does too often flash the same bloody crime scene photos. But it also intricately puts all the varied pieces into place. The murders not only had ties to a porn star — the late and not always on-the-level John Holmes — but also Liberace’s drug-addicted boyfriend Scott Thorson, who’s extensively interviewed. The case also involves a paid-off juror and other instances of corruption, and exposes the seedy underside of Hollywood. (One shock is hearing an investigator relate how cocaine would be factored into budgets on shooting sets in order to meet deadlines.) Connelly used to be a Los Angeles Times journalist (this series is based on his own podcast) and his no-nonsense approach on this four-parter makes for a compelling view of an investigation and a crime that still lives in the shadows of the Hollywood sign. Details: 3 stars; first episode drops Sept. 8 on MGM+ with each episode following the week after.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.
