Wondering what to stream this weekend?
This month I've spent a few days in bed (I'm thinking about doing a health update soon). And as the nights have started to get darker, earlier. I haven't felt too guilty about spending more time on my sofa watching Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. So here's what I've been watching this month, all of which is available to stream online. And what to stream this weekend;
Styling Hollywood
As someone who was a big fan of The Rachel Zoe Project and loves watching the stars walk the red carpet in fabulous gowns and designer jewels. I was so happy to stumble across Styling Hollywood on Netflix. It follows celebrity stylist Jason and his interior designer husband Adair and their company JSN Studios, as they work with some of the biggest celebrities and celebrate 'black girl magic' both when it comes to styling outfits and their incredible houses.
If you were a fan of The Rachel Zoe Project, like I was, or love shows like Project Runway and Queer Eye. I've got a feeling that you will really enjoy this show. There's lots of glamour and celebrity clientele. As well as real life drama in both the business and the employees personal lives. This is the kind of show that I can put on after a long day. Or when I wasn't feeling well, to just sit back and enjoy. I quickly flew through the eight episodes that are currently available. And I'm already hoping that a second season is in the works.
★★★★★
Dirty John
It's rare that me and my parents watch a show that all three of us are fans of. But that's exactly what happened with Dirty John. If anything, I think they were even bigger fans that me, asking each night if we could watch another two episodes. And if you haven't already seen this based on real life series starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
It's a juicy drama, with plenty of great scene stealing moments from Juno Temple, that has you desperate to find out what happens next. If you go into Dirty John without knowing much about the real life case or subsequent true crime podcast that inspired it, you'd be foolish to think that this is just a simple case of a man being after a woman for her money. It gets beyond crazy but not in an unbelievable way. I won't spoil how it ends but I was quite literally shook by a certain scene. I did not expect it to play out or end like that at all. Seriously, give this a watch when you can. Definitely my top pick this month for what to stream this weekend.
★★★★★
Red Oaks
For years now, I've been meaning to watch this Amazon Prime Video Original. But for some reason or another, something new has caught my eye instead. Just before all the new shows for Autumn started back, I was flicking through Amazon Prime Video when I saw Red Oaks. And I finally pressed play.
Set in the 1980's at a County Club in New Jersey in the middle of Summer. This instantly gave me Adventureland (one of my very favourite movies ever) vibes. As silly as it sounds, if I could go back in time, I wouldn't go back to the Victorian times or even further back. I'd be happy growing up in the US in the 1980's. The music, the lack of technology and the romanticised notions that I've gotten from Adventureland and now Red Oaks, have sold it for me. It stars Craig Roberts, who you might know from Submarine and a great supporting cast. It's just a really enjoyable, coming of age, show to watch. And there are three seasons to quickly get through, of which I've just finished the second.
★★★ and ½
Wind River
I'd heard a lot of good things about Wind River. But I had no idea what to expect when I pressed play on Netflix. And honestly, it's one of those movies that I haven't been able to get out of my head since seeing it. To give you a brief synopsis, it's set in the harsh Wyoming snowy landscape, where Jeremy Renner plays a wildlife tracker. He finds a young woman murdered out in the middle of nowhere, whilst following tracks. And one single FBI agent, played by Elizabeth Olsen, responds to the call.
There are a few scenes that I will find it difficult to forget. And when the heartbreaking reality of what really happened is unveiled, you feel completely deflated. To then find out that Native American women are the only demographic where missing person reports are not kept, punches you in the gut once again. Renner and Olsen do some of their best work in this and finding out that it was created by the same person behind Sicario, immediately made sense to me. Honestly, this is one of the best thrillers that I've seen in a long time and made me think of something like Insomnia but with this being even more chilling. Pardon the almost pun there, with it being set in the freezing snowy terrain. This has got to be my top movie pick for what to stream this weekend.
★★★★★
A Simple Favour
As a big Anna Kendrick fan and someone who really enjoyed the director Paul Feig's previous films (Bridesmaids, The Heat and Spy) I had high hopes for A Simple Favour. From what I'd seen from the trailer, it looked really interesting. So when it was added to Netflix, I instantly added it to my Netflix list. And I watched it soon thereafter.
Now I'm still not sure how to feel about this movie. The majority of it was enjoyable, some of the twists were good and Anna and Blake played opposite each other well. But something just felt off about this movie for me. It essentially felt like it was trying too hard to be the next Gone Girl in many ways, without doing it in a witty or new way. And parts of the movie were shocking just for the sake of it, without really adding anything to the storyline. If you've seen it, what were your thoughts?
★★★
Next month's What I've Been Watching...
So those are just a few ideas for what to stream this weekend. We also just got Now TV in our house and more specifically the Sky Movies Pass, which my parents got two free months of when they bought the box. So we're thinking about challenging ourselves to watching one movie a day/night over the month of October to really get our moneys worth.
Let me know if you'd be interested in reading a month of movies-style blog post, in addition or instead of my normal What I've Been Watching blog post.
What have you been watching recently? Have you seen any of the TV shows or movies in this month’s blog post? If so, what did you think of them? And what do you think of the month of movies idea?
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