Watch, listen and be inspired by Calum Henderson's definitive list of what's hot right now and from the vault.
Irma Vep (Neon, from Tuesday)
How to explain HBO's new TV-series-about-a-TV-series Irma Vep? Let's start with the director. Olivier Assayas is a French film critic and shall-we-say "auteur" who you may have heard of if you traditionally spend a lot of time perusing the film festival booklet.
His previous works include 1994's Cold Water, 2016's divisive Kristin Stewart thriller Personal Shopper and 1996's Irma Vep, a meta movie-about-a-movie in which a washed-up French film-maker attempts to get his career back on track by remaking the classic 1916 silent film Les Vampires. With this series, he's remixed and reimagined his film and its themes a quarter of a century on – this time, naturally, Les Vampires is being remade as a TV series.
Irma Vep is the name of the film-within-the-film's main character (and as the cryptic crossworders will have already noted, an anagram for "vampire"), a femme fatale played here by a disillusioned American actress (Alicia Vikander) eager to regain some cred after selling out and starring in a lowbrow action blockbuster. When she first tries on Irma Vep's signature black jumpsuit she's compelled to go full method, creeping around the office and stealing a credit card from a producer's purse.
Confusing and pretentious as it may be (or is it in fact a very clever satire of confusing and pretentious film-making), the series' saving grace is that it's often very funny – in an extremely dry, French sort of way. "Are you happy?" someone asks the director at one point. "I tried happiness," the wretch muses between handfuls of nuts, "it's just not for me."
Many will try Irma Vep and find it's just not for them too. But to a sliver of the TV-watching population, this will be a work of unparalleled genius. If the words "cahiers du cinema" mean something to you, it's probably worth investigating.
Everything I Know About Love (TVNZ OnDemand)
The world's most beloved Dollys: Parton, obviously number one, and Alderton, increasingly firm at number two. Everything I Know About Love is the hotly-anticipated TV adaptation of the British writer/podcaster's popular 2018 memoir and a paean to female friendship. Dolly or as she's called here Maggie (Emma Appleton) is a wide-eyed, just-moved-to-London 24-year-old, sharing a house with her best friend Birdy (Bel Powley) and two other uni friends, all of whom are still young enough to be blissfully immune to hangovers. It's the best of times, it's the worst of times, it's the last days of indie disco (2012). It's a very fun, lovable – if exhausting – watch.
Queer As Folk (TVNZ OnDemand)
Fans of the groundbreaking millennium-era British series are probably justified in feeling weary of a new American "reimagining" of the cult favourite. It's already been adapted for a US audience back in the day, and while not an outright disaster it's still part of a long tradition of inferior US versions of British shows. Still, there's reason to be optimistic about this one – it's written and directed by film-maker Stephen Dunn (Closet Monster) who's described Russell T Davies' series as simply a "jumping off point" for this version. Kim Cattrall is a recurring cast member, but, perhaps most importantly, it guest stars Megan Stalter, the scene-stealing receptionist from Hacks.
Under the Banner of Heaven (Disney+)
If you enjoyed True Detective, just imagine that series' general vibe but set in the Mormon church and you've got a pretty good idea what to expect from Under the Banner of Heaven. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, it stars Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man) as a Mormon detective investigating a murder in the Church of Latter-Day Saints. The victim's husband, who is estranged from the church, maintains his innocence and claims mysterious men with beards did the murder. A somewhat more theosophical than usual detective drama ensues.
Movie of the Week: House of Gucci (Neon, from Thursday)
If you've heard anything about House of Gucci you've heard about the accents, and now's your chance to see what everyone was talking about without having to spend 20 bucks and two-and-a-half-hours at the movies. The Ridley Scott directed biographical crime drama has plenty of other stuff going for it too, of course, including a star-studded cast (Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek …) Some loved it, some hated it, but at least everybody seemed to have an opinion about it one way or the other.
From the Vault: Twister (1996) (Netflix)
There is a case to be made that the action blockbuster genre peaked in 1996 with the release of Twister. The movie's huge cultural impact was evident in every kid suddenly wanting to be a "storm chaser" when they grew up, and a nationwide epidemic of jealousy that we didn't get deadly tornadoes here in New Zealand. The last time any of us thought about Twister was probably 1997, but now it's popped up on Netflix you desperately want to rewatch it, don't you? Bloody nostalgia.
Podcast of the Week: Ghost Church
Comedian-slash-writer Jamie Loftus is a singular voice in what can feel like an increasingly homogenous medium. And despite the rough DIY edges, her three series to date feel like a blueprint for how podcasts ought to be made.
Like her three previous series (My Year in Mensa follows her attempts to assimilate into the deeply toxic brainbox society; Lolita Podcast critically re-examines Nabokov's widely misunderstood novel, Aack Cast does the same but for the maligned Cathy comic strip), Ghost Church is a mix of old-fashioned on-the-ground reporting and modern personal essay, with a pinch of stand-up routine for good measure.
This series is a deep dive into American spiritualism, which is by definition not a cult because there isn't a single charismatic leader to be found. There are two main strands to the story – one traces the movement's history from its beginnings in the 19th century with two Massachusetts sisters who claimed to be able to communicate with the dead, the other follows Loftus' attempts to worm her way into the annual conference in Florida.
It's equal parts fascinating and funny, open-minded without giving the movement a free pass on its problematic elements (of which there are a few). It's worth a listen, and worth keeping an eye on what Jamie Loftus does next.
