If you love heartwarming TV: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Netflix, July 8)
This sweet and magical mockumentary arrives in perfect time for the school holidays, but don’t be fooled into believing Marcel the Shell is just for kids. This tells the story of a tiny talking shell called Marcel, who lives with his grandmother Connie and is searching for his family.
“I love everything about it,” Alex Casey wrote of the film in 2022. “I loved Marcel’s small smile. I loved how Marcel walked up walls using honey. I loved whenever Marcel sang. I loved the Grandma shell. I loved how it made me think about what shells my own family would be. I loved every moment of his journey juggling gargantuan internet fame with the trappings of being a very small shell wearing shoes, something we can all relate to.”
If you love a dark thriller: Sunny (Apple TV, July 10)
Rashida Jones stars in Sunny. Photo / Apple TV
Rashida Jones (Silo, Parks and Recreation) stars in this intriguing drama about an American woman living in Japan who loses her family in a mysterious accident. After discovering her husband lived a life full of secrets, the woman is given Sunny, a new type of domestic robot made by her husband’s electronic company. What could go wrong? Early reviews call this a “kooky and gripping” thriller that transcends genres and a “daring and unpredictable” series.
If you love reality TV: The Boyfriend (Netflix, July 9)
Japan’s first same-sex romantic reality series takes place during a hot summer of hopes and dreams as nine young men move into the same beachside house to find love. They have to work together in a coffee truck and, as the weeks pass, begin to find the freedom to express themselves among their new friends. It’s similar in tone and style to Japanese reality hit Terrace House and comes with a colourful panel of Japanese stars who provide a commentary on all the blossoming romances. Groundbreaking, wholesome and extremely heartwarming.
If you love a vampire drama: Firebite (TVNZ+, July 11)
“Firebite is like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” TVNZ promises, and it might just be right. Set in the Outback mining town of Opal City, Firebite follows a king vampire who arrives to take over the land and kidnap locals for their blood. It’s up to two Indigenous renegades to stop both the king and the war, in what is described as “a compelling, compulsive story of modern-day colonisation”. It’s dark and dusty and full of surprises, a show The Guardian called “exhilaratingly different”.
If you love me tender: Priscilla (TVNZ+, July 13)
Cailee Spaeny (right) outshines Jacob Elordi's Elvis in this biopic that is firmly focused on Priscilla Presley.
Sofia Coppola’s film about the relationship between teenager Priscilla Beaulieu and some guy called Elvis drops on TVNZ+ this week. Earlier this year, we called the movie “a gem”.
“The vibe of Priscilla is absolutely impeccable. It is quiet, beautifully art directed, and so delicately rendered that it could almost float away,” Sam Brooks wrote in his review. “Graceland, where much of the film is set, feels like a perfectly appointed living room, its own kind of prison. Despite its oppressiveness, Coppola succeeds in making it a world that could seduce a relatively sheltered young person; all smudged glamour and shiny cars.”
