And the winner is.... find out on Monday when TVNZ 2 live screens the 95th Oscars.
And the winner is.... find out on Monday when TVNZ 2 live screens the 95th Oscars.
Live: Oscars Red Carpet and The 95th Annual Academy Awards
(TVNZ 2)
After the headline-generating outburst at last year’s Academy Awards ceremony, we’re expecting a fairly tepid event on Monday when the A-list file into Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. Comedian and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is suited up to present and will no doubt be keeping wives’ names out of his flipping mouth for the entire evening lest there be an encore of 2022′s most controversial moment.
Plenty of big-name films are in contention with Tom Cruise’s belated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, weirdo-adventure flick Everything Everywhere All at Once and James Cameron’s techno-marvel Avatar: The Way of Water favourites in the sought-after Best Picture category. Best Director includes Steven Spielberg, and fans will be rooting for Brendan Fraser’s comeback story to conclude with the Best Actor Oscar for his role in The Whale.
Best Actress will be tough to call with Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett both in contention, and for Best Adapted Screenplay it’s hard to go past Rian Johnson’s Netflix whodunnit Glass Onion:A Knives Out Mystery.
It’s a game of three halves for Ted Lasso, Apple’s feel-good football comedy that returns for its third season on Wednesday. Jason Sudeikis’ portrayal of the optimistic moustachioed American football coach hired to manage an underdog British soccer team had led the show to success winning over both critics and viewers.
Nick Mohammed and Jason Sudeikis in the new season of Ted Lasso. Streaming on Apple TV+.
The new season sees his team, AFC Richmond, facing ridicule and predictions that their unexpected journey to the premier league will soon be at an end. On top of that, the club’s rivalry with West Ham United has heated up after some office poaching and Ted’s got some family troubles back at home in the States to contend with. It’s enough to stop anyone from smiling. Anyone, except, good ol’ Ted.
A lot of people will be cheering for the show’s return. One critic has called it “as comforting as a buttery biscuit from a friend”. So it’s disappointing that the final whistle is rumoured to blow on the successful series after this season. Get amongst it while you can.
The first episode is this Wednesday, with new episodes weekly.
Luther: The Fallen Son
(Netflix)
When we last saw the brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther he was locked up behind bars and moping over being bested by “a cyber psychopath”. Sick of being constantly trolled by his nemesis he decides to finish it once and for all by doing what any law-abiding detective would do in his situation; breaking out of prison and hunting him down like a dog.
Idris Elba as John Luther in Luther: The Fallen Sun.
Idris Elba returns in the lead role of this gripping psychological, crime-thriller that transplanted the London detective from television’s small screen to the cinema screen. The leap was mostly successful with critics generally onboard with all citing Elba’s commanding performance as the main reason to watch.
“What a story!” one critic raved, before adding that it “grips you and doesn’t let up until it’s done.” However, not all were so kind, with one simply remaking, ”Yawn.”
Fans of the series are not likely to be put off and if you’re a fan of what one reviewer called “zhuzhed-up thrillers” then this will no doubt entertain.
