Screening Guide: Scribe, demons, JFK conspiracies and a war on Christmas

Scribe is the subject of a new, hard-hitting, eight-part documentary.

Scribe: Return of the Crusader
(TVNZ OnDemand)

Not many, if any, dudes rolled, flowed or had the skill to rock a show like Christchurch rapper Scribe. He exploded on to the scene in the early 2000s with breakthrough hits Stand Up and signature tune Not Many. He led Aotearoa hip-hop's charge into the mainstream while also setting New Zealand music records. For instance, he was the first local musician to be No.1 on the singles and album charts at the same time.
But behind his confident charm Scribe was hiding demons that would quickly lead him towards drug addiction, gambling problems and the attention of the law. Through hard work at rehab and personal reflection, he's since put in the time and effort to turn things around and is now working on his first album in 13 years.
This hard-hitting, brutally honest eight-part documentary series follows Scribe from the dizzy heights of success to rock bottom and the beginnings of his next phase. Difficult questions are answered in the series which promises that no topics are off-limits.
Full series streaming from tomorrow.

Hellbound
(Netflix)

To be brief, Hellbound can be considered the new Squid Game. It's also from South Korea, is also incredibly violent and is also fast on its way to becoming a global phenomenon.

Scene from the new Netflix horror-thriller Hellbound.

The biggest difference is that Squid Game retained believability, it was easy to imagine the events of the show actually happening, Hellbound dives headfirst into fantasy-horror.
The show's about a team of demons who pop up out of nowhere to condemn people to hell in the most graphically violent way possible.
The show's gaining popularity because, like Squid Game, there's more going on underneath the surface. Look beyond its big awful monsters and you'll find big questions, with one critic calling it a "shrewd commentary around ideas of human flaws, mortality, sin, justice and the influence of media".
Streaming now.

'Twas the Fight Before Christmas
(Apple TV+)

There was no festive cheer or goodwill towards man in a small North Idaho neighbourhood when Christmas-loving lawyer Jeremy Morris tried to hold a big seasonal event at his house.

Christmas-loving lawyer Jeremy Morris in documentary 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas.

"I'm probably the only person in the world who has been banned by a federal court from decorating for Christmas," he moans, when his neighbours put the kibosh on his plans to hold an elaborate Christmas celebration outside his house, complete with carollers, food stall and thousands of blinking lights and decorations.
Ho-ho-no, they said to the prospect of 5000 people congregating in their streets, before taking him to court to stop the event from going ahead. Vowing to not let the Grinches win Morris decides to fight back.
Will Christmas be the winner on the day? Find out in this documentary from tomorrow.

JFK: Destiny Betrayed
(DocPlay)

Director Oliver Stone returns to the grassy knoll to reappraise the evidence surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963.

JFK with General Curtis LeMay as shown in Oliver Stone's new documentary JFK: Destiny Betrayed.

Where his Kevin Costner-led historical thriller JFK shot to the top of the box office, this investigative essay sticks to the facts found in the hordes of archive material that has since been released.
This includes new info about assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's "magic bullet", called that because it needed to zip around like an anxious fly to cause the several wounds attributed to it.
But Stone also finds plenty more suspicious, circumstantial or conspiratorial threads on which to pull surrounding that fateful day in American politics. Whether he finds any answers, however, is the big question.
Streaming now.