HBO Max offers subscribers a wide range of choice this week, starting with Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated sci-fi epic Dune, which is returning to the platform via the "Pay 1" window. HBO is also debuting late-night sports talk show Game Theory with Bomani Jones, and Amy Berg’s Phoenix Rising documentary about Evan Rachel Woods’ abuse allegations against former boyfriend Marilyn Manson. Meanwhile, filmmaking legend Werner Herzog narrates a discussion on the fate of the planet and the galaxy in the Discovery Plus documentary Last Exit: Space. Ryan Reynolds, co-star of Netflix's biggest movie hit ever, Red Notice, is back on the No. 1 subscription platform playing a fighter jet pilot who finds himself traveling through time to the year 2022 ... where he discovers his 12-year-old self. If you are in the mood for a jaw-dropping, bizarre, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-this-train-wreck story, Netflix is offering up the four-part docuseries Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.
Dune (HBO Max, March 10)
After debuting on HBO Max for 31 days last fall, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is returning to the streaming service. Up for 10 Oscars this spring, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, this science-fiction film covers the first half of Frank Herbert's 1965 landmark eponymous novel. Starring (Timothée Chalamet) as Paul Atreides, the emerging hero of the desert world of Arrakis, this latest iteration generated $400.5 million at the global box office, along with an undisclosed number of HBO Max subscribers amid its October day-and-date release on the SVOD platform. Rotten Tomatoes aggregated its critics reviews at 84%. Worth a go if you haven't seen it -- but watch it in an environment that maximizes all the effects, costume and cinematography recognition this film has deservedly garnered.
Last Exit: Space (Discover Plus, March 10)
Directed by Rudolph Herzog, the son of documentary legend Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World), documentary Last Exit: Space explores mankind’s quest to become a multi-planet species. While billionaires have figured out how to get to space, the doc narrated by Herzog filmmaking legend father, makes it clear that Earth’s 7 billion-plus inhabitants can’t count on space as an escape route. “Once a viewer understands what the Herzogs really are saying —t hat we should care for the planet we’re on, because it’s the only one we have, or will — the hypotheticals become not just amusing but also awe-inspiring, in terms of the vastness of the universe and time and what it would take to travel anywhere remotely inhabitable,” wrote Wall Street Journal critic John Anderson.
Desus & Mero (Showtime, March 10)
Denzel Washington joins Desus Nice and The Kid Mero to kick off the fourth season of the late-night talk/variety series. The duo have successfully given their take on pop culture, sports, music, politics and other hot topics since 2019. In addition to Washington, Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland are among the celebrity guests that will appear during season four. After airing twice a week during season three, the show will return to a once-a-week schedule.
Bust Down (Peacock, March 10)
Workplace sitcom Bust Down, from the pen of Brooklyn Nine-Nine executive producer Luke Del Tredici, stars Sam Jay (Pause with Sam Jay) Chris Redd (SNL), Langston Kerman (Insecure), and Jak Knight (Black-ish) as four Gary, Indiana casino employees without much going on. In an attempt to get out of their dreary existence, the foursome manage to get on the wrong side of their bosses at the fictional Diamondback Casino. A lot of young talent here. Peacock has conservatively committed to a six-episode first season.
The Adam Project (Netflix, March 11)
This sci-fi action movie stars Ryan Reynolds as Adam Reed, a fighter jet pilot who finds himself traveling through time to the year 2022. There he teams up with his 12-year old self (played by Walker Scobell) on a Shawn Levy-directed adventure that takes them both through time and space and forces them to deal with the disappearance of their father (played by Mark Ruffalo). Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, Zoe Saldana and Alex Mallari Jr. also star in the film directed. Levy and Reynolds just teamed up for Disney/Fox's Free Guy, which generated more than $331.5 million before hitting both Disney Plus and HBO Max a few weeks back. Reynold's last film for Netflix, the espionage film Red Notice, for which he starred alongside Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot, generated a hypothetical $3 billion ... if Netflix viewing hours was somehow converted into box office receipts. Of course, it doesn't work that way. But with Red Notice scoring that big despite a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score, how can Adam Project lose?
Turning Red (Disney Plus, March 11)
Directed by Domee Shi, whose Pixar short Bao won an Oscar for animated short, the Pixar animated feature Turning Red follows a Chinese-Canadian middle-schooler Mei Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang). Mei is going through puberty and unfortunately the poor thing turns into a giant red panda whenever she feels overwhelmed. Showcasing new music from singer and songwriter Billie Eilish and Finneas, the Pixar film features the voices of Sandra Oh, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and James Hong. Like fellow Pixar animated films Soul and Luca, Turning Red will stream directly on Disney Plus and not have a theatrical release. Critics have aggregated Turning Red at a strong 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV Plus, March 11)
This six-episode series is based on the 2010 book by Walter Mosley. Samuel L. Jackson stars as Ptolemy Grey, a 91-year-old suffering from dementia. After taking an experimental drug, Grey’s dementia lifts and he briefly regains his memories. He uses the rare moment to solve his nephew’s death and come to terms with his past. Dominique Fishback co-stars. The series will debut with two episodes. Weekly episodes will follow. "See it for Jackson and Fishback, in particular, and for what they can accomplish when plot takes a back seat to character," wrote the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey has a critics aggregation score of 86%.
Game Theory with Bomani Jones (HBO Max, March 13)
This six episode weekly late-night series features former ESPN commentator Bomani Jones and his take on timely sports topics like, why the NFL should abolish its annual draft. Jones, who is the host of the ESPN’s podcast The Right Time, was a personality at ESPN for over decade appearing on Around the Horn and co-hosting Highly Questionable and High Noon. Adam McKay (Succession, Don’t Look Up) serves as the series executive producer.
Phoenix Rising (HBO Max, March 15)
In Amy Berg’s two-part HBO documentary, actress Evan Rachel Wood opens up about abuse allegations she made against former boyfriend Marilyn Manson. Wood began dating the theatrical rocker in 2007, when she was 19 and the musician was 38. The docuseries, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, features Wood recounting various acts of alleged assault committed against her during her three year relationship with Manson. Wood co-authored and successfully lobbied for passage of The Phoenix Act, legislation that extends the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases in California. Manson filed a lawsuit against Wood earlier this month, calling Wood’s allegations “malicious falsehood.”
Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives (Netflix, March 16)
This four-part documentary series explores how Sarma Melngailis, a celebrity restaurateur behind the New York hotspot Pure Food and Wine, went from being the queen of vegan cuisine to fugitive on the run. In 2013, Melngailis began draining her restaurant’s funds and funneling the money to her husband Shane Fox, a con man who convinced Melngalis that he could make her pet pitbull terrier immortal. Their undoing? A charge made under Fox’s real name, Anthony Strangis, for a Domino’s pizza order. It’s hard to take your eyes off a “vegan vixen” turning into the “vegan Bernie Madoff.”
