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It is remarkable how rapidly our consumption of especially visual entertainment changed over the last 30 decades. In the 80s and 90s, the release date in South Africa of international cinema and drive-in movies (fok, remember those?), were almost a year behind those of the USA. A further year of so down the line, the titles would be released on VHS and in the late 90s VHS was replaced by DVD and the the same time frames for releases more or less applied. Oh, and some of us had that one tjommie with the rich parents (or maybe you were that tjommie) who cool enough to say “Oh, I watched that movie on the airplane on holiday. I should be in South Africa soon.” Doos.

With the arrival of the decoder, the Sunday night movies on Mnet became (and still is, to some extent) a thing. Whatever new movie that just came off the DVD rotation, became the Sunday night movie. And now? Movie releases on DVD has virtually disappeared from the face of the earth and in most cases the Mnet movies end up on Showmax  the very next day. I remember when  people were losing their shit over how good Joker was with its cinema release. I wasn’t in the mood to spend a bitcoin on popcorn at the movies and thought “I’ll catch it on Mnet eventually” – that did indeed happen and I found a bunch of other movies which made me think  ‘I will will stream it’ is the new ‘I will wait for it to come out on DVD’

Joker
We almost never get to sympathies with he bad guy. It is different with Joker. Failed comedian, Arthur Fleck is the guy who is alone in a crowd. The unintentional monster, he  seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City, wearing two masks: the one he paints on his face for his day job as a clown mask he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he’s part of the world around him.  Arthur is bullied, isolated and shunned by society and spirals into madness  while transforming into the criminal mastermind we get to know as the Joker. This is his grim origin story. Disturbingly, Joaquin Phoenix based his laugh on videos of people suffering from pathological laughter. Hectic!
From the peanut gallery:
“Batman is the hero Gotham needed. Joker is the villain Gotham deserves.”

The Outpost
Combat Outpost Keating, is situated in an isolated area of Afghanistan and manned by a small force of US soldiers, extremely vulnerable to attack.  In 2009 the Taliban attacks in full force and the odds don’t seem very good.
Several soldiers in the film were played by actual soldiers from the actual Combat Outpost Keating. If you’re into gritty war type movies, don’t miss out on this one.
From the peanut gallery:
“It took Blackburn 19 years to recover from his fall and still he hasn’t aged.”

Just Mercy
Bryan Stevenson (Jamie Foxx) graduates from Harvard and travels to Alabama to defend all those who were wrongly condemned or unable to afforded proper legal representation. One of these cases and one of his first is that of Walter McMillian, who is sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite evidence proving his innocence.  Predictable, Stevenson also encounters racism as he tirelessly fights for McMillian’s life.
The roadblock scene was not intended to be a night scene. The film crew was delayed for almost 4 hours due to storms and it pushed the filming back to nighttime.
From the peanut gallery:
“Guilty from the moment you born” the power in that line is incredible!

The Informer
Ooo fok, this a very lekker action flick! An ex-con working undercover intentionally gets himself incarcerated again in order to infiltrate the mob at a maximum security prison.
Certain parts of this movie was filmed in an abandoned prison in Gloucester, UK!
From the peanut gallery:
“Swedish actors are fucking experts on American accents 😂. Amazing!”

Inheritance
Looking for a lekker thriller? A patriarch of a wealthy and powerful family suddenly passes away, leaving his wife and daughter with a kak load of money!
Simon Pegg trained for 6 month to lose 12 kg in weight for this role. His body fat went down to just 8%!
From the peanut gallery:
“A Lawyer, A Banker and A politician a rare deadly combo. Truly an unholy trinity.”

The Kitchen
Set in 1970s New York City, this mob drama led by Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss sees the wives of gangsters run their husbands’ rings after they’re jailed.
This is not the first time Elisabeth Moss has acted in a DC Comics’ adaptation, she voiced Arisia in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and as a little girl named Kimmy for Batman: The Animated Series.
From the peanut gallery:
“It’s actually looking pretty good and it’s nice to see Miss McCarthy not being typecast for once.”

Impractical Jokers: The Movie
I didn’t even know that there was a series of the same title, but I will give it a shot! The story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four Jokers.
Each time Murray opens his hotel room door to reveal his room, the other guys had no idea what he had set up inside. The first time the guys saw it, was on camera.
From the peanut gallery:
“Didn’t realise how much I needed an impractical jokers movie until now”

Disturbing the Peace
Guy Pearce is a small-town marshal who has to restore peace in his community which is disturbed by a gang of outlaw bikers who have invaded the town. He hasn’t carried a gun since he left the Texas Rangers after a tragic shooting.
This movie got an even worse rating than Sharknado so see if you can finish it! This is the only dud on the list, I promise! I’m gonna challenge myself and see if I can make it through the entire movie, but it is only on my list riiiiiiight at the end if I REALLY have the extra time on Sunday. I’m kidding, there is no fucking way on God’s earth I am watching this kak! Are you going to give it a try? Let me know how that worked out for you?
From the peanut gallery:
“Looks like 95% of the budget was spent in paying Guy Pearce”

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Need more streaming goodness? Check out our top 10 list of movies and TV series picks from The Plumlist. It is my to-go-to website when I’m stuck for streaming ideas from Netflix, Showmax and Amazon Prime:

#10 Stream the M-Net Sunday Night Movie in July 2021 These movies air at 21:05 every Sunday night on M-Net, channel 101, on DStv, and they will also be available to stream within 24 hours on DStv online, so you can watch them wherever and whenever suits you. oaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for his role as mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck, who is disregarded and mistreated by Gotham society. He embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime, bringing him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.	On DStv (read more)
# 9. Sherlock Holmes at your service on a streaming platform near you Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary creation has been reborn time and again over the years, and each version brings a different styling to the tale of the world’s most famous consulting detective. Which versions are available for you to stream right now? Here’s a clue or two about which Holmes will hit your viewing hotspot….	On Amazon Prime, Netflix & Showmax (read more)
#8. Dive into the DC Universe Superhero fans, rejoice! Christopher Nolan’s brilliant Dark Knight Trilogy is coming to Showmax. Stream all three movies, along with Man of Steel, Green Lantern, Shazam!, Birds of Prey and Aquaman, for a DC Universe mega binge..	On Showmax (read more)
#7 The best series coming to Showmax in 2021 No matter what unfolds on a global level in 2021, one thing’s for sure – there’s an incredible line-up of entertainment heading to Showmax subscribers’ screens. This is the projection for the rest of the year so far – the list will keep being updated as the months go by.	On Showmax (read more)
#6 The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are coming to Showmax Pro Following the addition of the UEFA Euro 2020 earlier this year, Showmax Pro subscribers across the continent will soon be able to live stream hundreds of Olympic events on the streaming service from 23 July – 8 August 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were postponed to 2021 as result of the Covid pandemic. While World War I and II led to three Olympics being cancelled completely – in 1916, 1940 and 1944 – this is the first time that a Summer Olympic Games has been postponed since 1896.	On Showmax (read more)
#5 Nine wedding-themed movies that celebrate forever love and fateful mishaps You’re cordially invited… to attend not one but nine weddings on Showmax! Ironically, cordial is usually the only thing not served at the bar when it comes to weddings. A union of souls, families, cold feet, faux pas, dark secrets, honeymoons, slurred speeches, bachelor mayhem and uninvited guests, it’s no wonder movies have so much fun playing off these emotional and life-changing ceremonies.	On Showmax (read more)
# 4. Eleven superhero titles to stream, from The Dark Knight to Supergirl Need some superhero action in your life? Here’s our pick of the most explosive series and movies on internet TV right now. Looking for a superhero fix? These are some of the best DC and Marvel titles now streaming on Netflix, Showmax and DStv.	On Netflix, Showmax & DStv (read more)
#3 Watch: First trailer for Devilsdorp, a Showmax Original true-crime series In 2016, a spate of brutal Appointment Murders gripped the town of Krugersdorp, leaving sales people and consultants terrified to book meetings in case they were the serial killer’s next victims. The investigation led detectives to a series of unsolved cold cases, the so-called Satanic Murders, and to links between 11 Krugersdorp killings between 2012 and 2016. They discovered these were the work of the Electus per Deus (Chosen by God) cult.	On Showmax (read more)
#2 Stream these nostalgic shows and movies that have stood the test of time Nostalgia is truly a super weird phenomenon. It kind of operates like love in the sense that it bypasses logical thinking and directly goes for the jugular – it accesses one’s emotions. Every one of us has developed. to a certain degree, a longing for our younger years – the games we played, the food we ate, the music we listened to and the movies and TV shows that we watched.	On Showmax (read more)
#1 Eighteen things you probably didn’t know about South African TV Nursing a cup of tea in my lunch break and navigating the treacherous waters of social media to reset and get my mind off work, ever so briefly. I came across a video posted by Casper de Vries – it was a 15-minute blooper reel for his hilarious comedy sketch series, Cas Oppie Kassie.	On Showmax (read more)

[feature_headline type=”left, center, right” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ icon=”lightbulb-o”] Our randomized trailer pick of the week [/feature_headline]

Each week we take a number from 1 to 10 from our list of suggestions and put it through a randomizer to choose a trailer to show you. This week it landed on our number 1 spot, “Eighteen things you probably didn’t know about South African TV“:
The story of Afrikaans TV begins with a miraculous new technology, revolves around years of political opposition and gains momentum with the final decision to allow TV anyway.