WHAT WE CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem And Madness
Ever heard of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka the self-proclaimed Tiger King? You’ll likely be hearing more about him after this true-crime docuseries drops on Netflix. The show recounts the case of the platinum-blond-mullet-ed Oklahoma roadside animal park operator who was convicted of plotting to murder an animal rights activist and killing five lions – among other wildlife charges – earlier this year. Naturally, Maldonado-Passage had a very DIY YouTube channel, meaning this doc should have lots of kitschy footage to contrast with the case’s horrific details. It’s like he was spit out of a Netflix true crime algorithm: Don’t Fuck With Big Cats. March 20
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
Fresh from premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, this documentary, exec-produced by Michelle and Barack Obama, tells the story of Camp Jened, a camp for disabled teens in the early 70s. Filmmakers Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht start out by taking a nostalgic look at the campers’ summertime shenanigans but then springboard into a wider story about the birth of the disability rights movement as the teens grow up and become activists. March 25
Feel Good
Created by Mae Martin, this semi-autobiographical Netflix original romantic comedy series stars the former Toronto-based comedian (and Baroness Von Sketch Show writer) as a stand-up juggling new relationships, sobriety and her rising profile in London’s comedy scene. Netflix may not be rushing to finance shows fronted by English Canadian talent and set in Canada, but hey, we’ll take a Torontonian-in-Britain story – especially one that co-stars Lisa Kudrow. The show is also directed by Canadian Ally Pankiw. March 19
The Decline (Jusqu’au Déclin)
The first French Canadian feature film produced by Netflix is also the first feature from award-winning short filmmaker Patrice Laliberté (Overpass, Late Night Drama), starring Guillaume Laurin as a young husband and father who decides to attend a survival-training program to prepare for an uncertain future, only to find himself and his teammates drawn into a disaster of their own making. Réal Bossé, Isabelle Giroux and Marc-André Grondin (C.R.A.Z.Y., the Goon films) co-star. March 27
Dare Me
Fresh from its run on the USA Network, this stylish and only slightly campy series follows the very charged relationship between small-town Ohio cheerleaders Beth (Marlo Kelly) and Addy (Herizen Guardiola) and their new coach (Willa Fitzgerald), which shifts from fun to flirty to downright toxic, and will almost certainly lead to something very, very bad happening. Adapted by Megan Abbott and Gina Fattore from Abbott’s 2004 novel and shot right here in Toronto (hi there, Amanda Brugel!), it could pick right up where the latest seasons of You and Cheer leave off. Or it could be its own very specific thing. March 20
Spenser Confidential
After a run where Mark Wahlberg plays macho American hero in Peter Berg movies about real tragedies and/or elite military units, the duo are switching it up in Spenser Confidential. The action comedy pairs Wahlberg with Winston Duke (of Black Panther and Us fame) as an odd couple sticking it to corrupt cops and the cartel. The movie is written by Brian Helgeland, who does pulpy and comic crime movies so well, as evidenced by L.A. Confidential and Payback. March 6
Dirty Money (season 2)
After painting Donald Trump as a reptilian con man in its first season, Dirty Money returns with an episode on the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The series, co-produced by Going Clear director Alex Gibney, includes an episode that exposes the exploitative real estate practices and code violations that have led many to label Kushner a slumlord. Other episodes in the season look at corruption from banks, cartels and the Malaysian prime minister. The latter was involved in the 1MDB embezzlement scandal that funded Red Granite Pictures, which produced Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street. March 11
Unorthodox
This four-part series stars Shira Haas as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman from Brooklyn who leaves her arranged marriage and starts life over in Berlin. Based on the autobiography of Deborah Feldman, the story sounds rife for TV movie of the week treatment, but given that German actor Maria Schrader (Deutschland 83) is making her TV directing debut with this project, we’re expecting something more filmic. March 26
SOLID BETS
The Platform
Netflix snapped up Galder Gaztelu-Urritia’s amazing high-concept horror movie at TIFF last year, just days before it won the Midnight Madness People’s Choice award… and now, six months later, the rest of the world can finally catch up to the mixture of low comedy, political allegory, left-field twists, crowd-pleasing surprises, spectacular violence, sadism, altruism and yet more spectacular violence, all adorning an infernally simple premise about social interdependence, class systems and exploitation. Watch it knowing as little as possible. And brace yourself. March 20
There’s Something In The Water
Ellen Page and Ian Daniel, who made the Vice web series Gaycation together, explore environmental racism in Page’s home province of Nova Scotia with this documentary inspired by Ingrid Waldron’s book about the industrial practice of creating ecological disaster sites near marginalized Black and Indigenous communities. And they underline Waldron’s thesis by keeping their focus on the women who’ve been trying to save their homes, families and friends from mendacious polluters and an indifferent government – all of whom are inevitably represented by wealthy white men. Read our review here. March 27
Phantom Thread
Among the last decade’s finest films, Paul Thomas Anderson’s prickly Gothic romance locks Daniel Day-Lewis’s dominating dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock in a toxic waltz with his muse, Alma, played by the outstanding Vicky Krieps. She’s empowered by his gaze, eventually worn down by his neglect and spends the film searching for the kind of intimacy that suits them best all so she can remain his submissive object of affection. Read our review here. March 1
Isle Of Dogs
Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion ode to scruffy, lovable stray dogs. Set in Japan, the mayor of Megasaki banishes the city’s dog population to Trash Island, where the dogs form their own society and class system. The dogs are voiced by Anderson regulars, like Bill Murray and Edward Norton, as well as Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson and a brief appearance by Yoko Ono. Read our review here. March 1
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman made a masterpiece together in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, a sci-fi tragicomedy about a post-breakup couple trying to forget their painful memories. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet make a surprisingly intoxicating pairing in this romance on rewind, which sifts through the ebb and flow of a tumultuous relationship, working past the bad times before bringing back what was good. It’s heart-wrenching, hilarious and unforgettable. March 1
List of new titles available in March by date:
TV SHOWS
Coming in March
Arashi’s Diary: Voyage (new episodes)
The English Game
March 1
Go! Go! Cory Carson (season 2)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 11)
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked! (season 11)
March 3
Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis
March 4
Riverdale (season 4, weekly episodes)
March 5
Castlevania (season 3)
Mighty Little Bheem: Festival Of Colors
March 6
Paradise PD (part 2)
The Protector (season 3)
Ugly Delicious (season 2)
March 10
Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal
Marc Maron: End Times Fun
March 11
The Circle Brazil
Dirty Money (season 2)
On My Block (season 3)
Riverdale (season 4, weekly episodes)
March 13
100 Humans
Beastars
Bloodride
Elite (season 3)
Kingdom (season 2)
Restaurants On The Edge (season 1)
The Valhalla Murders
March 16
The Boss Baby: Back In Business (season 3)
March 17
Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy
Shaun The Sheep: Adventures From Mossy Bottom
March 18
Riverdale (season 4, weekly episodes)
March 19
Altered Carbon: Resleeved
March 20
Archibald’s Next Big Thing (season 2)
Buddi
Dare Me
Dino Girl Gauko (season 2)
Greenhouse Academy (season 4)
Self Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker
Tiger King
March 25
Riverdale (season 4, weekly episodes)
Signs
YooHoo To The Rescue (season 3)
March 26
7Seeds (part 2)
Black Lightning (season 3)
Unorthodox
March 27
Car Masters: Rust To Riches (season 2)
Dragons: Rescue Riders: Hunt For The Golden Dragon
Il Processo
Ladies Up
Ozark (season 3)
True: Wuzzle Wegg Day
March 31
Chip And Potato (season 2)
MOVIES
March 1
Beyond The Lights
Constantine
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
High Noon
His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass
Land Of The Dead
Moneyball
October Sky
Shaun Of The Dead
The Producers
Vanity Fair
What A Girl Wants
Wimbledon
March 3
March 4
Coal Miner’s Daughter
Drag Me To Hell
Fear
National Lampoon’s Animal House
March 6
Guilty
I Am Jonas
Spenser Confidential
Twin Murders: The Silence Of The White City
March 8
Sitara: Let Girls Dream
March 11
Summer Night
March 12
Hospital Playlist
March 13
Go Karts
Lost Girls
Women Of The Night
March 18
Riverdale (season 4)
March 19
Feel Good
March 20
A Life Of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story
The Letter For The King
Maska
Ultras
March 23
Sol Levante
March 24
Life Of The Party
March 25
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
Curtiz
The Occupant (Hogar)
March 27
The Decline
Mark Of The Devil
There’s Something In The Water
Uncorked
March 31
Pineapple Express
Sense And Sensibility
Step Brothers
LAST CALL
TV series and movies leaving Netflix this month.
March 3
Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect 2
The Purge
March 24
@nowtoronto
