Five (more) things to watch this weekend
Echo 3 (Apple TV+)
A US scientist is kidnapped by guerrillas in South America. That’s bad news for anyone but it turns out it may be especially bad news for her captors as both her new husband and her brother just happen to be members of the US special forces. Let loose the dogs of war and cue tense action drama in this series created by Oscarwinning “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty” writer Mark Boal. Starring Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman and Jessica Collins it’s perhaps not as complex and dramatically layered as its creator would like us to believe but it does offer some solid action-adventure thrills.
The Tower (Britbox)
“Game of Thrones” actor Gemma Whelan gives a complex and engaging performance as a police detective called in to investigate after a veteran cop and a young refugee girl fall to their deaths from the top of a housing block. As she begins to unpack what happened it becomes clear that there’s a lot more going on than either she or the tight-lipped cops she’s trying to talk to might think. Directed by Joe Loach — son of British social realist pioneer Ken — this tight four-part miniseries wraps its smart exploration of social issues in a solid police procedural structure to ask difficult questions about discrimination, gender politics and corruption.
The Many Saints of Newark (Showmax)
One of last year’s most hotly anticipated films was this “Sopranos” prequel directed by creator David Chase. Set in the Mob-ruled streets of 1960s New Jersey it stars the late Tony Soprano actor James Gandolfini’s son Michael as the young incarnation of the show’s legendary anti-hero and features several younger versions of key cast members. It’s a solid crime drama that offers plenty of nostalgia and backstory for diehard “Sopranos” fans, even if on its own merit it may not quite reach the levels of drama and intrigue of the show that changed the television landscape forever.
Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (Netflix)
The team behind the 2020 docuseries “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” turns its attention to his enabler and equally nefarious accomplice, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. The documentary offers a portrait of a woman who behind the tabloid reports of her wealth and status was a deeply troubled narcissist. She used her privilege to conceal her predatory actions and was as responsible as Epstein for destroying the lives of countless young women who fell victim to her charms.
Stutz (Netflix)
Jonah Hill turns the tables on his psychiatrist, the renowned mental health assistant to the stars and business world Phil Stutz, in this intimate documentary, which examines the tools and techniques that Stutz has developed over his 40year career to help make him one of the world’s foremost experts on mental health issues.