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Desperate to see another slice of Killing Eve, or catch up on the latest episode of Star Wars?
Here's this week's biggest releases on Netfix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services:
SERIES Killing Eve
BBC iPlayer
The first two series are already available to stream, but let's face it, what we really want to see is the third run. Well, it's here at last. Will it live up to expectations? There's every reason to believe so. The last time we saw the central characters, Villanelle shot Eve, leaving fans with one helluva cliffhanger to deal with. When we pick up with them again, Eve is dead to Villanelle, but very much alive to everyone else. She's hiding in plain sight, hoping that her nemesis won't come looking for her. Life seems to be reverting back to normal when a shocking death sets them on a collision course once again. If for some reason you don't or can't catch it online from Easter Monday, don't panic - the series debuts on BBC One from Sunday.
FILM OF THE WEEK
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker
Amazon Prime Video, Sky Store and other download services
Following the death of mentor Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds herself on a parallel journey of self-discovery to Kylo Ren, who has assumed the position of Supreme Leader of the First Order after the demise of Snoke. Finn, Chewbacca, X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron and C-3POaccompany Rey on her daredevil mission, while General Leia Organa presides over the entrenched Resistance. The Rise Of Skywalker shoehorns every conceivable reason for viewers to whoop, cheer and - yes - surrender to steady trickles of saltwater into 141 minutes. It's not always the most elegant film-making and the opening 20 minutes are extremely clunky. However, when planets align, director JJ Abrams delivers rousing action sequences, including one of the series' most visually stunning lightsaber duels, and he engineers a fitting farewell to the late Carrie Fisher using unreleased footage.
Rating: ***
DOCUMENTARY The Innocence Files
Netflix
True crime stories are at the fore once again in Netflix's latest documentary series. The nine episode run is split into three compelling parts - the evidence, the witness and the prosecution - while discussing eight cases of wrongful conviction dealt with by the non-profit Innocence Project. Among those featured are Chester Hollman III, who spent 28 years behind bars after being convicted of murder, death row exoneree Alfred Dewayne Brown, and Levon Brooks, who was sentenced to life in prison after false forensic testimony 'proved' he raped and killed his ex-girlfriend's daughter, allowing the real culprit to remain free to commit other atrocities. It's not easy viewing, but the programme does highlight the need for the Innocence Project's work.
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
Apple TV+
Next Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day, not that any of us will get to see much of the planet, seeing as we're all still in lockdown. Nevertheless, it's a 24-hour period in which we're meant to demonstrate our support for the environment. Apple TV+ is marking it a little early via this short animation based on Oliver Jeffers' bestselling book. The tome is designed to act as a kind of visitors' guide, to inhabitants both old and new, revealing fascinating facts about our extraordinary planet. The animation does the same by following a seven-year-old boy as he learns about Earth from his parents. Jacob Tremblay, Meryl Streep, Chris O'Dowd and Ruth Negga are among the vocal cast.
FILM Richard Jewell
Amazon Prime Video, BT TV Store and other download services
American biographical drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. American security guard Richard Jewell saves thousands of lives from an exploding bomb at the 1996 Olympics, but is vilified by journalists and the press who falsely reported that he was a terrorist. Based on a Vanity Fair article, Richard Jewell is a quietly indignant drama that sees scriptwriter Billy Ray distil three months of trial by media and at least one potential violation of Jewell's civic rights into a compelling character study. The film is anchored by a winning performance from Paull Walter Hauser as the do-gooder, who pursues public service with a tenacity that errs uncomfortably close to obsession.
Rating: ****
SERIES Mafia Only Kills in Summer s2
All 4
The Italian series offering a hugely original, comedic insight into the Mafia during the 1970s is back for its second 12-part run. During the previous season, the Gianmmarresi family had contemplated leaving Sicily, but Salvatore had decided against it, unwilling to leave his homeland at the mercy of murderous villains. The story picks up as the clan returns home, determined to carry on as normal, despite the threat of Mafia retaliation forming a shadow over their lives. Lorenzo, however, is ready to ask for a transfer north to escape the situation, while Pia lands a new teaching job - and finds herself fatally attracted once again to mobster Tommaso Buscetta.
SERIES Run
Eight episodes, exclusively on NOW TV
The past wreaks havoc in the present in the eight-part HBO comedy Run from the team behind Fleabag, which screens in weekly instalments on Sky Comedy and streams exclusively on NOW TV. Ruby and her college sweetheart Billy make an outlandish pact. If one of the them texts the word "Run" and the other replies in kind, they will both drop everything and head immediately to Grand Central Station in New York City to embark on a cross-country American odyssey. Seventeen years later, Ruby lives in the suburbs with her husband Laurence while Billy is forging a career, separate from former PA Fiona. When the word "Run" appears on each other's mobile phones, Ruby and Billy instinctively honour their pact and board a train in Manhattan without a clue to their ultimate destination.
SERIES Noughts + Crosses
Amazon Video, BBC iPlayer and other download services
Based on Malorie Blackman's series of young adult novels, Noughts + Crosses is a provocative drama set in an alternative historical timeline. In this 21st century, Africans have made Europeans their slaves and segregation is robustly enforced to keep apart the white underclass (Noughts) from the black elite (Crosses). Against a backdrop of simmering social tension, Sephy, the daughter of the Home Secretary, sparks forbidden love with her childhood friend Callum McGregor. He is the son of the family's housekeeper, Meggie (Helen Baxendale from Friends). Sephy's boyfriend, military officer Lieutenant Lekan Baako, becomes suspicious and when he discovers her betrayal across the class divide, he vows swift revenge.
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