Wenlei Ma is a TV and film critic, journalist and broadcaster in Sydney, Australia
November 2023
Stream team
Counterpart: this cerebral, rip-roaring spy-fi series forces us to look in the mirror
JK Simmons and Olivia Williams give first-class performances in an espionage drama teeming with twisty plots and parallel universes
October 2023
Shayda director Noora Niasari on family violence, Iranian liberation and taking her first film to the Oscars
As a child, the Australian director fled family violence with her mother. Now she’s storming the global festival circuit with a movie about their past
September 2023
Stream lover
Frasier reboot, Lessons in Chemistry and a Wiggles documentary: what’s new to streaming in Australia in October
While the Men Are Away review – jaunty, queer take on wartime Australia
August 2023
Stream team
Reese Witherspoon for president! Election, a comedy from a time when US politics was amusing
Alexander Payne’s spiky and smart 1999 film, with its cast led by Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick, follows a race for high school president in Omaha, Nebraska
Disney+ production Nautilus scrapped after wrapping on the Gold Coast
The UK series, which employed hundreds of Australian cast and crew, is the latest victim of cost-cutting measures at Disney and beyond
Stream team
Before Oppenheimer, there was Manhattan: this underrated drama is a must-see
Despite a starry cast and strong writing, this series about the scientists living and working in Los Alamos was criminally underwatched
July 2023
Logie awards 2023: Crazy Fun Park beats Bluey, Sonia Kruger takes gold and Tony Armstrong’s back-to-back win
‘The Barbenheimer effect’: Barbie and Oppenheimer smash Australian box office records
Stream team
Game Night: a snot-laughing comical masterpiece that improves on every rewatch
‘Newsflash: we’re not all meek’: how brash, funny Asian women took over our screens
June 2023
‘A pink, glittery, existential dance party’: Barbie movie marketing machine kicks off global tour
Fans flocked to a Sydney outdoor mall to meet Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig and co, as the publicity campaign that hasn’t slowed down commenced its final lap
