Screens

Where: Paramount+
What: Movie, 96 mins.
When: Tue., Feb. 27
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: An astonishing look at the weaponization of hip hop lyrics to incarcerate Black youth in the U.S. — it happens in Canada too — that also leads to a “chill” that sees artists unable to speak their truth without fear of repercussions. Bronx rapper Kemba digs deep exploring the historical roots of attempts to limit Black music from the songs of enslaved people through to jazz, blues, rock and now hip hop. Thousands of Black youth are in U.S. jails, in many cases having swung plea deals, confessing to crimes they did not commit to avoid the risk of larger sentences. It’s a legal system that’s stacked against them as lyrics and videos they had made are used as evidence to convict them. Through interviews with artists from Killer Mike to lesser-known cotemporaries, Kemba uncovers real-life examples and the artistic impact of these actions. Director J. M. Harper brilliantly juxtaposes the words of white artists, including Shakespeare, and folk and country songs from the ’50s to illustrate the double standard that allows white artists to speak in violent imagery without it being assumed they intend to actually do it. He makes a powerful case that, if viewed through the same lens Black artists are seen, Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s “gang” play illustrated through a brilliant scene with hip hop artists menacingly reading the Bard’s words. While there are some high-profile cases of rappers like Young Thug having their lyrics used against them in court, As We Speak demonstrates how widespread and destructive it is. Essential viewing.

Where: AppleTV+
What: Series, 8 episodes, 58 mins.
When: Now, new episodes Wednesdays
Genre: Science-fiction
Rating: NNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Space gets the Nordic Noir treatment in this creepy and confusing series that sees Swedish Astronaut Jo Ericsson (Noomi Rapace) survive — or does she? — a catastrophic accident on the International Space Station (ISS) that kills another crew member — or does it?

Jo frightens her husband Magnus (James D’Arcy) and 10-year-old daughter Alice (Rosie Coleman) upon return, her connection to reality increasingly tenuous, like the viewers’ experience of the show, as she struggles to determine what is real and what is “astronaut burnout.” She grows increasingly convinced the European Space Agency and NASA are involved in a massive cover-up of what happened and happens in space. Coleman is remarkable as Alice, her confusion, fear and attempts to make sense of incomprehensible situations showing the skill of a much older actor.

The scenes on the ISS are riveting, at times terrifying; Jo’s loneliness and fear when she’s left in the space station to make her own way back to Earth are disturbingly real. Many scenes back on Earth, filmed in winter in Finnish Lapland but representing Sweden, could be lifted right out of True Detective: Night Country: eerie snow, lit black-blue, the lonely crunch of tires and boots in that snow, and the unsettling dark empty spaces of wintery night in the north.

Parallel stories — and realities — abound in Constellation, like the space junk that caused the crash on the ISS. Despite solid leads, great space footage and hints of a successful premise, the mess that is Constellation is like searching for stars on a cloudy night: pointless.

Where: CITY-TV
What: Series, 10 episodes, 50 mins.
When: Debuted, Thurs., Feb. 22, new episodes weekly
Genre: Crime Drama
Rating: NNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: See our town get the L&O treatment with all the classic characters Canadianized. Aden Young is amusing as Det. Sgt. Henry Graff, dropping wry wisdom like a policing savant with such a thick Canadian accent — apparently, we do have them — that he sounds like Mike Meyers doing a Scarborough bit. Kathleen Munroe is solid as the no-nonsense Det. Sgt. Frankie Bateman, and Karen Robinson is great as the imperial, wise and authoritative Insp. Vivienne Holness. From the ominous keyboard chords to the comforting hushed earnestness, this is the full Law & Order treatment with plenty of location shots to firmly root the series in the Six — which is fun. Hard to not think you’re watching an SCTV episode at the beginning with the familiar titles appearing over shots of the city and, at times, the earnestness can feel a bit Littlest Hobo. Ultimately, it’s just more whodunit fun, this time in good ol’ Toronto.

Where: Netflix
What: Series, season 2, 10 episodes, 58 mins.
When: new episodes Thursdays
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: This returning, sizzling crime series, set in 1999 Tokyo, also includes a great look inside a Japanese daily newspaper as a young American reporter, Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) gets perilously close to the story as he investigates the Japanese mob, crooked politicians and more all as he tags along with grizzled cop, hard-nosed city detective Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe). The show literally picks up where it left off, in Season 1, so if you’re new to the show, go back and start at the beginning — it’s worth it. Fans will be delighted to get more of the same as Adelstein deals with anti-gaijin prejudice and stifling hierarchies within the newspaper and society itself. He negotiates the complexities of friends as sources and even subjects of his investigations. Filled with insights and actions — and cool shots of Tokyo — Tokyo Vice is a smart, stylish and satisfying series. Season 2 just started up with new episodes ending at the beginning of April.

Where: Prime Video
What: Series, 6 episodes, 58 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: A soapy trip through an elite expat community in Hong Kong as Nicole Kidman moves her troubled-rich-woman schtick from the Monterey of her Big Little Lies series. Margaret (Kidman), her husband and their surviving kids process the disappearance and death of their adorable three-year-old, Gus, whom we see and, of course, grow attached to through flashbacks. We also follow the tale of Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) the Korean-American would-be nanny who lost Gus on her watch as she tries to carry on. And carry on she does with the estranged husband of Margaret’s best friend as many, many complications ensue. Kidman is quite good as the mother facing every parent’s biggest nightmare and the shots and look inside the life of Hong Kong just before the Chinese crackdown add to this show’s action-packed rewards. Final Season 1 episodes went up this week with rumours of year two lighting up chat groups.

Where: Crave
What: Movie, 96 mins.
When: Tue., Feb. 27
Genre: DCU
Rating: NN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Somethin’ fishy goin’ in here as Aquaman races to streaming. Despite decent though disappointing box office numbers, the film felt like a flop. This franchise felt soggy before the first instalment was ready for the compost bin. The plot of this one, like the title, feels seriously reheated, but as home viewing, we’ll give it another chance.