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Netflix
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Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly
TV, US/Australia, 2026 – out now
This amusingly titled documentary explores the motivations behind Australian academic and competitive B-girl Rachael Gunn and her infamous breakdance at the Paris Olympics, when she bounced like a kangaroo and writhed like a worm on hot concrete. She scored a big fat zero from judges but cemented herself in the annals of weird Olympics history.
Featuring extensive reflections from Gunn herself, the film also examines the internet pile-on that ensued when this self-professed “dorky white woman” went viral. Then came the conspiracy theories.
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Unabomber
Film, US, 2026 – out 25 September
Any kind of true-crime story, no matter how liberal it is with the truth, is catnip for Netflix’s algorithms. No one will be surprised that the streamer has produced a film about Ted Kaczynski, AKA “the Unabomber”, a Harvard-educated terrorist who wreaked havoc for almost 20 years.
Told across two timelines – charting the origins of the Unabomber and the FBI’s pursuit of him – the film stars Jacob Tremblay as Kaczynski, Shailene Woodley as Joanne Miller, an FBI agent on his trail, and Russell Crowe as Harvard professor Henry Murray, who conducted a range of disturbingly unethical experiments on Kaczynski. This role belongs in the darker side of Crowe’s canon, alongside other charming characters such as Hermann Göring in Nuremberg and Hando in Romper Stomper.
Honourable mentions: Hotel Transylvania (film, out now), Scary Movie (film, 4 September), Bad Boys: Ride or Die (film, 4 September), Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool (film, 8 September), Call My Agent! The Movie (film, 10 September), Crazy Rich Asians (film, 15 September), Sentimental Value (film, 15 September), Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story (TV, 17 September), Ted 1 and 2 (films, 20 September), Habeas Corpus (TV, 23 September), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (film, 25 September), The Godfather (film, 25 September).
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Stan
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American Hostage
TV, US, 2026 – out 20 September
I once had an idea for a movie about a gun-wielding man who enters a talkback radio station and takes it hostage. His only demand: the microphone stays on (title: Dead Air). As it turns out, a similar situation actually occurred in real-life. Adapted from the scripted true-crime podcast of the same name, American Hostage stars Jon Hamm as radio reporter Fred Heckman, who is contacted by a self-professed “mad, mean” hostage-taker (Giovanni Ribisi) who demands to be interviewed on his program.
This surely makes for good radio, and good ratings, but also comes with ethical issues. The real standoff lasted 63 hours and a media circus ensued.
Honourable mentions: Hook (film, 3 September), Blood Diamond (film, 5 September), Escape Room 1 and 2 (films, 8 September), Pike River (film, 12 September), Wonka (film, 13 September), American Fiction (film, 16 September), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (film, 18 September), No Hard Feelings (film, 20 September), I’m Not There (film, 21 September), Trainspotting 1 and 2 (films, 23 September), The Wedding Singer (film, 24 September), The Emoji Movie (film, 25 September), Insidious: The Red Door (film, 27 September).
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ABC iView
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Tampa: The Turning Point
TV, Australia, 2026 – out now
This excellent, very well-paced three-part series about the 2001 Tampa affair is a cut above the average ABC talking-heads fest. It unpacks a myriad of issues and wraps compelling context around this well-covered incident, involving the fates of hundreds of asylum seekers rescued by a Norwegian freighter, whose lives became political footballs for the Howard government.
One of the avenues explored by prolific director Kriv Stenders (whose work includes The Correspondent, Last Days of the Space Age and Red Dog) is the role Australia played in fostering new forms of intolerance towards refugees and asylum seekers, perhaps influencing the hard-line stances later taken by the likes of Tony Blair and Donald Trump. Its huge lineup of interviewees includes John Howard, Alexander Downer, Tony Abbott, Bob Brown, Helen Clark and, most importantly, several Tampa survivors.
Honourable mentions: Death Valley (TV, 11 September), The Tony Blair Story (TV, 22 September), The Forsytes season 3 (TV, 27 September).
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SBS on Demand
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Memento
Film, US, 2000 – out 18 September
There’s never been another film quite like Christopher Nolan’s audaciously structured thriller, comprised of two interlocking strands: monochrome sequences that unfold chronologically, and colour sequences that play out in reverse order. This outre structure keeps the audience off balance, in some ways reflecting the confused mindset of Leonard (Guy Pearce), who suffers from anterograde amnesia and is unable to form new memories.
Leonard is convinced that a man named John G raped and murdered his wife, and is determined to find him, recording information and clues with Polaroid photographs, handwritten notes and tattoos on his body. Memento is a chillingly cerebral film that turns what could have been a gimmick into an immersive narrative device.
Honourable mentions: Daisy Jones & The Six (TV, out now) Paper Planes (film, out now), Escape From Extinction: Rewilding (film, out now), Ramy seasons 1-3 (TV, out now), The Black Dahlia (film, 4 September), The Haka Party Incident (film, 4 September), Evil Dead (film, 11 September), The Immigrant (film, 11 September), A Different Man (film, 11 September), The Dropout (TV, 13 September), Muppets From Space (18 September), A Sámi Wedding (TV, 20 September).
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Prime Video
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The Runner
Film, UK, 2026 – out now
Gal Gadot runs, runs and runs some more in this abduction thriller, in which she plays a London-based lawyer whose son is kidnapped by a silky-voiced nasty-pasty. Having rudely interrupted her morning run, this bad guy introduces a “very simple game” that involves her following his instructions – ie going to particular locations (easy so far …) and killing her star witness (a tad more difficult).
It is a lithe 84 minutes, though some of the dialogue (like “you’ve been running from your past”) suggests a pretty on-the-nose affair. The Runner does have pedigree talent behind it, being helmed by Kevin Macdonald – who directed Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland.
Honourable mentions: Elf (film, out now), Drawn Together (film, 9 September), Wildcat (film, 11 September), Blue Moon (film, 14 September), Ocean’s Thirteen (film, 14 September), The Love Hypothesis (film, 23 September), The Matrix (film, 28 September), Crazy Rich Asians (film, 29 September), Green Lantern (film, 29 September), Hairspray (film, 29 September), Tenet (film, 29 September), The Bodyguard (film, 29 September), The Conjuring 1 and 2 (film, 29 September), The Meg (film, 29 September), The Shining (film, 29 September), No Time to Die (film, 30 September), Rocky 1-5 (film, 30 September), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (film, 30 September), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (film, 30 September), The Mummy (film, 30 September), The Terminator (film, 30 September), When Harry Met Sally (film, 30 September).
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The Get Out
Film, US, 2026 – out 25 September
Ah yes: a shady operator attempts to go on the straight and narrow, only to be pulled back into a life of crime by various dark operators. In The Get Out, Russell Crowe plays Manco Kapac, the owner of a nightclub that launders money for a Mexican drug cartel.
After suffering a heart attack, he follows medical advice to change his lifestyle, intending to scoot off to a far-flung island. But things get complicated when he’s robbed by a dodgy college professor (Aaron Paul) of money he needs to hand over to the cartel. In the trailer, Crowe looks (and sounds) like he’s having fun, wrapping his mouth around a broad Balkan accent.
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HBO Max
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Mother Mary
Film, US/Germany, 2026 – out now
This year is unquestionably the year of Anne Hathaway, gracing our screens in not one, two, but five new movies. This one comes from director David Lowery (whose work includes the awesomely surreal A Ghost Story) and revolves around a pop superstar, Mother Mary (Hathaway), who is preparing to launch a major comeback.
She wants her estranged friend and lover, fashion designer Sam (Michaela Coel), to create a great dress for her upcoming show. But there are unresolved issues between them, including Sam’s festering resentment over not being acknowledged for her role in her friend’s stardom. The film pivots into the supernatural realm, the trailer declaring “THIS IS NOT A GHOST STORY” while deploying all sorts of dark and trippy imagery.
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Megalopolis
Film, US, 2024 – out 5 September
I appreciated the audacity of Megalopolis, the self-funded sci-fi epic from the great – albeit clearly past-his-prime – Francis Ford Coppola. But by God, it’s a total mess, self-indulgent as all get-out, and stuffed full of weird, sometimes unintentionally funny, dialogue. It’s set in an alternate-world America, where Adam Driver’s architect protagonist wants to rebuild the New York-esque city of New Rome into a utopian society. He must battle the mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) and various other forces to make his vision a reality. The film is a turkey of the most spectacularly bloated kind, which is why (I think) it deserves to be mentioned here.
Honourable mentions: Bust Up (TV, 4 September), A Killer Story (TV, 11 September), Lethal Weapon 1-4 (films, 12 September), Youth (TV, 21 September), Line of Fire (TV, 22 September), Siren: The Voices of Shelley Beattie (film, 23 September), Slo Pitch (TV, 25 September).
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Binge
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The Deb
Film, Australia, 2026 – out 19 September
Very few people went to the cinema to see Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, a musical adapted from the stage production of the same name. Which is a shame: a masterpiece it ain’t, but it is a fun, frothy experience.
Charlotte MacInnes plays Maeve, a woke city slicker expelled from high school after making a bold protest against its uniform policy. She’s sent to live in a small town with her cousin Taylah (Natalie Abbott), who has pinned an enormous amount of hope and expectation on her school’s upcoming prom. The first number, Fuck My Life, ticks off the most important movie musical box: open strongly.
Honourable mentions: Men in Black: International (film, 2 September), High Country season 2 (TV, 14 September), Apocalypse (TV, 16 September), American Horror Story season 13 (TV, 25 September).
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Disney+
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Toy Story 5
Film, US, 2026 – out 23 September
It’s good to see a Toy Story movie arrive with some social commentary and topicality, as Buzz, Woody and the gang are forced to grapple with the dominance of screen-based devices. The toys view devices such as the “Lilypad” tablet (voiced by Greta Lee) with apocalyptic despair, watching as their eight-year-old owner, Bonnie, becomes obsessed with it and increasingly disconnected from reality.
Don’t expect a binary “tablets bad, toys good” divide. Some have wondered whether the film goes hard enough on technology; personally, I think it takes a nuanced perspective, recognising that responsible use of technology is ultimately a human responsibility, and not something that can be outsourced to the technology itself.
Honourable mentions: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (film, out now), Chad Powers season 2 (TV, 3 September), FX’s The Drop: A Snowfall Saga (TV, 9 September).
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Apple TV
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Last Seen
TV, Australia, 2026 – out 9 September
There’s currently an embargo on reviews of Apple TV’s first Australian series, which is set and shot in Victoria. So let’s just say I get the impression that it’s a crackingly good watch, sensationally pacey and twisty. Patrick Brammall (recently seen in the very different Colin From Accounts) plays Ian, a former cop and emergency phone line operator grieving the loss of his young daughter, who disappeared 11 years ago.
She’s presumed dead, and the recent discovery of a small child’s remains suggests that he and his ex-wife (Jessica Wren) might finally get some closure. One night, however, he answers a call from a distressed teenager. Could it be her? No way! Yes way! Maybe!?
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Mayday
Film, US, 2026 – out 4 September
Set during the cold war in 1987, Mayday follows American pilot Troy Kelly (Ryan Reynolds) as he narrowly escapes death and crash-lands in enemy territory, where he’s assisted by Nikolai (Kenneth Branagh), an ex-KGB agent turned carpenter. Which sounds rather serious, but directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley treat the premise as an odd-couple action-comedy, recently discussing the film in relation to 1980s classics such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles and 48 Hrs.
The twist is that Nikolai is a big fan of American culture (“I never have had McDonald’s, but I suspect I would love it”) and agrees to help Troy escape, leading to an unlikely friendship forged amid danger, culture clashes and plenty of wisecracking.
Honourable mentions: Slow Horses season six (TV, 16 September), Brothers (TV, 23 September).
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