[imagesource: Michele K. Short]

I know.

Usually, it’s three trailers selected for Friday perusal but it was a four-day week and we’re feeling generous.

Hello, weekend. We’ve been waiting for you.

Let us begin the winding down of the week with Africa’s first big blockbuster Netflix movie, Silverton Siege.

Due for release on April 27, the film is inspired by true-life events that took place in South Africa in 1980.

Apartheid police and three Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) members faced off in a bank in Silverton, Pretoria. The Netflix synopsis is short and sweet:

A trio of freedom fighters get into a collision course with the state after a failed sabotage mission, which turns into a bank hostage standoff. This film is inspired by the real life incident that sparked the global ‘Free Mandela’ movement and features Thabo Rametsi, Noxolo Dlamini and Stefan Erasmus, and Arnold Vosloo.

Those names mean we should be spared a repeat of Blood Diamond and such horrid accents.

It also stars Michelle Mosalakae, Elani Dekker, Shane Wellington, and Tumisho Masha:

Chances are if you haven’t yet read Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ve seen it on a friend’s bookshelf.

The book is always better than the movie. That being said, you’re in luck as you can now watch the movie adaptation hitting theatres on July 15.

Variety reports:

The film, which is based off the novel of the same name by Delia Owens, follows Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) — a young woman from the North Carolina marshes who becomes a suspect in the murder of a man she was once involved with…

In addition to Edgar-Jones, “Where the Crawdads Sing” also stars Taylor John Smith as Kya’s friend Tate and Harris Dickinson as Chase, the murdered ex-lover who, before his death, lied to Kya about marriage and then attacked her after she tried to end things.

Taylor Swift fans (I believe they’re called Swifties) have been losing their shit because the trailer also previews her new song, ‘Carolina’:

Two down, two to go.

Apple TV+ is spending wads of cash on original content to gain a foothold in the streaming service wars.

One of their latest offerings, Roar, is a rather intriguing anthology series. This from Deadline:

Nicole Kidman shamelessly feasts on photos, Issa Rae doesn’t seem to exist in front of men, Betty Gilpin is a literal trophy wife on a shelf built by Daniel Dae Kim, and Alison Brie is a ghost.

Set to premiere Friday, April 15, Roar is an anthology series of darkly comic feminist fables based on the book of short stories by Cecila Ahern.

Spanning genres from magical realism to psychological horror, these eight stand-alone stories feature ordinary women in some pretty extraordinary circumstances.

The star-studded trailer features a host of familiar faces:

In case you missed it, that one premieres April 15.

Here we are – our fourth trailer. What a journey.

Should we finish with something lighthearted? Not today – it’s a toss-up between a Jimmy Savile documentary and an exposé of Hillsong Church.

Let’s go with the latter and the docuseries, Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed. Here’s The New York Post:

Under celebrity pastor Carl Lentz, international megachurch Hillsong became trendy and influential, garnering splashy profiles in outlets such as GQ, and attracting stars such as Chris Pratt, Kendall Jenner, Nick Jonas and Justin Bieber.

But all was not holy. “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed,” a new three-part docuseries premiering March 24 on Discovery+, dives into the jaw-dropping history of the religious institution and its founder Brian Houston, who has been accused of everything from embezzling church funds to covering up child sex abuse.

Houston stepped down as church director in January and full resigned on Wednesday.

Interesting that he resigned the day before the docuseries premiered. Perhaps we should expect plenty of bombshell revelations:

All in all, not a great week for Hillsong or Houston.

As for us, here we are that little bit closer to home time.

Enjoy your weekend.

[sources:netflix&variety&deadline&nypost]