CODA (Cert 15, 111 mins, streaming from August 13 exclusively on Apple TV+, Drama/Comedy/Romance)
Starring: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant, Eugenio Derbez, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo.
SEVENTEEN-year-old Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is a Child Of Deaf Adults (Coda), and the only hearing member of a family of fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Before school, she works alongside her father Frank (Troy Kotsur) and older brother Leo (Daniel Durant) on the family's boat.
In the wider community, Ruby acts as a translator for the clan including her mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin), who gleefully meddles in her children's love lives and believes that "Tinder is something we can all do as a family".
In the classroom, Ruby nurtures a crush on Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) and she follows him into choir club. Inspirational music teacher Bernardo Villalobos (Eugenio Derbez) recognises Ruby's raw talent and encourages her to pursue a scholarship to Berklee College of Music.
"If you start beat boxing, that cup clapping thing, we're done," jokes best friend Gertie (Amy Forsyth).
However, leaving home is not an option.
CODA is an English language remake of the charming French film La Famille Belier and relocates the intergenerational angst to working class New England.
Writer-director Sian Heder does not hit one bum note with her uplifting rites of passage drama, which forces Ruby to choose between her dreams and familial responsibilities to a feelgood soundtrack, beautifully sung by Jones.
The London-born actress perfectly captures the inner turmoil of a teenager, who fears her family are helpless without her.
Interactions with deaf co-stars Matlin, Kotsur and Durant deliver bountiful laughs and cues a life-affirming final chorus that manages to have us smiling deliriously through torrents of hot tears.
Rating: 4/5
A QUIET PLACE PART II (Cert 15, 97 mins, Paramount Home Entertainment, Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Action, available from August 18 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from August 30 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray £39.99)
Starring: Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, John Krasinski, Scoot McNairy, Djimon Hounsou.
ON DAY 474 of the invasion of sightless extra-terrestrial predators, which hunt by sound, fiercely protective mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and son Marcus (Noah Jupe) have successfully neutralised the alien threat around their farmhouse using amplified feedback from Regan's cochlear implant.
The grief-stricken brood cannot hide forever and beacons of fire in the distance confirm the existence of fellow survivors.
Carrying her newborn in her arms, Evelyn shepherds the family through the post-apocalyptic wilderness to an abandoned steel mill, where they encounter dishevelled family friend Emmett (Cillian Murphy) who has turned his back on the possibility of humankind retaliating against the creatures.
A radio signal from a nearby island rekindles hope and teenager Regan urges her terrified brother to follow the courageous example of their father (John Krasinski).
A Quiet Place Part II is a lean, pulse-quickening sequel, which falls tantalisingly short of the stomach-churning suspense of the nerve-shredding 2018 sci-fi horror written and directed by Krasinski.
His script for the follow-up doesn't boast a stand-out scene to rival a rusty nail or bathtub birth. However, he knows how to mercilessly dial up distress, eliciting strong performances from wife Blunt and young co-stars Simmonds and Jupe, who savour increased screen time as plot strands diverge.
Conveniently flawed logic from the first film proliferates and we can anticipate some of the jolts, but Part II has a couple of nail-biting tricks up its sleeve.
Cameos from Scoot McNairy and Djimon Hounsou catalyse a sickening realisation that the otherworldly predators might not be the biggest threat to the Abbott family's survival.
Rating: 4/5
THE WHITE LOTUS (6 episodes, starts streaming from August 16 exclusively on NOW TV, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
AN IDYLLIC holiday resort in Hawaii brings out the worst in guests and the staff in Mike White's critically acclaimed comedy of modern manners, which checks in on Sky Atlantic this week and streams exclusively on NOW TV.
Recovering drug addict Armond (Murray Bartlett) is manager of the White Lotus resort, a dreamy getaway designed to cater to visitors' whims.
Flanked by his staff including spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and fresh-faced trainee Lani (Jolene Purdy), Armond goes the extra mile in his slice of paradise.
However, he faces stern challenges from some of the guests including newlyweds Shane (Jake Lacy) and Rachel (Alexandra Daddario), and grief-stricken Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), who intends to spread her mother's ashes in tropical surroundings.
MODERN LOVE – SEASON 2 (8 episodes, streaming from August 13 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Romance/Drama)
INSPIRED by a popular column in The New York Times, anthology series Modern Love returns to Amazon Prime Video this week for a second salvo of stories about unexpected connections, reunited old flames and heart-breaking betrayals.
Creatively led by John Carney, director of Oscar-winning romance Once, the eight half-hour episodes were shot on location in New York and Dublin and feature a starry international cast including Lucy Boynton, Tom Burke, Zoe Chao, Minnie Driver, Kit Harington, Garrett Hedlund, Tobias Menzies, Sophie Okonedo, Anna Paquin and Lulu Wilson.
DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT – Season 2 (10 episodes, streaming from August 18 exclusively on Disney+, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
IN THE future, 13-year-old Elena Canero-Reed (Tess Romero) will serve as the President of the United States but for now, she must navigate the pitfalls of seventh grade in the second series of the Disney+ comedy drama.
Based loosely on the childhood of show creator Ilana Pena, these 10 episodes follow Cuban American teenager Elena as she follows her heart and faces challenges at home with her mother Gabi (Selenis Leyva), brother Bobby (Charlie Bushnell) and her mother's boyfriend Sam (Michael Weaver).
When self-doubt creeps in, Elena's future self (Gina Rodriguez) appears as her conscience to guide her through the moral maze and ensure she remains steadfast and true to best friend Sasha (Carmina Garay).
THE KINGDOM (8 episodes, streaming from August 13 exclusively on Netflix, Drama/Thriller/Romance)
EMILIO Vazquez Pena (Diego Peretti) is an evangelist pastor, who oversees the Church of Light with his driven and ambitious wife, Elena (Mercedes Moran).
The man of God is tempted to enter the world of politics in the hope that he can mould a better and more compassionate Argentina.
His political running mate, Armando Badajoz (Daniel Kuzniecka), is assassinated during the hard-fought campaign, which leaves Emilio as the presidential front-runner.
He resolves to unravel the killing, bringing him into contact with idealistic young lawyer Julio Clamens (Chino Darin), who harks from a wealthy family but maintains a healthy distance from his parents (Daniel Fanego, Ana Celentano).
Elsewhere, prosecutor Roberta Candia (Nancy Duplaa) unearths shocking secrets as she leads the investigation to unmask an assassin and Badajoz's unscrupulous campaign manager Ruben Osorio (Joaquin Furriel) shifts allegiances to ensure he is on the winning side.
BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR (8 episodes, streaming from August 13 exclusively on Netflix, Horror/Thriller)
BASED on Todd Grimson's novel, Brand New Cherry Flavor is a hallucinogenic eight-part horror thriller set in 1990s Los Angeles, where the cut-throat business of making films claims lives and shatters dreams.
Aspiring writer and director Lisa N Nova (Rosa Salazar) arrives in sun-drenched California full of self-belief.
She is determined to helm her first movie and navigate a minefield of gender politics and behind-the-scenes skulduggery including shady producers, who will stab her in the back at the earliest opportunity.
One reckless, naive decision turns her dream project into a nightmare and reality and fantasy blur as Lisa stumbles through a world of zombies, hit men and weirdly talented kittens.
