The SLMan Culture List – June

THE DOCUMENTARY: A Crack In The Mountain

Deep in the jungle of Central Vietnam lies a magnificent underground kingdom. Hang Son Doong is the largest cave passage in the world and a place of spectacular natural beauty. Within the Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, the cave entrance was discovered in 1990 by a local farmer. But it wasn’t explored until 2009, when a British expedition team rigged ropes and descended. Many people have described Son Doong as the eighth wonder of the world. With its own lake, jungle and even a unique weather system, its pristine charm has remained undisturbed for millions of years. In 2014, its future was thrown into doubt when plans were announced to build a cable car into the cave. With many arguing that this would destroy the cave’s delicate eco-system, and the local community divided over the benefits this development would bring, the film follows those caught up in the unfolding events.

Visit Netflix.com

THE HIGH-OCTANE SERIES: 100 Foot Wave

100 Foot Wave returns to Nazaré, Portugal – with stops in Hawaii and California – for a heart-pounding and adrenaline-filled second season following big wave legend Garrett McNamara, his world-class surfing peers, and some surprising newcomers as they continue to push the boundaries of their sport and the limits of their minds and bodies. The season reunites us with the charismatic surfers from series one, including Andrew ‘Cotty’ Cotton, Justine Dupont and CJ Macias, while introducing us to dynamic new players such as local teenager Tony Laureano who’s trying to break into the upper echelons of the sport. United in their passion to push past near-death experiences and self-doubt in pursuit of an elusive transcendence, the surfers are part of a world unlike any other, which is captured by a mix of intimate interviews, personal archive and stunning aerial, water-based and underwater footage.

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THE FOOTIE FOLLOW-UP: Football & How To Survive It by Pat Nevin

Following his excellent debut The Accidental Footballer, Pat Nevin’s newest memoir takes us on a journey to the less glamorous side of football. From Tranmere to Kilmarnock, he plays some of the best football he's ever played. Then, in an unprecedented twist of fate, he finds himself both player and chief exec of Scottish First Division club Motherwell. What follows is an entertaining and revealing tale of the side of football that you rarely see as Pat tries to keep the lid on simmering tensions between owner and the manager. With challenges at every turn, such as learning that his son is autistic, and the club hurtling towards administration, Pat strives to walk the impossible line between player, parent and boss. Football & How to Survive It is a real one-off, uncovering the sport in all its complex, confusing and calamitous glory.

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE MURDER MYSTERY: Poker Face

Created, written, directed and produced by multiple Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rian Johnson, Poker Face is a 10-episode mystery-of-the-week series following Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and at every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve. The whodunnit series features a roster of big-name guest stars including Adrien Brody, Chloë Sevigny, Hong Chau, Jameela Jamil, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Niall Cunningham, Stephanie Hsu, Luis Guzman and Nick Nolte.

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THE SPORTS DRAMA: Swagger

Inspired by NBA superstar Kevin Durant’s experiences, Swagger explores the world of youth basketball, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, opportunism and corruption. Off the court, the show reveals what it’s like to grow up in America. In season two, we meet the man-children Jace, Phil, Nick, Musa, Drew and Royale as they are entering their senior year of high school. All but Phil will be attending Cedar Cove Prep, a predominantly white institution where wealthy board members control the entire operation from the hiring of faculty to the enrolment of students. For all the academic success, Cedar Cove has not been a sporting powerhouse – until Emory Lawson, the athletic director, acquires the Swagger players. Almost overnight, its basketball programme becomes elite, attracting the attention of Alonzo Powers from Gladiator Sneakers. With winning comes scrutiny and the players find themselves under a microscope as they vie for a national high school championship.

Visit TV.Apple.com

THE MUSIC MEMOIR: 1964: Eyes of the Storm by Paul McCartney & Jill Lepore

In 2020, a trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by Paul McCartney on a 35mm camera was rediscovered in his archive. The collection intimately records the months towards the end of 1963 and beginning of 1964 when Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band's first visit to the US, they became the most famous people on the planet. The photographs are McCartney's personal record of the explosive time when he says he was in the “eyes of the storm” alongside John, George and Ringo.

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE GRITTY DRAMA: Hijack

Hijack is a seven-part thriller starring Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther). Telling its story in real time, it follows the journey of a hijacked plane making its way to London as authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Elba is Sam Nelson, an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers – but his high-risk strategy could be his undoing. Archie Panjabi is Zahra Gahfoor, a counter terrorism officer who is on the ground when the plane is hijacked and becomes part of the investigation. The series also stars Christine Adams, Max Beesley and Ben Miles.

Visit TV.Apple.com

THE BBC SERIES: The Gallows Pole

This new Shane Meadows (This Is England) drama is based on the book by Benjamin Myers, which was inspired by the rise of the Cragg Vale Coiners, a gang of counterfeiters in 18th-century Yorkshire. David Hartley returns to his family's moor-top dwelling after seven years in Birmingham. The area has declined in the time he has been away and while he is broken physically, he now has cash, and is determined to change his community for the better. Stars Michael Socha, Thomas Turgoose and Sophie McShera.

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THE WAR FILM: Sisu

Action and history film fans will love this gory Finnish drama. Deep in the wilderness of Lapland, Aatami Korpi is searching for gold. From time to time, the overflight of bombers and the distant sounds of war can be heard in the autumn night. Finally, the hard work is rewarded and the gold dust in the pan grows into gold chunks, and Aatami sets out to take his gold treasure to the nearest city. After he stumbles upon a Nazi patrol led by SS Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf, a breath-taking and gold-hungry chase through the destroyed and mined Lapland wilderness begins.

Visit Picturehouses.com

THE NOVEL: The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

In the shared and private spaces of Iowa City, a loose circle of lovers and friends encounter, confront and provoke one another in a volatile year of self-discovery. At the group’s centre are Ivan, a dancer turned aspiring banker who dabbles in amateur pornography; Fatima, whose independence and work ethic complicate her relationships with friends and a trusted mentor; and Noah, who ‘didn’t seek sex out so much as it came up to him like an anxious dog in need of affection’. These three are buffeted by a cast of poets, artists, landlords, meat-packing workers and mathematicians who populate the cafés, classrooms and foodservice kitchens of the city, sometimes to violent and electrifying consequence. As everyone prepares for an uncertain future, the group heads to a cabin to bid goodbye to their former lives – a moment of reckoning that leaves them all altered forever.

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE PODCAST: The Louis Theroux Podcast

Spotify’s exclusive new The Louis Theroux Podcast is airing fresh episodes every Tuesday. The nine-part series features a star-studded line up of fascinating guests, both notable and legendary in their chosen fields. Series one will feature conversations with Shania Twain, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Craig David, Tan France, Nick Cave, Jennette McCurdy, Nile Rodgers, Samantha Morton and Ben Elton. Listeners familiar with Louis’s inimitable style will know to expect freewheeling chats, with each episode presenting poignant reflections on his guests’ lives and journeys.

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THE THRILLING SERIES: The Crowded Room

The Crowded Room is a gripping 10-episode series starring Tom Holland. It follows Danny Sullivan (Holland), who is arrested following his involvement in a shooting in New York City in 1979. Through a series of interviews with curious interrogator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), Danny’s life story unfolds, revealing elements of the mysterious past that shaped him, and the twists and turns that will lead him to a life-altering revelation.

Visit TV.Apple.com

THE CYCLING MUST-READ: 1923: The Mystery of Lot 212 & A Tour de France Obsession by Ned Boulting

In the autumn of 2020, cycling commentator Ned Boulting bought a length of Pathé news film from a London auction house. All he knew was it was film from the Tour de France, a long time ago. Once restored it became clear it was a short sequence of shots from stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France. No longer than 2.5 minutes long, it featured half a dozen sequences, including a lone rider crossing a bridge. Ned set about learning everything he could about the sequence – studying each frame, face and building – until he had squeezed the meaning from it. Join him as he explores the history of cycling and France just five years after WWI, meeting characters like Henri Pélissier, who won the Tour that year but within a decade had been shot dead by his lover using the same pistol with which his wife had killed herself. And then there’s Théophile Beeckman – the lone rider on the bridge…

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THE FUN FOLLOW-UP: Extraction 2

Chris Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake in Extraction 2, the sequel to Netflix's 2020 blockbuster action film. After barely surviving the events of the first movie, Australian black ops mercenary Rake is tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison where they are being held. Golshifteh Farahani reprises her role from the first film, with Adam Bessa, Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Bernhardt and Tinatin Dalakishvili co-starring.

Visit Netflix.com