Weekend Watchlist, 12/12: Work

What to watch this weekend

In Reflection in a Dead Diamond, Yannick Renier holds something up to the sunlight and squints
Image: Shudder

Happy Friday, PV Guide readers! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you. A programming note: I will be travelling a bit this month and celebrating with family, so the Weekend Watchlist will be a bit shorter than usual in December, but the picks will continue.

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The new-to-streaming roundup this week: It’s a very Josh O’Connor week on streaming, with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery premiering on Netflix and The Mastermind landing on Mubi. There’s also Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst’s crime comedy Roofman on Paramount Plus, F1 on Apple TV, and Die My Love on VOD.

Let’s get into this week’s picks!

The Mastermind

In The Mastermind, Josh O'Connor lurks by a painting in a museum
Image: MUBI

Watch at: MUBI
Watch trailer here

I’ve heard great things about the new installment in the Knives Out Franchise and will be watching it tomorrow night with my family, but I wanted to recommend the other new Josh O’Connor movie available to stream this week.

In The Mastermind, O’Connor plays a directionless carpenter and family man who starts stealing art from a local museum in 1970s Massachusetts. Inspired by the movies of Jean-Pierre Melville, The Mastermind follows the attempted heist and the fallout of that decision. It comes from director Kelly Reichardt, who is one of my very favorite modern directors (if you haven’t watched First Cow yet, drop everything and go do that), and it’s exciting to see her take on a genre project of sorts. It’s also a great showcase for O’Connor’s particular brand of movie stardom – he’s terrific in the leading role.

Shin Godzilla

Government workers gather in an emergency briefing in Shin Godzilla
Image: Toho

Watch at: HBO Max
Watch trailer here

One of the great modern Godzilla movies just got its 4K edition added to HBO Max. Shin Godzilla – from Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno –  filters the kaiju franchise through the lens of bureaucratic red tape, following politicians as they try to deal with the sudden arrival of Godzilla. It’s a standout entry in the franchise, and the 4K upload is a great reason to check it out – whether for the first time or for yet another revisit.

Reflection in a Dead Diamond

In Reflection in a Dead Diamond, a woman wearing an all-black leather skintight outfit covering her head and face swings a bloody sword
Image: Shudder

Watch at: Shudder, AMC Plus
Watch trailer here

It didn’t always work for me, but it was impossible to get this newsurreal French spy movie out of my head. It follows a retired spy (or is he?) reminiscing about his old career while lounging at a hotel on the French Riviera. It’s a fascinating deconstruction of the genre filled with arresting imagery, and my childhood filled with watching Bond movies certainly prepared me for this one.