Hannibal

If you haven’t seen Mads Mikkelsen turn up the creep factor in the TV show based on the novels, you’re in for a treat.

It’s visually powerful and even if you don’t realise it while watching, the themes of people being turned into deer will probably play on your subconscious and give you nightmares. Seriously. Almost everyone who has watched this show on a binge will say they had some sort of over-thinking disturbance at some point while watching it.

The dialogue, however, is sterile, repetitive and even over the top at times. It lacks the wit that would have made it memorable and even creepier.

But that’s not the worst thing. The acting is solid and because you don’t need to invest a tremendous amount of brain power into picking up conversational nuances, it’s an easy watch, barring the violence of course.

There are three series to whistle through. The show was abruptly cancelled, but rumours are churning that it might return in the distant future.

Available on Netflix

Empire of Scents

Is your girlfriend a nartjie and your ouma cinnamon? You know the poem. You also know the feeling.

You smell cut grass and you’re transported back to a grim Saturday morning, when teenage you is being forced to get up at an unreasonable hour for chores or whatever other ridiculous activity was in vogue at the time.

This documentary explores the role olfaction (cool word, huh?) plays in our everyday life.

Sommeliers, perfume creators, truffle hunters and other people whose lives and careers are intimately linked to the nose all give their input on how smell affects us.

It’s not overly-science heavy so makes for the perfect evening viewing.

Available on Netflix

Collateral

There’s nothing quite like a four-part mini-series form the BBC to get you pumped up. At times, the show is completely far-fetched, but that hardly matters.

Characters are proxies for the state of the (British) nation, but the plot is complex enough to keep the viewer engrossed. With so many moving parts and characters, their evolution is a bit limited. It sometimes feels a bit like a mish-mash of a choose your own adventure novel, but we all love a conspiracy.

The plot centres around a pizza delivery driver being shot dead in South London. A detective goes on a mission to uncover a grand plot involving people traffickers and finds out that it goes all the way to the top.

Available on Netflix

Video of the Week: Berlin in July 1945

Take a look into a snapshot of Berlin just months after the end of the World War ll (in Europe). DM