Streaming TV highlights Aug 12-18

The film is set in the 1700s in a Native American community, where a young woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder, Legion), is determined to prove her worth as a hunter, not just a gatherer.

She notices something strange is in the woods - little does she know its a highly evolved alien predator.

The film is engaging and enjoyable, and it's fun to see the predator go up against people without high-powered guns for once.

There's also some impressive CGI work on a variety of animals.

Fans of the franchise will like several callbacks to past entries.

It should also be noted - and this is a mild spoiler, so move right ahead if you don't want one - that Naru's companion dog makes it through the movie unharmed, so dog lovers can rest easy.

Well worth the watch.

Netflix

Neil Gaiman's popular series The Sandman gets the Netflix treatment in the streamer's latest fantasy epic.

The 10-episode series follows Morpheus aka Dream of the Endless aka The Sandman, the relatively benevolent god of dreaming. However, he's captured by humans and his powerful tools - a pouch of sand, a ruby and a creepy bone helmet - are stolen from him.

Now, a century after his imprisonment, Morpheus must go on a quest to find those items so he can ensure everyone's dreams run smoothly again.

The first episode is pretty much a prologue, a backgrounder so we understand what's to come in the following episodes.

The series has an impressive cast of actors, from Tom Sturridge in the title role, to Boyd Holbrook and David Thewlis as antagonists, Patton Oswald as the voice of a raven named Matthew, Gwendoline Christie, Joely Richardson, Jenna Coleman, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and more.

Fans of the comic series have been full of praise for the show, a rarity when it comes to adaptations.

The most adorable character from the MCU - baby Groot - has now got his own series of shorts, and they are super cute and fun.

The whole series can be knocked over in 20 minutes, and features the young tree creature getting up to all sorts of mischief and shenanigans.

The third episode in particular is a highlight.

The series shows that Marvel is just as successful at mostlt dialogue-free storytelling as Pixar and Disney.

Whether you're a Star Wars die-hard or just like learning how movies are made, Light and Magic is a great series. The documentary series delves into famed visual effects company ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), which was created to bring the visuals George Lucas had in mind for the first Star Wars film to life. The ILM team has since worked on a bunch of classic and beloved films, and you hear from many of the creatives behind them in the series.