Movies

Hamnet
Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet reimagines the family life of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, as they grapple with the aftermath of the death of their 11-year-old son. Rather than focusing on what little we know of Shakespeare himself, the film centres on Agnes — more commonly known as Anne — portrayed not as a woman who trapped Shakespeare in marriage, but as a lover, a mother, a herbalist, and someone who seems almost able to glimpse the future. And yet, nothing could prepare her for the devastating loss of Hamnet and the grief that follows.

Wuthering Heights
Helmed by Saltburn director Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, this adaptation of Wuthering Heights takes the classic gothic romance and flips it boldly on its head. 

Fennell isn’t afraid to take creative liberties. This version goes where few adaptations before it have dared, feeling more like a fever dream than a traditional period romance. It’s sharper, darker, and more sensual, stripping away nostalgic sentimentality in favour of something raw and unsettling. In doing so, Fennell rekindles the same shock and outrage that greeted Emily Brontë’s novel when it was first published — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Wuthering Heights opens in Singapore on 12 February. 

TV

Bridgerton S4
Bridgerton returns for its fourth season, this time shining the spotlight on fan-favourite perpetual bachelor Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). 

At a masked ball, Benedict meets Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), the illegitimate daughter of an earl who has spent her life in service. Mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, Sophie dreams of attending a ball and tasting the freedom she’s never known — but when the clock strikes midnight, she’s forced to flee, Cinderella-style. As Benedict searches for the mysterious ‘Lady in Silver’, he meets Sophie again as herself and begins falling for her all over. 

Still rich with the steamy romance fans expect, this season adds a compelling dash of class struggle and forbidden love.  

Could the Ton’s most notorious bachelor finally get his happy ending? If Bridgerton’s track record is anything to go by, expect a fairy-tale twist. 

Bridgerton is streaming on Netflix. Season 4 drops in two parts — the first released on 29 January, with the second arriving on 26 February. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Fans of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels know that the world of Westeros extends far beyond what Game of Thrones first revealed. House of the Dragon expanded the lore, and now, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, again travels back in time to offer yet another perspective of Westeros. 

Newcomer Peter Claffey stars as Ser Duncan the Tall — or ‘Dunk’ — a hedge knight of humble origins who journeys across Westeros with his young squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Eager to prove himself among the realm’s elite, Dunk has little sense of the danger and political treachery that await him. 

Where Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon thrive on sprawling plots and shifting alliances, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms keeps things intimate, trading scale for tighter character work and emotional focus. It’s an ideal entry point for newcomers, and a rewarding detour for longtime fans. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is streaming on HBO Max.

Heated Rivalry
It would be remiss not to include Heated Rivalry — the Canadian show everyone seems to be talking about, even months after its first season has concluded — in this month’s line-up. 

Based on the books by author Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry poses perhaps the most urgent question of our time: What if legendary hockey rivals Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin were secretly in love all along?  (These two hockey icons are inspirations for the lead characters.)

The result is a steamy series that’s had the internet foaming at the mouth since its release late last year. Spanning a full decade, Heated Rivalry follows two generational hockey talents: wholesome golden-boy Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and brash, cocky bad boy Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), who’s playing abroad to support his broken family back home in Russia.

Across six slow-burning episodes, their paths collide again and again — publicly as fierce rivals on the ice, and privately as lovers behind closed hotel doors. The show’s intoxicating pull lies in its blend of heat and heart. Creator-director Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Shoresy) revels in the raw animalism of Shane and Ilya’s desire, but he’s equally deft with the stolen glances and hesitant touches that give the forbidden-love story its emotional weight. 

Hot yet heartwarming, funny yet deeply affecting, Heated Rivalry has become more than a word-of-mouth hit — it’s also one of the standout shows of the past year. 

Heated Rivalry is streaming on HBO Max.