Jakob Eiseman, Editor

Header Image: PlayStation, YouTube, HBO; edit courtesy of Jakob Eiseman

“The Investigation” ー HBO, HBO Max

From Tobias Lindholm, one of the most critically acclaimed film directors in the Scandinavian Peninsula, comes a new crime thriller miniseries about a missing persons investigation in Sweden. “The Investigation” is based on a true story and follows a police commissioner and a prosecutor as they attempt to find the evidence to convict a suspect connected to the murder or kidnapping of a journalist conducted underwater in a submarine. The series is a new take on Lindholm’s signature dramatic style popularized by his films “The Hunt (2012),” “A Hijacking” and “A War,” as it is a six-part miniseries instead of a feature-length film. “The Investigation” stars Søren Malling, a famous Danish film actor, as Jens Møller, the lead detective at the Copenhagen Police Department, and Pilou Asbæk, known in the west for his roles in “Game of Thrones,” “Ghost in the Shell” and “Overlord,” as Jakob Buch-Jepsen, the chief prosecutor attempting to bring the suspected killer to court. “The Investigation” episode one premiered on HBO and HBO Max on Feb. 2.

“Life in a Day 2020” ー YouTube

On July 25, 2020, over 300,000 people around the globe filmed themselves living their daily lives and sent it in to director Kevin Macdonald’s team to be compiled for this ambitious documentary. The same task was undertaken ten years ago and is available on YouTube and currently sits at over 17 million views. This time, “Life in a Day 2020” was picked up and funded by YouTube itself, meaning that Macdonald and producer Ridley Scott (“The Martian,” “Blade Runner”) had a much larger budget for editors, music, graphics and outreach teams to learn more about individual submissions. “Life in a Day 2020” will capture a unique view on the world as most people’s videos will no doubt touch on the coronavirus pandemic. The film has already become a Sundance official selection for 2021 and is fluctuating around a 70 score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publication. “Life in a Day 2020” premieres on YouTube on Feb. 6.

“Destruction AllStars” ー PlayStation 5

Destruction AllStars is a vehicular destruction derby put into interactive form. The PlayStation 5 exclusive title comes from Liverpool based Lucid Games, the developers of Need for Speed Payback and Geometry Wars. Destruction AllStars was announced at the “PS5 Reveal Showcase” in June 2020 with a price tag of $69.99 and set to release alongside the new hardware on Nov. 12, 2020. After critics and fans took note of the game’s cartoony style, gratuitous violence and lack of visible gameplay in trailers, the title was pushed to February and made a PlayStation Plus title, meaning those that subscribe to the service can own the game for no extra charge. The game, which released on Feb. 1 is stylish, leans into chaos and confusion and takes inspiration from two massively popular multiplayer games: Rocket League, which pits players in a car to play soccer, and Fortnite which popularized consistently updated multiplayer worlds and is still the number one game in America to this day.

eisemanj1@lasalle.edu