A new year doesn’t need big declarations. Sometimes it just needs good stories, great food, familiar comfort and a few things worth recommending.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (02 January 2026) – Friday Five has become one of those little rituals I genuinely look forward to every week. It’s the pause button. The deep breath. The reminder that even when the news cycle feels loud, rushed or overwhelming, there are still so many good things worth noticing, sharing and celebrating.
This column exists for one simple reason: happiness. And good things.
Friday Five is one of my favourite features on Good Things Guy. It’s the space where I get to be completely myself. I get invited to movie premieres. I get early access to series before they land on your screens. I get to attend launches, events and experiences that I know many of you would love. This weekly column is where I pull back the curtain and say, “Okay, this was lekker… you should check it out.”
And this is the first Friday Five of 2026. Which feels like a pretty good place to start.
🎬 Movies
🪄 Now You See Me: Now You Don’t
The Horsemen (and women) are back, and yes… it’s still just as much fun as you’re hoping it will be. Now You See Me (3) pulls the crew together for another high-stakes illusion, this time facing a powerful new enemy who believes they can out-think and out-play the world’s most famous magicians. What follows is a fast, flashy magic-heist that knows exactly what it is.
This movie does exactly what it promises… and does it well. It’s fun, confident and entertaining, with clever tricks, slick visuals and just the right amount of humour. It leans fully into the magic-heist vibe without overthinking things, delivering big moments, smart misdirection and a pace that keeps you engaged from start to finish.
It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s here to entertain and it absolutely succeeds. And also… that bladdy South African accent? I laughed out loud throughout the entire film.
⭐ 5 out of 5
Now available to rent on Apple TV, Amazon or Google Movies.
🥂 New Year’s Eve
This is a personal tradition.
New Year’s Eve is an ensemble romantic comedy set over the final day of the year in New York City. Multiple interconnected characters navigate love, heartbreak, second chances and unfinished business as midnight approaches. Couples fall in and out of love, strangers cross paths, old flames reconnect and people reflect on the choices that brought them here.
All of it unfolds against the iconic New Year’s Eve countdown, with every character hoping that when the clock strikes twelve, something in their life might shift for the better.
I watch this every year. Without fail. It’s how I kick off the year. Comfort viewing at its absolute best.
⭐ 5 out of 5
Now available to rent on Apple TV, Amazon or Google Movies.
📺 Series
🧠 Shrinking
Shrinking is an Apple TV comedy-drama about therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel), who is navigating grief after losing his wife while trying to raise his teenage daughter. In the middle of his own emotional mess, he makes a risky professional decision: he starts telling his clients exactly what he thinks. The consequences ripple outwards… sometimes hilariously, sometimes painfully, but always honestly.
Alongside Segel, the cast includes Harrison Ford (who is exceptional), Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie and Lukita Maxwell. The series balances humour with genuine exploration of grief, healing, relationships and the messiness of being human.
The writing is sharp, warm and funny. Jason Segel brings vulnerability without overplaying it, and Harrison Ford is a revelation… dry, gruff, unexpectedly tender and clearly having the time of his life.
⭐ 5 out of 5
Now streaming on Apple TV+.
👻 Stranger Things
Stranger Things is a science-fiction drama set in the 1980s, centred on a group of kids in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, where strange things begin happening after a boy disappears. Secret experiments, supernatural forces and a dark parallel world slowly come into focus, but at its heart this series is about friendship… kids on bikes facing impossible odds.
The show blends nostalgia with suspense, mixing supernatural horror, heartfelt moments and ’80s pop-culture references with ease. The characters are the real magic here. You watch them grow, break, recover and evolve over the seasons.
By the end, the show rewarded the time I had given it. Finishing it felt satisfying, bittersweet and absolutely worth the journey.
⭐ 4 out of 5
Now streaming on Netflix.
🎧 Albums & Songs
🎶 Gut Punch… Nick Jonas absolutely nailed this one. I love this song. Emotional, honest and quietly powerful.
🎶 Prayer… Tom Odell is an extraordinary artist, and this feels like a gentle gift for the start of the year. Soft, thoughtful and beautifully written.
🎶 This Town… No autotune. No dancers. No effects. Just voices, talent and skill. Beautiful in its simplicity.
🌴 Places to Go
I haven’t done the North Coast over December in more than 15 years and, somewhere along the way, I decided it just wasn’t for me anymore. Too busy. Too chaotic. Too festive-season madness.
Ja… I was wrong.
The weather apps absolutely lied. We were promised all the rain, and instead we got sunshine. Proper sunshine. Blue skies. Warm days. Thankfully.
We got that salty coastal air that immediately slows everything down and reminds you that life doesn’t always need to be rushed. The beaches were clean, the promenade was buzzing, and the ocean was that perfect temperature where you just keep going back in for “one more swim”.
But what really got me was the vibe. Every bar and restaurant felt alive without being overwhelming. Festive without being frantic. Families, friends, locals, holidaymakers…. everyone just seemed… happy. Smiling. Relaxed. Enjoying themselves. And then there’s the food. Good grief. Curry from Thava is non-negotiable. You have to do it. The Greek food at Nikos is proper comfort food… generous, flavour-packed and exactly what you want after a long day in the sun. The chicken at Ray’s Kitchen was UNREAL. And Good Vibes lives up to its name.
Ballito has been a beautiful place to ring in the New Year. And I cannot wait to visit again.
One More Thing
If you’re looking for more of the good things this year, you’ll find it on www.goodthingsguy.com, across all our socials, on our weekly poddie, on 947 every Monday afternoon, 702 and Cape Talk on Fridays at midday, eNCA every Friday morning, and Die Groot Ontbyt on the last Monday of the month… plus those Primedia billboards popping up around the country.
If this first Friday Five of 2026 is anything to go by, we’re starting the year with intention, happiness and a whole lot of heart. There’s plenty to enjoy, plenty to share and so many good moments still waiting ahead.
Happy first Friday Five for 2026!!!
by 