So you wanna watch something…
Good Luck Jerry: Directed by Siddharth Sengupta and starring Janhvi Kapoor, this is a remake of the beloved 2018 Tamil film ‘Kolamaavu Kokila.’ Jaya Kumari—aka Jerry—is a young Bihari immigrant in Punjab who is pushed into the dangerous world of drug peddling to pay for her cancer-stricken mother’s treatment. Yes, the plot seems a bit predictable—nice girl in a nasty business—but we think it may be worth checking out. The film drops on Hotstar today.
Uncoupled: This one is for fans of Neil Patrick Harris, who plays a successful real estate agent in New York City. It’s all fabulous until his partner of 17 years dumps him, seemingly out of the blue. Written by the show runners of ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Modern Family,’ the series follows Michael as he hilariously fails to navigate the dating scene as a freshly-single, 40-something gay man. Hollywood Reporter says the eight-part series will either be “a salve or an irritant” thanks to the characters’ first-world problems—but say it offers “enough genuine sweetness” to keep viewers interested. Paste Magazine, OTOH, finds the cast delightful and calls it “the television comedy of the summer.” We think it sounds like the gay SATC we’ve all been waiting for. The series drops on Netflix today.
The Most Hated Man on The Internet: This three-part docu-series narrates the downfall of Hunter Moore—who created the revenge porn website ‘IsAnyoneUp?.com’ back in 2010. The site allowed ex-boyfriends and lovers to destroy women’s lives by sharing their photos until a victim’s determined mother sought help from the FBI.
Stylist says: “It’s the kind of viewing that will leave you squirming but the first-hand accounts are what make this documentary more endearing”—taking the attention away from Moore to his victims. But that’s what disappoints Hollywood Reporter—which complains that the series makes “little attempt to understand Moore’s psychology or explain his biography” or provide context to the world of online harassment. OTOH, CNN calls the series “highly watchable” and says it “offers a sense of catharsis” and “determination to see justice done.” Stream it on Netflix.
Paper Girls: Adapted from a comic book, this series is set in 1980s suburban Cleveland and follows a group of pre-teen newspaper delivery girls. Mac, Tiffany, Erin and KJ are figuring out their new job and friendships—when they’re suddenly transported into the future where they meet their older selves. And they find themselves in the midst of a battle between two groups of time travellers—one that wants to change the future while the other tries to protect the original timeline. There are no reviews yet, but you can check out this interview with the talented young cast here. We’re quite intrigued by this coming-of-age story with a sci-fi twist. Catch it on Amazon Prime today.
A list of good reads
- The Guardian has an eye-opening piece on “tyre dust”—the stealth pollutant that is threatening the ocean.
- Also in The Guardian: confronting the Commonwealth Games’ ugly, colonial past.
- The Hindustan Times reports on The Parsi Nose Project—which documents ‘interesting’ noses in the community.
- We’ve never tried Around.co, but Fast Company vastly prefers it to Zoom. Also: It’s free!
- Noe Zavaleta in Al Jazeera Journalism Review spanks all the journalists who want to make themselves the story.
- Scroll has a lovely interview with cricketer Smriti Mandhana—who is gearing up to shine in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
- Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) looks at the increasing numbers of young people who are dating without drinking.
- Slate explains why Instagram has become just awful thanks to its new avatar.
- BBC News has an important video report on elephants in Africa—whose #1 threat is not poaching but climate change.
