We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Jawan: After the blockbuster hit ‘Pathaan’, SRK is coming back with another action-centric massy film ‘Jawan’ where he plays—yes, you guessed it, a soldier. The movie is by the Tamil director Atlee who is making his Bollywood debut. While we don’t know much of the plot, we do know it has an excellent cast—South Indian powerhouses Nayanathara as the cop and Vijay Sethupathi playing the villain, along with small roles by Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani and Deepika Padukone.
The reviews are good. Indian Express writes “Jawan is a pop-masala banger: iss kahani mein action hai, emotion hai, hero hai, villain hai, aur naach-gaana hai, aur kya chahiye?” But it also notes that “after a kinetic, zingy first hour, the film slumps in bits”. The Hindu sums it up: “Nayanthara coolly underplays her typical heroine role, less smitten with Khan than the film would like her to be. The audience, though, is wholly smitten.” Our take: We are excited to see SRK in this new anti-hero action role, bringing the best of mainstream Tamil and Bollywood cinema. The film was released on Thursday and is in theatres now.
Haddi: Set in Delhi, the movie follows the life of Haddi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who relocates from Allahabad to Delhi to become part of the Hijra community. Haddi joins a gang, which is led by a criminal turned politician (Anurag Kashyap). He is looking to reach the top of the criminal chain in order to take revenge against mobsters who wronged his family.
The reviews are varied. Hindustan Times calls it an impressive “bone-chilling” drama. Film Companion says the movie has “inconsistent” storytelling but is saved by the performances of Anurag Kashyap and Siddiqui. Our take: We want to watch Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s nuanced portrayal in this new role, which has been praised all around. It began streaming on Wednesday on ZEE5.
The Nun II: The next addition to ‘The Conjuring Universe’ is here! ‘The Nun II’ features the infamous demon-nun Valak and the story that explores more of her depth. Audiences will have to wait and see what horrors the Valak will cause while residing in its new vessel—while being at the Abbey.
The reviews are mixed. Collider writes: “The Nun II is miles better than its predecessor with pacing that moves along at a biting pace and keeps audience members on their toes.” OTOH The Guardian rates it one star—criticising the Nun for her “party tricks”—and says the “franchise that is impoverished in all but its box-office gross.” Our take: You might want to skip this one if you are not a fan of the genre, as the option to watch it from the comfort of your home with the lights on is not available yet. This movie released in theatres on Thursday.
Spy Ops Documentary: In this true crime docuseries, some intelligence operatives across governments from the MI6 and CIA, share real stories of espionage. Insiders from major intelligence agencies share details about actual missions, wars and events that took place in history and how they were involved.
Our take: We love films based on espionage, so watching a documentary series about spycraft is right up our alley. The series dropped on Netflix yesterday.
The Changeling: This is a horror fantasy series—an adaptation of the novel by Victor LaValle—which follows Apollo, a rare book dealer who is trying to woo the librarian Emma. They eventually get together and a baby is born. Emma does something unthinkable as a parent and disappears mysteriously. Apollo has to enter a nightmarish world to find his missing wife and deal with the horrors of this world.
Reviews are good. Collider praises LaKeith Stanfield’s performance as Apollo and calls the series an “engrossing and unnerving adaptation”. The AV Club says that it is a beautiful “portrayal of fatherhood” and a “stunning” series. Our take: It has been a while since we’ve seen any horror series. We won’t be missing this one. The show is available on Apple TV+.
A Time Called You: Here is a kdrama recommendation with a unique pull—it is a time-travel drama with an air of romance and mystery. FYI: it is a remake of the popular Taiwanese show. The plot revolves around Han Jun Hee (played by ‘Vincenzo’ actress Jeon Yeo Been) who loses her boyfriend Ko Yeon Jun (played by ‘Business Proposal’ lead Ahn Hyo Seop) but somehow goes back in time to 1998 and finds a student who looks just like her late boyfriend.
Our take: We love how genre-bending Kdramas can be and are especially excited about this one for the cast. The show dropped on Netflix yesterday.
Here’s a new chapter…
I am Groot Season 2: If you can’t get enough of the Guardian of the Galaxy franchise, here is your quick fix. The second season of this spin-off will have five animated episodes that will show baby Groot on happy (mis)adventures. The episodes dropped on Disney+ Hotstar on September 6.
Top Boy Season 3: Set in Hackney, London—the popular British show tells the story of rival drug-dealing gangs fighting to get to the top—with two big-time drug dealers, Dushane and Sully—eventually becoming the ‘top boys’. The final episodes are out on Netflix.
Fresh off the big screen…
The Little Mermaid: The new live-action of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ which was controversial for casting a Black Ariel is now available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar. Fair warning: the movie doesn't have the greatest of reviews as many were left unimpressed with the CGI but we do think it’ll make a good watch for a nice night in.
Jailer: The latest Rajinikanth flick which took the country by storm just last month is now available to watch on our home screens. The veteran actor plays Muthuvel Pandian, a retired jailer who has to use his connections to save his kidnapped son Arjun (Vasanth Rav)—an honest cop from a gang of idol smugglers. The movie dropped on Prime Video on Thursday.
