We recommend: The best of new releases
The Romantics: ‘The Romantics’ is the newest and highly anticipated docu-series from the makers of ‘Indian Matchmaking’. Instead of following the exploits of Sima aunty, this one looks at how on-screen romance in Bollywood was shaped by celebrated director Yash Chopra. Three generations of top actors and familiar faces from Bollywood will feature in interviews and take us through the romantic lens developed by the Yash Raj Films banner. Director and producer Aditya Chopra—son of Yash Chopra—will make a rare appearance.
The Indian Express says the docu series is “all rah-rah, hardly any nose-digs” and that the “real coup of this series is the unveiling of Aditya Chopra.” The Quint calls the series “a love letter to Indian cinema” and that it “relies on that heavy dose of nostalgia with a dollop of star power to tell its story.” Scroll speaks for the international audiences tuning in: “The Romantics presents a snappy explainer on what the world knows as ‘Bollywood’ as well as a peek into how fiercely independent family-run banners rather than corporate studios, have shaped the entertainment landscape”. The four-part docu-series dropped on Netflix on Valentine’s Day.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: Marvel fans are in for a treat as the newest instalment in the ‘Ant-Man’ franchise dropped this week. Reprising their roles, we have Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer as Hope’s parents Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. The newest addition to the cast is Kathryn Newton who plays Scott’s daughter Cassie. The story follows the lead characters into the quantum realm where they uncover new secrets of the universe and face Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new big bad Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors).
As per Variety the movie is “at once fun and numbing”. Mashable is more critical and says while the thrill of watching the movie is there, it is “buried beneath a swarm of plot contrivances and truly hideous CGI”.
Hello Tomorrow : If you’re looking for a weird and absurd sci-fi show, ‘Hello Tomorrow’ might be for you. A retro-futuristic drama that has the aesthetics of the 1950s but the technology of the future, the show follows Jack Billings (Billy Crudup) and his team of salesmen who sell “lunar residencies”—read condos on the moon—to desperate customers who are disappointed with life on Earth.
According to The Verge, the show tells a surprisingly tense story of “deceit and scams, doused in the bright and sunny style of 1950s retrofuturism”. The Hollywood Reporter is not completely impressed however, and thinks the show “struggles to craft characters grounded enough to sell its ideas”. The show released yesterday and is now airing on Apple TV+.
Lost: In this film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (who also directed ‘Pink’ starring Amitabh Bachchan), we follow Riddhi Sahani (Yami Gautam), a crime reporter who is in pursuit of the truth behind a missing case of Ishan Bharti, young theatre activist. This is an investigative thriller and the trailer promises an engaging ride.
The Hindu is impressed with Yami Gautam’s performance but calls the movie “half-done”, the Indian Express doesn’t have high praise, and finds the film ultimately “dissatisfying”. The movie was released on February 16, and you can stream it on ZEE5.
