We recommend: The best new movies and TV
Tetris: You’ve probably played Tetris at some point in your life. On your phone, in an arcade, or maybe on your Gameboy. What you may not know is that this little game has a terrific backstory. ‘Tetris’ the movie chronicles the origin story of this wonderful game. We follow scrappy video game promoter Henk Rogers (played by 'Kingsman' star Taron Egerton), who finds the creator of Tetris Alexey Pajitnov and tries to win the rights to the game from a USSR company and the KGB—in the middle of the Cold War.
Gizmodo has high praise and calls it an “extremely satisfying film”. Variety also finds the movie to be exciting and says “the movie doubles as a nifty history lesson”. Our take: We honestly had no clue a mildly frustrating game about lining up blocks had so much backstory, and we love a good backstory. You can watch ‘Tetris’ on Apple TV+.
Murder Mystery 2: Our favourite murder mystery solving (chaotic) duo are back! Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are reprising their roles as NY cop Nick Spitz and his wife Audrey Spitz in the sequel of their 2019 action-comedy flick ‘Murder Mystery’. You can expect the same out of ‘Murder Mystery 2’—except this time there is a destination wedding with an Indian touch, the comedy is darker, and the stakes are even higher!
Screenrant finds that compared to the first one, the sequel is “no better” but says “Murder Mystery 2 is worth a watch if one cares to see these two in action”. The Independent puts it a little mildly, saying: “Murder Mystery 2 is what you watch if it seems like Glass Onion might require too many brain cells.” Our take: We’ve loved Sandler and Aniston’s on-screen chemistry since they starred together in ‘Just Go With It’ over a decade ago. So you bet we’re grabbing a tub of popcorn to enjoy this action-filled detective drama. The movie released on Netflix yesterday.
Bholaa: ‘Bholaa’ is the Hindi remake of the 2019 Tamil hit ‘Kaithi’ and has Tabu as the police officer who teams up with Ajay Devgn—who plays the anti-hero ex-convict—and together they capture the real bad guys. The film runs through the course of a night and has massive chase sequences and stunt action to keep you on the edge of your seat.
The reviews have been kind to this Hindi remake. The Hindu deems “Bholaa is two films at the price of one; an action road movie interspersed with a last-stand survival drama.” The Indian Express feels casting Tabu was a “smart move” and that the “all-out action film is not for the faint-hearted but it is bang for your buck.” Our take: This is as massy as it gets, and we have high hopes from the Tabu-Devgn duo for some thrilling action this weekend. ‘Bholaa’ is out in theatres.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: Yup, this geeky fantasy table-top role playing game is getting another movie with none other than Chris Pine as the leader of a band of thieves. The plot is a series of thrilling twists and turns as our anti-heroes dive headfirst into stealing a lost relic and battling dragons to save the world from great evil. Many familiar faces share the screen including ‘Fast & Furious’ actor Michelle Rodriguez, ‘It’ horror film star Sophia Lillis, and everyone’s favourite red carpet interviewee Hugh Grant.
The Guardian feels that the movie is a “passable, playful adventure” and “missing bit of magic in a serviceable franchise-starter that benefits from the very low bar we currently have.” OTOH Collider finds that the movie “serves up enough unabashed silliness, memorable characters, and epic storytelling to invite anyone into its entertaining realm.” Our take: Hollywood may have a spotty track record with adaptations, but if anything lends itself to creative interpretation, it’s Dungeons and Dragons. We’re definitely rolling the dice on this one. This fantasy action-comedy is in theatres now.
