We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Friday Night Plan: This coming-of-age comedy, traces the story of two brothers—Sid (Babil Khan) and Adi (Amrith Jayan) as they decide to attend a posh school party on a Friday night when their mother (Juhi Chawla) is away on a business trip.
The reviews are positive. Film Companion calls it a light movie that can be a good “guilty pleasure”. Scroll has high praise for the two brother’s chemistry and it’s the “lifeblood” of this movie. Our take: It has been a long time since we have come across a promising film in India which features high school students, so we will definitely be watching this one.
It was released yesterday on Netflix.
ONE PIECE: One Piece is a best selling manga and one of the longest running manga and anime series from Japan. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D Luffy who wants to become the King of the Pirates, and his crew the Straw Hat Pirates—as they search for the greatest treasure known to the world, the One Piece. This series has had fans all over the world since 1998 and has captured the hearts of millions of people. ‘ONE PIECE’ is the first ever live action adaptation of this popular series.
The reviews are surprisingly positive. Mashable says that it might “break the curse of live-action” because it’s a fun watch. Variety also praises the adaptation but says it's "loyal to a fault". Our take: While we don’t like live action adaptations of anime, we are going to make an exception with this one since Oda Eiichiro, the creator of ‘One Piece’ himself has stated that this is a worthwhile adaptation and does justice to his work. We’ll follow his words and definitely be watching this series. You can stream the show on Netflix.
GOLDA: This biopic will follow the story of the first and only female leader of Israel—Golda Meir played by Helen Mirren—during the Israeli War of 1973 and her personal and professional struggles during that time. Her controversial decisions and responsibilities made her “one of the most talked-about leaders in history.”
Reviews for this film came out earlier as it premiered in the Berlin Film Festival. Variety reviews Mirren’s acting to be with “deft skill and control” and describes the prosthetic makeup jobs to be “transformative.” The movie comes out in theatres on September 1.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: The four mutant Ninja Turtles are back with yet another origin story adapted for the new gen audience. What’s new: an awesome list of voice actors—Seth Rogan, Jackie Chan, Paul Rudd, Rose Byrne, John Cena and Post Malone. The animation is done with CGI which uses a combination of hand drawn doodling and claymotion as art styles with a vivid colour palette.
Reviews are good for the most part. New York Times says: “This is certainly a Ninja Turtles for the Internet Age — which, like the web itself, is fun and vast, but ultimately tiring.” NPR calls it “a fun and visually striking animated feature”. Our take: We love that animated films are getting more screens all over the world. Catch it in theatres.
Scam 2003: The Telgi Story: From the hit show makers of ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’ comes a new instalment. This one focuses on Abdul Karim Telgi who duped the government of Rs 300 billion (30,000 crore)—with forged stamp papers. The protagonist is played by a proficient theatre actor Gagan Rev Diar—who has previously been seen in ‘A Suitable Boy’.
Reviews are okay. Scroll says: “Plainly filmed and narrated, the show holds interest largely because of Riar’s astutely judged performance as well as the larger cultural fascination with hucksters.” Our take: We really liked Hansal Mehta’s ‘Scam 1992’ and ‘Scoop’ and are looking forward to this one too. The show dropped on SonyLiv yesterday.
Kushi: This one is on the list solely for the leading actors Vijay Deverkonda and Samantha Prabhu. The story follows their interfaith romance—where Vijay falls in love with Samantha who turns out to be Brahmin and not a Muslim as he first thought and thus begins a forbidden love story where they try to prove to their orthodox family that love trumps all. Also starring: Murali Sharma and the grandmother from ‘Sweet Karam Coffee’ fame Lakshmi.
The Hindu calls it a feel-good movie and a “pleasing romantic musical” and the Indian Express isn’t impressed but says it might appeal to “family audience looking for a fun evening with their beloved stars”. Our take: If you are a big fan of the actors and in the mood to watch a sappy romance, this one's for you. The movie is in theatres now.
Here’s a new chapter…
Wheel of Time Season 2: Based on the fantasy book series of the same name, ‘Wheel of Time’ focuses on a group of five youngsters who make a journey from their destroyed village to a city that holds the source of One Power—power of light. With the dark force rising, one of the five is believed to be the destined wielder of One Power. Season 2 picks up right after the previous season and will show how each character prepares for the battle to come. The new episodes dropped on Amazon Prime yesterday.
