We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Joker: Folie À Deux: The sequel to the 2019 billion-dollar Oscar winner sees Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix return to the director’s chair and top billing respectively. Playing the film’s titular character Arthur Fleck aka Joker, Phoenix is joined onscreen by Lady Gaga who portrays Joker’s love interest, Harley Quinn. Zazie Beetz is the only other major cast member reprising their role from five years ago—as the film takes place following Fleck’s incarceration at Arkham State Hospital in Gotham. Also: did we mention it’s a musical?
Reviews are polarised, similar to the first film’s reception. The Telegraph UK finds it to be a “cunningly subversive” sequel that, while not surpassing the original, “matches it for horrible tinderbox tension”. Hollywood Reporter is less convinced: “[Folie À Deux] is built on more of a conceit than a solid story foundation. It kicks up associations with everything from golden age movie musicals to auteur experiments…without nailing down a workable model to provide much shape or structure.” Our take: The first ‘Joker’ film featured a powerhouse performance from Phoenix and wore its cinematic influences on its sleeve. Thanks to the musical aspects, this sequel has us intrigued, with reasonably tempered expectations. You can catch it in cinemas now.
Where’s Wanda?: A dark and entertaining thriller, this German-language dramedy is about a couple whose daughter goes missing, leading them to devise a plan to spy on their neighbourhood, and engage in small-time espionage, in the hopes of finding their 17-year-old daughter Wanda, no matter the consequences.
Reviews for this one are excellent, with The Guardian writing: “This series is just about funny enough, poignant enough, thrilling enough and compelling enough.” Decider agrees, calling it an engaging and funny watch, and worth streaming. Our take: We love a dark comedy done right, even with a serious subject matter, so we’re going to give this one a watch. The first two episodes are out now on Apple TV+.
CTRL: This is a new cyber-thriller starring Ananya Pandey and Vihaan Samat—from the director of ‘Sacred Games’—Vikramaditya Motwane. The story starts off with Nella and Joe—two content creators in love—setting relationship goals for everyone online until… Joe cheats on Nella. Heartbroken, she turns to an AI bot for comfort which takes her words to “erase” Joe out of her life a little too seriously.
Reviews are not that bad. NDTV is of the view that “CTRL, in spirit and substance, reinforces Motwane's proven penchant for turning an established genre on its head.” And elaborates that it “is an uncategorisable film that is equal parts entertaining and sobering.” The Hindu says “Vikramaditya Motwane succeeds in creating the mood, moments, and message but the thriller lacks the killer punch.” Our take: We are intrigued by the plot and will definitely give it a watch. You can see it on Netflix.
The Tribe: A new desi docu-series, ‘The Tribe’ takes the ambitious idea of jetting five desi influencers—Alanna Panday, Alaviaa Jaaferi, Aryaana Gandhi, Srushti Porey, Alfia Jafry—to Los Angeles and see if they can cut their teeth in the big leagues. This wild plan is bankrolled by an entrepreneur called Hardik Zaveri, who won’t stop at anything to ensure the girls can make bank. The series tracks whether they manage to find success or have to call it quits.
There are no reviews for this reality TV show. Our take: We’re hoping for this one to surprise us, or if nothing else, it’s a guilty pleasure watch. You can stream the show on Amazon Prime Video.
Here’s a new chapter…
Heartstopper Season 3: Based on a webcomic and graphic novel of the same name, ‘Heartstopper’ is a sweet coming of age story of Charlie Spring—who is dating the jockest of the jocks in his high school, Nick. The new season will dive deeper into their relationship plus the anxiety that comes with becoming a high school senior—the college pressure of it all. His super supportive friends also get busy exploring their interests and sexualities. The new episodes dropped on Netflix yesterday.
Fresh off the big screen…
Challengers: The tense tennis movie starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor is finally on OTT. Director Luca Guadagnino—of the ‘Bones And All’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’ fame—brings a similarly veined unsettling love triangle between tennis stars which results in love, betrayal, ambition and more. The movie is available to stream on Prime Video.
The Greatest of All Time: Vijay fans may have already called it, but the GOAT this time makes up for the title of the film. Gandhi (Vijay) is a hostage negotiator with an anti-terrorist squad and is back after a hiatus for a dangerous but critical mission. It comes with the usual tropes and “masala” of a Tamil commercial potboiler. Reviews are mixed and The Hindu calls it “template film enhanced with impeccable fan service.” Watch it on Netflix. We are watching it for the action sequences if nothing else.
