We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
It Ends with Us: This is the much awaited adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s massively popular book. The premise: breaking the pattern of generational trauma. In this melodrama, Blake Lively plays Lily—a florist in New York and Justin Baldoni (who has also directed the movie) plays Ryle—a surgeon. They fall in love, but Lily soon finds out about Kyle’s anger issues and finds safe haven in her first love Atlas (played by Brandon Sklenar). Fair warning: themes and portrayal of DA and SA.
Reviews are good. The Guardian finds it to be “glossy, and often rather graceful, romantic drama” while Hollywood Reporter calls it a “serviceable adaptation” but concludes that it can “feel too light and wispy to support the weight of its themes. ” Our take: The book made us cry, so will the movie—we suspect. And who doesn’t like a good cry? Watch it in theatres right now!
Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba: The 2021 thriller ‘Haseena Dilruba’ starring Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey is back with a sequel. The movie picks up five years after the events of the first one—where Rani and Rishu blew up their house to cover up a murder and managed to convince the cops otherwise. Now, the police are on their tail again. And there is a new man in the mix—Abhimanyu, played by Sunny Kaushal (yup, Vicky Kaushal’s younger brother).
Reviews are not as good as expected. The Hindu disappointedly writes: “Promising to be a racy sequel to enliven the rainy season, it, however, turns out to be a damp squib.” For Hindustan Times, the film “lacks originality” and is a “misfire.” Our take: We can’t wait to watch this twisted romantic thriller. You can stream it on Netflix.
The Instigators: Another addition to the growing list of action-comedies, ‘The Instigator’ brings Matt Damon and Casey Affleck back together on screen after ‘Good Will Hunting’ and the ‘Oceans’ movies. This is also a heist film run by two unlikely partners trying to rob a filthy rich politician, except it also involves a therapist for the exit strategy, when the heist goes south, and they need an escape plan from rogue officials and crime lords.
The reviews are mixed, and mostly meh. According to Screen Rant, the film “isn't as slick as a Guy Ritchie flick, though it's cut from a similar cloth, but Matt Damon and Casey Affleck make it a fun ride”. Or this more colourful take from Washington Post: “It’s 101 minutes of talented people struggling to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and coming up with a Filene’s Basement handbag.” Our take: A low-stakes heist movie is just what we need to casually kick back with, over the weekend. You can stream it on Apple TV+.
Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough: Yay! Another David Attenborough nature series! This one takes the spectacle a step further, observing the marvels of nature through the power of sound. The series is a window into how animals make the sounds they do, and the influence on their behaviour—backed by his unmistakable voice, of course. This season comes with three episodes, which previously aired in the UK in February.
The reviews are glowing, for the most part. Decider tips its hat to “director Rebecca Hart and the show’s various cinematographers do a great job getting vibrant footage” and strongly recommends streaming it. The Guardian, however, felt some of the “majesty is lost” in trying to bring nature’s sounds to the human ear through a screen, but “With David Attenborough describing them, they all sound better.” Our take: Nature docu series narrated by the most excitable 90-something we’ve seen? Sign us up! You can stream the docu series on Netflix.
Inside the Mind of a Dog: Another nature documentary, but this one is for and about the pooches. It follows the 2022 documentary ‘Inside the Mind of a Cat’ and has been narrated by Rob Lowe, who’s a dog-lover himself. The 75-minute film looks at how the dog-human relationship has evolved over time, and gets canine experts to talk about why dogs exhibit certain traits, like chasing balls, and also has some handy at-home tips for pet parents.
There aren’t too many reviews for this one yet, but John Anderson in Wall Street Journal feels it “has an abundance of furry charm and retrieves a kennel’s worth of information from those sniffing around the cutting edge of canine science.” Our take: This one is close to home, so we’ll be watching with keen interest, and heart-eyes for the pups on screen. The documentary is streaming on Netflix.
Gyaarah Gyaarah: A Hindi remake of the cult classic Korean cop-thriller ‘Signal’, this series embraces time travel to get to the bottom of a 26-year-old murder case. Just like the OG series, the young cop Yug (played by Raghav Juyal) is in contact with a mysterious voice named Shaurya that tips him off on the phone and helps him resolve cold cases. The first season has eight episodes.
Reviews are mixed. Scroll raves: “Gyaarah Gyaarah is one of the most enjoyable crime shows to come out on a streaming platform in quite a while — and there isn’t a terrorist in sight.” But The Hindu calls it “unrewarding series with a promising core”. Our take: If you like travel travel mystery-thrillers like ‘Bodies’ and ‘1899’, this may be the show to binge this weekend. Catch it on Zee5.
Life Hill Gayi: This six-episode series is a sibling rivalry in its funniest form! Kalki and Dev (played by social media influencer Kusha Kapila and actor Divyenndu) are tasked with fixing a family-owned dilapidated hotel on the hills, in exchange for access to family assets. The city-born siblings have to navigate the nitty-gritties of village life on the hills to attract tourists. The puntastic title says it all!
Reviews are kinda bad. Indian Express absolutely hated it. But Scroll calls it “mildly entertaining” and gives a useful comparable: “Imagine White Lotus meets Fawlty Towers meets Panchayat.” Our take: We think the premise is hill-arious (see what we did there). You can stream it on Disney+ Hotstar.
Mr. Throwback: Headlined by NBA star Steph Curry, this mockumentary looks at how he helps his friend Danny—who is trying to raise money to save his terminally ill daughter. Except, it is all a lie. Danny’s unsuccessful run at being a memorabilia merchant puts him into a huge debt. When he gets caught stealing Steph Curry’s jerseys, he concocts this elaborate lie. The ruse goes on for 6 episodes and sets up for a new season.
Reviews are decent. The Guardian is of the view that: “The punchlines don’t come as fast and furious … but the punchlines do land.” Hollywood Reporter concludes that the show was “only occasionally ‘excellent adjacent.’” Our take: We love the idea of watching Steph Curry and SNL legends in a mockumentary. The series has dropped on JioCinema.
Here’s a new chapter…
The Umbrella Academy Season 4: Rejoice, fans of ‘The Umbrella Academy’, the final season is here. The popular supranational dysfunctional time-travelling family series started with the seven adopted kids with superpowers trying to figure out the origins of their powers and the doomed apocalypse that would follow. It will tie up all the loose ends in six new episodes. You can watch them on Netflix.
Fresh off the big screen…
The Color Purple: This is a Russian doll of adaptations: This 2023 film by Blitz Bazawule is a take on the 2016 Broadway musical. That, in turn, was based on the 1985 classic movie directed by Steven Spielberg, which was originally based on Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Phew! The story is the same—a 14-year-old Cecile runs away from her abusive father and husband and separates from her sister and her children, and this is her journey of coming into her own. Incidentally, this latest adaptation also has most of the much-loved Broadway musical cast—Taraji P Henson, Colman Domingo, H.E.R. and Halle Bailey—alongside the musical elements. It has been co-produced by Oprah and Spielberg. For more on the film, read this BBC Culture review. You can watch it on JioCinema.
Indian 2: The sequel to Kamal Haasan’s 1996 cult classic ‘Indian’ is now on OTT. In it, Haasan plays Senapathy—a freedom fighter turned vigilante—who exposes corruption and mercilessly punishes those hogging all the power. The action-led political-drama is directed by Shankar and also stars Siddharth, Kajal Agarwal, and Rakul Preet Singh, among others. You can catch both the 1996 film and this sequel on Netflix.
