We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Inside Out 2: It’s been ten years since we were blown away by this movie about emotions inside a little girl’s brain, in ‘Inside Out’. In this second instalment, Riley is a teenager—and her feelings have expanded from Joy, Sadness, Anger et cetera to Anxiety and Ennui. The voice cast includes Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Maya Hawke, and Ayo Edebiri, among others.
The reviews are fantastic! New York Times says it’s a “predictably charming sequel to its innovative 2015 hit.” BBC News writes: “And in this underwhelming summer, it could well be the best mainstream entertainment that Hollywood has to offer.” Our take: Enuf said. We can’t wait to watch it in theatres this weekend.
Chandu Champion: In this Hindi biographical sports drama—directed by Kabir Khan— Kartik Aryan stars as India’s first Paralympics gold medallist Murlikant Petkar. The movie follows Petkar’s journey of deep diving into sports after he suffered nine bullet wounds in the 1965 war with Pakistan.
Reviews are good. FilmCompanion finds it predictable but says “it unfolds with the fantasy and fluidity of Forest Gump-like film.” The Hindu lauds the lead actor saying: “The actor’s physical transformation is praiseworthy and the highs and lows in the emotional graph translate on-screen without friction.” Our take: We loved Khan’s previous sports dramas—‘Sultan’ and ‘83’— and are equally excited to catch this one. It released in theatres yesterday.
Maharaja: After a thrilling run in Sriram Raghavan’s ‘Merry Christmas’ in January this year, Vijay Sethupathi returns with his 50th film—where he is a barber. Someone breaks into his house and steals his quote unquote ‘lakshmi’. We have no idea who or what it means, nor does the police.
Reviewers praise Sethupathi but the film overall has mixed reviews. For Hindustan Times, “‘Maharaja’, as a story, is very engaging but it’s not without its flaws.” OTOH Indian Express (contains spoilers) says: "There are more misses than hits.” Our take: The mystery is intriguing enough for us to want to watch the film. It released in theatres yesterday.
Gaanth, Chapter 1: Jamnaa Paar: This is true-crime web series is inspired by the Burari mass suicides in Delhi in 2018—where 11 people from the Chundawat clan were brutally killed. The eight part series uncovers the mystery with the help of two protagonists: Gadar Singh (Manav Vij)—the hotheaded policeman—and Sakshi Murmu (Monika Panwar)—a medical intern who has a superpower of seeing it all—which sort of looks like Sherlock Holmes-que deductions.
Reviews are decent. Scroll says that the “show is ambitious in its imagination — a bit too much at times.” Indian Express likes the set up but writes that “things start getting repetitive, and interest begins ebbing.” Our take: We are interested to see the unlikely pair solve this whodunnit. The episodes have been released on JioCinema.
The Watchers: Here’s your horror pick of the week. The story is based on the AM Shine novel of the same name and stars Dakota Fanning in the lead role as Mina who encounters a supernatural kidnapping where she and others are stuck inside a house in the middle of nowhere and are ‘watched’ by a mysterious fear mongering creature. Sound familiar? The movie is the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan—yup, the 24-years-old daughter of ‘Cabin in the Woods’ director M Shyamalan.
The reviewers are mixed on this. Hollywood Reporter is impressed with the young filmmaker and says that ‘The Watcher’ is “more than just a horror movie.” In contrast, Deadline writes that the thriller is “both unnecessarily complex and almost entirely uninteresting.” Our take: If you’re a fan of the supernatural horror and survival genre, this one will be right up your alley. Watch it in theatres.
Joko Anwar’s Nightmare and Daydreams: Spice up your watchlist with some Indonesian supernatural horror thriller. This seven-episode series, directed by Joko Anwar, is similar to Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ or the game part in ‘3 Body Problem’. The plot—though generic given the genre—focuses on a group of ordinary people—in a holding cell—trying to solve puzzles in an attempt to save humanity.
Reviews are very good. South China Morning Post is super impressed by how the politically conscious stories “never loses sight of its genre roots, and remains fully committed to delivering a thrilling exercise in mainstream entertainment.” Our take: We think it’ll be the perfect replacement for ‘3 Body Problem’ and are excited to binge the show this weekend. It dropped on Netflix yesterday.
Abang Adik: This is a Malaysian film starring Taiwanese star Wu Kang-ren and Malaysian hotshot Jack Tan. The film depicts the life of two undocumented boys trying to survive the slums of Kuala Lumpur. It is the first Malaysian film to take top honours at Italy’s Far East Film Festival.
The performances and direction have received rave reviews—but South China Morning Post was not sold on the screenplay. You can stream the movie on Netflix. Our take: The wide acclaim and plotline is enough to make it to our watchlist. Stream it on Netflix.
Here’s a new chapter…
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2: After a month-long break, ‘Bridgerton’ fans can savour the drama that unfolds in the second part of its newest season. The show starts right where it left off with Colin Bridgerton asking Penelope Fetherington’s hand in marriage. The next four episodes will look at their own changing dynamic as well as the big reveal: Who is Lady Whistledown? The four new episodes dropped on Netflix on Thursday.
The Boys Season 4: If you’ve been following ‘The Boys’, you’d know this is a big week for all the fans. If you don’t, here’s what will happen: With only months to live—owing to superhuman potion ‘V’ overdose—Billy Butcher enlists the help of his anti-supes squad again to defeat the antagonist superhero Homelander. Find the new episodes on Amazon Prime.
