We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: This is the prequel to the popular and critically acclaimed 2015 movie ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ directed by George Miller, and tells the story of young Furiosa—played by Anya Taylor-Joy. To help you recollect who this character is, the older version was portrayed by Charlize Therone. This story too takes place in a dystopian sandy wasteland and explores how Furiosa became a rebel. And oh, Chris Hemsworth is the antagonist Dementus—the self-proclaimed ruler of the wasteland.
Reviewers call the movie mediocre compared to the 2015 blockbuster. BBC Culture writes that the movie feels “more exhausting than exhilarating.” But The Verge prefers it to ‘Fury Road’s “deranged bombast” and says “‘Furiosa’ feels like a leaner, more artfully realised vision of raw humanity struggling to survive in spite of itself.” Our take: We are in it for the actors and the ‘mad’ action. As simple as that! The film was released in theatres yesterday.
Atlas: JLo is back! It has been four months since the release of her visual album and musical film—’This Is Me...Now: A Love Story’—which touched all kinds of genres from romance to action. Now, get ready to watch JLo in a sci-fi flick. She plays the titular character who is a brilliant data analyst sent on a mission controlling a robot powered with AI. As expected, something goes wrong in her mission and she has to work with AI Smith to save the future of humanity. BTW, Simu Liu is the villain.
As expected, reviews are kinda bad. Variety concludes it is “predictable, overlong and bland.” Hollywood Reporter didn’t hold back either and counts it as one of those “Netflix movies best half-watched on planes.” Our take: The plot seems formulaic and predictable but it might just be the perfect background watch for completing chores this weekend. Watch it on Netflix.
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: This animated series is a sequel series to Jurassic franchise’s first animated series ‘Camp Cretaceous’. It picks up six years after and brings the main protagonists—who are part of the Nublar Six—together. Now adults, they fight against an unknown group that is attacking them by setting raptors loose behind them.
Reviews are good. IGN was pleasantly surprised and writes that the “sequel series is instead a bold, unexpected mystery-thriller.” Screenrant agrees and calls it an “even better version of Camp Cretaceous.” Our take: We like that the show is exploring darker themes. This is a major callback to the Spielberg movies. You can stream the series on Netflix.
The Beach Boys: Now this is a true journey down memory lane. The Beach Boys were an extremely well-loved act that defined and revolutionised the boy band, pop and rock genres for ages. Directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny—the music documentary puts together present-day interviews of the surviving band members, archival footage and music—chronicling the incredible journey of the band.
Reviews are okay. The Guardian points out that in true Disney fashion, the “documentary ignores the darker side of their extraordinary story.” Collider has a similar criticism and calls it an “actual missed opportunity” for mega-fans. Our take: We are all ready to ‘Round, round, get around’ to ‘California dreamin’ after watching this documentary. You can stream it on Disney+ Hotstar.
The Blue Angels: Want to know what Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun’ was inspired by? Look no further than this IMAX documentary on the US Navy flight squadron ‘The Blue Angels’. The movie focuses on six jet fighter pilots who show off their skills with tight formations in the sky. Why is this movie even in our radar? Actor Glen Powell, who played military pilots in Hollywood flicks ‘Devotion’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is one of the producers.
There aren’t many reviews though Decider verdicts “stream it” and warns that it “doesn’t dig deep, but there’s no arguing against the exhilaration of watching up close and (sort of) personal as these pilots do amazing things.” Our take: We normally do not recommend anything that looks like propaganda but one can appreciate the hard work and skills of Navy pilots. The movie was released on Amazon Prime yesterday.
Here’s a new chapter…
Trying Season 4: This isn’t your basic show about parenting. After facing fertility struggles, Nikki and Jason turn to adoption and build a home with Tyler and Princess. This season, they help their younger kid, Tyler, and other unpopular kids in his school have a community and fit in. And they also support the Princess who is trying to find her biological mum. You can watch the new episodes on Apple TV+.
The Test Season 3: Cricket fans, rejoice! The Australian series recaps the Australian cricket team's final against India in the Test Championship 2023 in the UK. And then follows it up with the Ashes series. The new season dropped on Amazon Prime.
Fresh off the big screen…
Crew: Headlined by Tabu, Kareena Kapoor and Kriti Sanon—the brash and unapologetic air hostess crew of this Bollywood comedy are here to entertain us this weekend. Hold on to your seats as these femme fatales take you through a rough flight which involves taking on bad pay, corporate politics and a heist! The movie dropped on Netflix this Friday.
