We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
The Alto Knights: A true congregation of old-timers, The Alto Knights. Robert De Niro is playing not one but two real-life Italian-American gangsters from the 1950s in this film directed by Barry Levinson, written by Nicholas Pileggi, and produced by Irwin Winkler. Levinson has previously directed De Niro in Wag the Dog (1997), the terrific satire about US media and the military industrial complex. Pilleggi is, of course, the writer of one of De Niro's most famous mafioso movies, Goodfellas. Winkler is the producer of Scorsese's Goodfellas as well as Raging Bull.
Frank Costello (De Niro) doesn't want to spill blood. He wants to retire respectably as a mob boss legalising his spoils. But the paranoid and ambitious Vito Genovese (also De Niro) believes Frank is in his way, trying to prevent his rise. All Frank wants to do is eat his pizza in peace. But a fierce rivalry ensues, provoked by Vito attempting to kill Frank.
Our take: For the names involved and the combined legacy alone, The Alto Knights is a must-watch for, let's see, De Niro fans, mafia movie fans, Scorsese fans, Goodfellas fans, and even Levinson fans (a true cinephile must be one). De Niro has a lot of fun, in particular, playing the shoot-first-think-later gangster Vito, the kind of role Joe Pesci made famous in his Scorsese crime films with De Niro.
Their take: Laura Venning notes in Empire Online, De Niro is "...clearly having more fun chewing the scenery beneath layers of prosthetics as the volatile Vito, who was born, fittingly, beneath Mount Vesuvius." However, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wasn't impressed: "As Vito, De Niro is gloweringly resentful, taciturn, bad-tempered and wears glasses and a hat. As Frank, De Niro is gloweringly resentful, taciturn, slightly less bad-tempered and doesn’t wear glasses or a hat."
Where to watch: JioHotstar.
Relay: The wolf must forget his appetite and protect the lamb in this well-received crime thriller starring Oscar-nominated actor and rapper Riz Ahmed. He is a ‘fixer’, a shadowy individual brokering deals between corporations and whistleblowers. The plot gets going when he complicates his job trying to protect his latest client (Lily James). Sam Worthington (Avatar) plays the corporate enforcer hunting Lily’s whistleblower.
Our take: What you must take note of, the cast aside, are the director and the journey of the screenplay. Scotsman David McKenzie made the fantastic neo-Western Hell or High Water (2016) starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster. He is a reliable and talented hand at crafting tight crime dramas rooted in Americana. Justin Piasecki’s original screenplay was featured on the 2019 ‘Black List’—an American listing of the year’s best unproduced screenplays picked by industry insiders. Some of the films that originated in the Black List include Spotlight, The Revenant, Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech.
Their take: Daily Beast notes, “Between Ahmed’s stoic if tormented performance, James’ frazzled and upset turn, and Worthington’s vicious, calculating routine, ‘Relay’ is as rich in personality as it is in formal skill.”
Where to watch: Theatres.
Bring Her Back: There’s something going on with deranged mothers in Australia. Aussie filmmaker Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook (2014) had an unstable mother and her son confronting a monster haunting their home. But Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) is both mom and monster in the Philippou twins’ Bring Her Back. While she’s coping with her daughter’s passing, her foster children (Billy Barratt and Sora Wong) are scared out of their minds after witnessing a frightening ritual at their new home.
Our take: At 32, millennials Danny and Michael Philippou are from the new generation of horror YouTubers-turned-horror filmmakers. (For example, there's David F Sandberg who transitioned from his viral short Lights Out to making Annabelle: Creation and even DC's megabudget Shazam! films) Their previous movie, Talk To Me, was a massive success. Expecting only the goriest and the best from these brothers.
Their take: Reviews are great. Empire Magazine says “this sophomore feature offers splashes of graphic imagery and streaks of cruelty, most of them involving children, that will test the mettle of even hardened horror fans.” AV Club concurs: “The movie works best on a visceral and emotional level, carried by Hawkins’ mania and the textured sound design that feels like pouring glass in the ear canal. Like a punk band turning four chords into pure angst.”
Where to watch: Theatres.
Hostage: Julie Delpy, best-known to most audiences as the sweet Céline from Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, plays a cutthroat politician in this political thriller. The best news: Matt Chapman, writer of Steven Spielberg’s Tom Hanks-starrer Cold War drama Bridge of Spies, is the creator.
When French president Vivienne (Delpy) and British prime minister Abigail (Suranne Jones) meet for an international summit, the latter finds her husband back home kidnapped. The demand is for Abigail to resign. Both women, initially at odds with each other, have to quickly forge sisterhood to bring the five-episode miniseries to a close.
Our take: A political thriller with domestic melodrama and two girlbosses. Yes, please. With a cast and creators like these, it would be silly to miss this one.
Their take: The Guardian writes, “It’s a rollicking, propulsive and compulsive yarn that also manages to give two great parts to two women of a certain age then leaves them to get on with it as characters rather than symbols.”
Where to watch: Netflix.
The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox: Attention, true crime junkies! In 2007, 20-year-old Amanda Knox was labelled a sex-crazed sadist and arrested in Italy for the murder of her university roommate, Meredith Kercher. After a four-year ordeal behind bars, Knox, along with her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollicito, was found to be not guilty in 2011. Grace Van Patten stars as Knox in this eight-episode miniseries.
Our take: A chilling account of how media frenzy paints a narrative in such cases. During the initial trial, the Italian media bayed for her blood and she was sentenced for up to 27 years in prison. It wasn’t until 2011 that Knox and her boyfriend were declared not guilty by Italy’s highest court. Given what went down with Sushant Singh Rajput’s death trial, Indian viewers will find this familiar and harrowing.
Their Take: Reviews are good but BBC Culture feels the dramatisation is “misguided.” The reason: “This sad story has two victims, but by centering Knox's experiences, it sidelines and marginalises Kercher's death, upsetting the delicate balance of a case where one victim never lived to tell her own story.”
Where to watch: JioHotstar.
Here’s a new chapter…
Fisk Season 3: Fancy-shmancy lawyer Helen Tudor-Fisk returns to our Netflix screens this week on season 3 of Fisk, the Aussie sitcom starring comedian and writer Kitty Flanagan. From being forced to take a job at a small firm called Gruber & Gruber after her career and marriage fell apart, Helen has now been named partner. What fresh comic ordeals await our protagonist?
Peacemaker Season 2: You can see John Cena this weekend, actually. The soon-to-be-former WWE superstar returns as the jingoistic titular superhero. The show, created by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), broke streaming records for Warner Bros. Discovery when it was released three years back.
For those keeping score, the glam rock throwback track ‘Do You Really Wanna Taste It?’—that made for a hilariously memorable opening sequence—has been replaced by a new dance number, but most of the supporting cast from season one is back. The first episode was released on JioHotstar yesterday.
Fresh off the big screen…
Thalaivan Thalaivii (Tamil): True to its title (Thalaivan means leader), Vijay Sethupathi and Nithya Menen play a couple where both man and woman will not leave a square inch to the other when arguments escalate to a 140-minute runtime featuring action scenes. The Times of India notes: “Thalaivan Thalaivii becomes one of the very few Tamil films that dig into the life after marriage, something after the beginning of the seemingly happily-ever-after.” Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
Also in theatres…
Nobody 2: Acclaimed Indonesian horror and action specialist Timo Tjahjanto directs Bob Odenkirk in the sequel to his hit action film Nobody (2021), where he played an assassin-turned-family man who returns to kicking ass after his family becomes targeted by a crime boss. Saul Goodman has to break bad once again, but this time he is squaring off against a baddie played by… Sharon Stone!
souk picks