We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Weapons: Fresh off the success of his 2022 debut ‘Barbarian’ and producing ‘Companion’ earlier this year, comedian-turned-film director Zach Cregger returns to the big screen with this mystery-horror thriller. Julia Garner stars as Justine—a schoolteacher who finds out one night that all but one of her 17 young students simultaneously woke up and ran away. In the eyes of the parents, of course, Justine is the prime suspect. Also starring: Josh Brolin as one of the parents, Alden Ehrenreich as a police officer, and Benedict Wong as the school principal.
Reviews are sensational. Empire Magazine calls it a massive step up from Cregger’s debut and says, “Cregger’s script is remarkably well-structured, but he takes a careful, crafted approach, clearly conscious not to obscure the characters with any nonlinear gimmickry.” IndieWire concurs: “Cregger’s second feature uses horror to embellish comedy and vice-versa, blurring the lines between them to create a similar borderlessness between victims and monsters.” Our take: Horror cinema is going through a mini-renaissance right now and filmmakers like Cregger are at the forefront—creatively coming up with new ways to keep the scary genre alive and interesting. Watch it in cinemas now!
Sorry, Baby: Best known for their supporting role in ‘Billions’, Eva Victor has now released their directorial debut. It’s a black-comedy drama in which Victor plays Agnes, a literature professor at a tiny liberal arts college in New England who comes to terms with a traumatic experience that happened three years earlier. But everyone else on campus seems to have moved on. The film co-stars Naomi Ackie as her best friend Lydie, while Lucas Hedges and John Carroll Lynch play smaller supporting roles.
Reviews are excellent. IGN says, “It’s a character study that achieves universality not by sidestepping the specificity of Victor and Agnes’ points of view, but by observing this personal tragedy through a panoramic, generous lens.” According to AV Club: “It’s a movie that wanders the house, stretches in the sunlight, balances energetic freak-outs with endearing lethargy; ‘Sorry, Baby’ is cat cinema long before an excellent kitten enters the picture.” Our take: This is a potential early contender for the Oscars’ Best Picture, a few months before awards season really gets into gear. The film is now out in theatres.
Freakier Friday: This one’s a nostalgia run for most of us! Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis return for this sequel and reprise their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman. This time, four body swaps are happening, not just two. The new characters include Anna’s daughter, Harper (played by Julia Butters) and Anna’s soon-to-be step-daughter, Lily (played by Sophia Hammons).
Reviews are mixed for this one. ScreenRant had a hoot of a time—and calls it “a crowd-pleasing delight.” OTOH, Variety says: “There's a double swap this time, but this juggling-balls-in-the-air Disney family romp is more ambitious and less funny.” Our take: We are going purely for Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis' fantastic on-screen chemistry and comedic timing. The movie was released in the theatres yesterday.
Together: Starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a deeply codependent pair who relocate to a small town for Millie’s new teaching job. Tim, a struggling musician, feels increasingly out of place—until a hike in the nearby woods leads them to a hidden pit. After spending the night trapped inside and drinking from a strange underground pool, they wake up with their legs fused. What starts as a bizarre medical mystery quickly spirals into body horror as every attempt to separate causes them physical pain. As Tim grows obsessively attached and their bodies begin to revolt, the couple is forced to confront the terrifying cost of being inseparable—both emotionally and literally.
Reviews are great. The Guardian calls Together a “convincingly gory argument for being single,” praising its “flesh-stretching, bone-crunching body horror” and the way it bluntly explores the dangers of codependency. Hollywood Reporter concurs, describing it as a “bonkers but wildly fun fusion of body horror and codependency angst,” packed with “sticky goop and subcutaneous disturbance” that make it “an ideal midnight date movie for the non-squeamish.” Our take: A wild, weird ride that turns relationship drama into full-blown body horror—perfect for fans of dark humour and genre-bending thrillers. Catch it in theatres now.
Stolen: Heist of the Century: Everyone likes to watch a heist movie once in a while, how about a documentary on an IRL heist! It recreates parts of the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist—orchestrated by the infamous ‘Diamond Squad’ who broke into an allegedly impregnable vault in the middle of the Belgian city. An estimated $100 million – $500 million worth of diamonds were stolen that night. Eventually, the group of thieves was caught, but the heist itself got dubbed as the “heist of the century”. The movie is based on a non-fiction book named ‘Flawless’ by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell.
There are no reviews for the documentary. Our take: Who can say no to watching how an IRL heist was pulled off?! You can catch it on Netflix.
Here’s a new chapter…
Wednesday Season 2 Part 1: This is the second season of Tim Burton’s ‘Wednesday’—the spin-off of ‘The Addams Family’. Jenna Ortega plays the titular character. The tonality of the show is: horror-meets-murder mystery—wrapped up in a coming-of-age romance. The first part of the second season has four episodes, which were released yesterday on Netflix.
Platonic Season 2: Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne headline this comedy show in which they play Will and Sylvia—ex-friends who rekindle their friendship while going through mid-life crises. While others worry about the all-consuming nature of their friendship, in season, we see Will and Sylvia setting boundaries and trying to make it work. The new episodes have dropped on Apple TV+.
Fresh off the big screen…
Mickey 17: The highly anticipated Bong Joon-ho sci-fi starring Robert Pattinson is finally on OTT! Based on Edward Ashton's 2022 novel ‘Mickey7’—the film follows an “expendable” employee named Mickey Barnes who volunteers to take up the most dangerous jobs in space. Every time Mickey dies on duty, he is cloned and put on the next job. In his 17th stint, his own clone tries to kill him. Also starring in prominent roles: Mark Ruffalo and Steven Yeun. The movie dropped on JioCinema on Thursday.
