We recommend: The best new movies and TV series
Editor’s note: The epic scale of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the accompanying promotions have eclipsed everything else this week. That said, we do have a new thriller miniseries starring Anya Taylor-Joy of Queen’s Gambit Fame. Celebs eating hot wings and crying on camera on Hot Ones. A couple of much talked about films, Wuthering Heights and Chand Mera Dil, are streaming now. And a critically acclaimed British series bids farewell with a concluding film, Heartstopper Forever.
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New releases
The Odyssey (English)
All filmmakers tell stories but the great ones keep telling the same story. Think of Steven Spielberg and his preoccupation with dysfunctional families. Think also of Christopher Nolan. His fans—universally annoying—might protest and use his versatile career as evidence, but his work features a common protagonist: time. Nolan’s filmography is a masterclass in exploring the various facets of time: its cruelty and allure, its malleability and cure. The Odyssey, centring around a man’s long voyage home, thus, is perhaps the film he always wanted to make.
Homer’s epic is about the Greek king Odysseus and his 10-year-old journey back home to Ithaca. In this retelling, Nolan refuses to frame the homecoming as celebration. Instead, he adapts by engaging in a dialogue with the source material, debating with it and showcasing the decade in the poem through the toil it took on all the characters involved: Odysseus, but also his wife, Penelope, their son Telemachus, and on the island bereft of a king. In Nolan’s hands, the triumph of Odysseus, having won the Trojan War, is subverted to reveal the guilt he inherited from the killing and the fragile humanity is the heroism.
Hailing The Odyssey, a review in The Guardian states, “This is a film with thrilling ambition, boldness, seriousness, generosity and flair.” With a cast comprising Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Elliot Page, among others, this is the film to watch this week.
Where to watch: Theatres
Heartstopper Forever (English)
This critically-acclaimed British coming-of-age series is bidding farewell with a feature film. Heartstopper Forever, directed by Wash Westmoreland, will have Kit Connor and Joe Locke resume their roles as Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring respectively. Adapted from Alice Oseman’s novels, the series revolves around two boys who forge an unexpected friendship and then fall in love, all the while steering the many hiccups of adolescence. Through the characters, the show also put forth questions about sexual and gender identity and mental health.
This concluding iteration has earned favourable reviews, with Variety stating, “The tone of “Heartstopper Forever” is distinct from the series. Though it retains touches of the vibrant doodle animations that pop up in the frame, and there are flashbacks to some of the most memorable moments in Charlie and Nick’s relationship, the film is much more somber than viewers might expect.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Lucky (English)
Anya Taylor-Joy is not new to TV series…remember The Queen's Gambit, the 2020 Netflix series that ricocheted her to fame? The actor returns to long-form storytelling with Lucky, a heist drama where Lucky (Taylor-Joy), a con artist, is compelled to go on the run after things go haywire. Based on Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel of the same name, the series is backed by Reese Witherspoon and draws from the author’s life experiences where her mother lost her life savings to a Ponzi scheme. In her telling, however, the grifter is the protagonist.
Although reviews for the series have been mixed, they have also pointed to how watchable Lucky still is. “But, still. It’s summer. Our energies have sagged like hastily loosened slacks at a poolside buffet. Resistance feels like too much effort,” reads one in The Guardian.
Where to watch: Apple TV
Ride or Die (English)
More than one female character is on the run this week. Ride or Die, the new series, traces the story of two friends who are escaping from an enemy. That the friends are played by Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham make things all the more exciting. The additional catch here is Waddingham plays a deadly assassin.
Although the show garnered mixed reviews, the leads’ performances make a case strong enough to give the series a chance. A review on IndieWire reiterates this: “Overall, this is popcorn entertainment, safely made for the masses, but Waddingham is such a joy to watch and Spencer creates an ideal, idiosyncratic, Type-A foil.”
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
Will Ferrell is always good for a laugh or two but, at least on The Hawk, not much more than that. In this new comedy series, he plays Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a cantankerous golf pro who comes out of retirement for one last dance. He had a bit of a meltdown two decades ago that killed off his career, and now he’s a bitter, selfish, obnoxious hack trying to make his way back to the big leagues. “Will Ferrell returning to sports-comedy territory should have been a layup,” writes Rogerebert.com, “or should we say a two-foot putt. Instead, we get a recycled collection of familiar gags that favors loud over clever.” The series, with a strong cast and fun premise, promises plenty but largely flatters to deceive.
Where to watch: Netflix
The Map of Longing (Spanish)
Greta (played by Alícia Falcó) feels untethered and lost after the death of Lucy, her older sister, to leukemia, in this new Spanish miniseries adapted for Alice Kellen’s novel. She’d tried to save her life through stem cell donation, and is now, a year after Lucy’s death, suffering from severe depression and loneliness. And then Will (Pablo Álvarez) shows up; he knew Lucy, he tells her, and hands her a handmade board game, ‘the Map of Longing’, along with two letters. Greta must complete the tasks listed out in this game. Even in her death, Lucy is looking out for her.
Where to watch: Netflix
We’ve seen the videos of celebs battling for their lives as they struggle through chicken wings and hot sauce while host Sean Evans offers them words of encouragement (or, just as often, ridicule). It’s a great equaliser—seeing these larger-than-life characters dropping all pretences and revealing their painfully human struggles with spice and heat. Now, a spin off of the popular YouTube series has made its way to Netflix, via this series of specials streaming from locations of Netflix live locations. The cast of The Hawk featured on the first one, and we’re excited to see lots of tears along the way.
Where to watch: Netflix
23,000 Lives (German)
Markus Goller’s film is inspired by a true story about a search-and-rescue ship called Iuventa and a group of young people take it upon themselves to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite having no experience, the rescuers refuse to remain bystanders and watch countless refugees losing their lives in the sea. The 2018 documentary Iuventa was a non-fiction rendering of a real incident where a similar effort saved 23,000 lives. Goller’s venture fictionalises it while treating the rescue mission as the narrative scaffolding. Michele Cinque, who directed the documentary, was involved in developing 23,000 Lives, which premiered at the Munich Film Festival in 2026 and has now made its way to Netflix.
Where to watch: Netflix
Fresh off the big screen
Ek Din (Hindi)
In Sunil Pandey’s film, an introverted boy is in love with his colleague. He struggles telling her and she does not look at him. Then, a fortuitous office trip to Japan happens; he prays that she reciprocates his emotions and somehow she does. Adapted from the Thai film One Day (2016), Ek Din is built on one of those impossible premises that make love stories sing. Except, this Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi starrer is as dull as they come.
Having said that, Sai Pallavi, making her Hindi film debut with this, is astonishingly good despite the writing doing her no favours. A review in The Hollywood Reporter shared a similar rave, “It would be about Sai Pallavi managing to humanise the most ridiculous character arc.”
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
Transfer Trimurthulu (Telugu)
Kamal Teja Narla’s film follows a cop who gets transferred 56 times in a short span of time for being too honest. He has inherited these ethics from his father, but things take a more somber turn when a chapter from his past destabilises his present. Transfer Trimurthulu is a social justice drama that marks the return of Vadde Naveen after close to a decade.
Where to watch: Zee 5
Maa Inti Bangaaram (Telugu)
Family comes first. In BV Nandini Reddy’s Maa Inti Bangaaram, an action-comedy starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu, a former assassin is compelled to go back to the profession after her family comes under threat. With the second season of The Family Man (2021), Samantha has already proved to be an exciting action star. This only gets reiterated here, but there’s still joy in seeing a sari-clad female actor throwing punches.
Praising her performance, The Hindu writes, “It is a delight to watch Samantha own the action sequences, making them look effortless. In contrast, when she attempts to be the perfect daughter-in-law, it almost feels like role play, in keeping with the narrative’s demands.”
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Wuthering Heights (English)
Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel about an all-engulfing romance between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff has spawned several adaptations on screen. The backdrop of the moors infused the moodiness of the text that, in turn, only made it ripe for celluloid. Despite such familiarity, Emerald Fennell managed to orchestrate a breathless discourse with her adaptation by crafting a palpably horny retelling of Brontë’s book.
Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, Fennell’s film was polarising and divisive (the filmmaker scrubbed off themes of race) and triggered several thought pieces. “Fennell is a bold filmmaker unafraid to try something new and unexpected. And “Wuthering Heights” deserves some recognition for being a movie that she made entirely on her own terms. If only those terms ignited the riotous feelings that we were promised,” writes Rogerebert.com. Even then, quite plucky.
Where to watch: JioHotstar
Chand Mera Dil (Hindi)
Vivek Soni’s Chand Mera Dil is a quintessential ‘Dharma film’, an epithet of sorts for ventures backed by Karan Johar’s production company that operate on their own realms of reality. The Ananya Panday and Lakshya starrer is an elaborate and mildly frustrating take on a young romance that is forced to grow up. Although the film includes several interesting ideas and a striking visual style (those familiar with Soni’s earlier works will attest to it), it gets hindered by its own ambition.
Having said that, Chand Mera Dil arrives at a time when Hindi cinema is going through a paucity of love stories and made a mark precisely due to this. A reviewer in Mint Lounge echoes this, stating, “It’s not the subtlest film, or the most sensible. But in a time of snark, I appreciated the swoon.”
Where to watch: JioHotstar
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