Streaming Guide: Movies, web series and TV shows to watch on March 21

Before Game of Thrones, HBO had Rome, a lavish and no-holds-barred take on Roman Empire around the time of Caesar’s assassination. It is a gorgeously shot show that unfortunately turned out to be simply too expensive and was discontinued after 2 seasons in spite of huge success. 

An adaptation of the comic book series of the same name, The Boys is an attack on the very concept of superheroes, something that has rarely been done well. Sure, Batman v Superman had similar elements (Superman as a Jesus-like figure who could go evil; Batman branding criminals with the symbol), but the ideas were poorly implemented. This is a world in which superheroes are real, but instead of being symbols of nobility and goodness like the Avengers and Justice League, they have allowed status and fame to go to their head, and have become violent and reckless. It offers formula of gallows humour and unremitting, gleeful brutality. A refreshing change from the so-called 'Avengers fatigue'.

In terms of look and feel, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie feels like a particularly eventful episode of Breaking Bad. It is a worthy edition to the canon. It takes forward the story of a character (Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman) who was the moral centre of the show — or at least one who passed for one — and completes his arc in a satisfying way.

Also Read | El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie review: More than just an addendum

Fear the Walking Dead is a spinoff series of the zombie juggernaut series The Walking Dead, and is set in the same world. It gets average later on, but it is worth checking out the zombie apocalypse in this world from other perspectives and new  cast of characters.

The third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok, was colourful, thrilling and sort of nuts adventure helmed by Taika Waititi who basically reinvented the God of Thunder in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Also Read | Thor Ragnarok review: This Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston starrer is Marvel’s best film yet

Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s stories, which also inspired a hugely popular series of open-world RPG video-games, The Witcher is a highly entertaining fantasy show starring Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan.

HBO’s Watchmen series is “remix” to Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name. It is created by Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost and HBO’s own The Leftovers. It is a bona fide sequel to the source material that despite telling a fresh story with (mostly) new characters stays true to the spirit of the original.

Based on the film that has come to represent and define the genre, this Fox’s TV series is actually really good. It acts as a sequel to the original story and comes under the umbrella of the franchise. The Exorcist redefined the then stale horror genre and spawned several sequels, each one falling way short of the original. This TV series undoes some of the damage. The atmosphere alone would make you fall in love with the franchise again.

Bates Motel is the prequel to one of the greatest, genre-defining psychological horror movies. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho gets a sequel in Bates Motel. We know Norman Bates was a batshit crazy guy with a dual personality who kept the exhumed corpse of his mother in his living room. But how did he come to be that person (Or should I say, persons)? Bates Motel tells that story. It also offers a nuanced look at Dissociative Personality Disorder. And did I mention it is downright creepy? Bates Motel is proof that you don’t need ghosts and monsters to freak the hell out of people. Sometimes the inner demons are scary enough. 

When a loved one dies, we mourn them. And we often say, “I wish he/she would come back!” or something to that effect, but we really don’t want that, do we? What is dead should ideally stay dead. Otherwise, there might arise a number of complications as shown in this American remake of the French original Les Revenants, called The Returned. 

A horror series set in Victorian London, Penny Dreadful brings together many literary characters of that era and makes a gorgeous, beautifully shot, gripping (not to mention scary) drama. The title may be based on cheap horror fiction that used to sell in those times, but the show’s production quality is quite magnificent. Eva Greene as the heroine Vanessa Ives is magnetic, and the rest of the cast serves her well. This Showtime show follows a definitive arc for its four or five major characters across its three seasons. Penny Dreadful can be watched on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

A dazzlingly beautiful and bloody Neil Gaiman adaptation, American Gods has Bryan Fuller's distinctive touches that help make gore look beautiful. It is not just all visual, however, as American Gods nicely elaborates upon the eternal war between tradition and modernity without straying too far from its solid source material. Stream it on Amazon Prime Video. 

Also Read | American Gods review: As much a piece of art as entertainment

Better Call Saul may well be better than the show it owes its existence to -- Breaking Bad. The descent of Jimmy McGill, better known as Saul Goodman, from a good-hearted, but reckless person to a cheap crooked lawyer has more depth and tragedy than Walter White's transformation into a drug kingpin according to many critics. 

Remember the deadly hitman Lorne Malvo from Fargo’s season 1? The guy, Billy Bob Thornton, plays a world-weary lawyer in this brilliant and sadly underrated series.

Helmed by The Wire creator and his collaborator George Pelecanos, The Deuce has the same immaculate attention to detail that categorised The Wire. Although the subject is different (birth of the porn industry as opposed to the drug trade), The Deuce is also holistic in the sense that its narrative encompasses everybody on the spectrum.

This Good Place is about a woman, Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who finds herself in The Good Place in her afterlife. The Good Place is where good people go after they die. Oh, but it is only her who knows that she may not be so good after all. To remain in the place, which is a community of scores of people, she hides her true identity, which is that of a selfish, uncaring and rude loner. The show is cleverly written and, thankfully, does not have the dreaded laugh track. The humour is amazingly subtle, and the performances are really good.

NOS4A2 is a fresh take on the vampire genre of literature. Instead of drinking blood, the antagonist of the novel, the terrifying Charlie Manx, feeds off the the souls of children. He then puts them into a place that is supposed to be blissful and dreamlike, but is actually something you cannot escape from. The title is a variation on the archaic Hungarian-Romanian word, Nosferatu, meaning vampire, and also the registration ID written on Manx's licence plate. The series adapts Joe Hill's horror novel of the same name. Joe Hill is the pen name of Joseph Hillstrom King, Stephen King's elder son.

The Platform is a Spanish satirical science fiction film by debutant director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. It takes aim at society's social inequality and other ills. The film holds an impressive 85 per cent rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, "While it may feel muddled at times, The Platform is an inventive and captivating dystopian thriller."

Succession is the story of rich people but the makers are acutely aware that this show is being watched by regular people so to get a sense of this world we are introduced to Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun). Greg has grown up in a regular household but because he happens to be related to the Roys, he ends up in their inner circle, enjoying the high life. And while he’s amazed by the riches, he knows that he is a disposable outsider.

Also read | Here’s why you should watch Succession

Watch the short film Ved and Arya starring TV heartthrobs Nakuul Mehta and Sanaya Irani. 

BoJack Horseman is a show set in the glitzy town of Hollywoo (with the D missing) where animal-people and regular people co-exist. With the business of entertainment as the backdrop, BoJack explores the dark themes of existentialism and loneliness. It is a tragedy in the garb of a comedy show. We see funny things happen on screen and of course, we laugh at those, but more often than not, BoJack leaves us feeling hollow.

Also read | TV Rewind | Bojack Horseman: Tragedy in the garb of comedy

Set in a single room occupied by many women, Devi is the story of perseverance. The film opens with a few women who seemingly belong to different worlds but are all stuck in the same room – but why? The story unravels in the next 13 minutes as we get to know the trauma that they have suffered. Written and directed by Priyanka Banerjee, Devi is an empathetic attempt to show that no matter the age, caste, religion and class, female rape victims are all stuck in the same purgatory.

Also read | Devi review: This short film makes you feel helpless

HBO's The Outsider is a superbly written, shot and acted miniseries, which is not to be missed, whether one is a Stephen King fan or not. The Indian Express' Kshitij Rawat, in her review of The Outsider, writes, "The Outsider is, at least in the beginning, a slow burn cop thriller in the vein of True Detective season 1 (the miniseries comes from Richard Price who has written for other HBO series like The Wire, The Deuce and The Night Of). The Outsider takes its time doing stuff. But it also imparts a strong sense of setting and character, particularly to Ralph, whose role is absolutely owned by a top-notch Mendelsohn. Also, when it does shift gears into the realm of supernatural, The Outsider gets pretty far removed from True Detective season 1. The latter left a little ambiguity where The Outsider leaves none." 

The 1993 Nora Ephron directorial rom-com Sleepless in Seatlle stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Annie (a lovely Meg Ryan) is a journalist based in Baltimore, who is seemingly trapped in her engagement to Bill Pullman’s Walter. But things change when she hears on a radio an eight-year-old boy (Ross Malinger) complain about how her father Sam (Tom Hanks) has still not gotten over his wife, who died sometime ago. After hearing Sam speak about his late wife in a passionate fashion, Annie is sufficiently swooned and decides to snoop upon Sam, who has, by that time, moved to Seattle. The rest of the narrative takes off from there.

Also read | Hollywood Rewind | Sleepless in Seattle: Romedy gold

If you are a Ranveer Singh fans, you can catch up on all his movies online. Band Baaja Baraat, Gully Boy, Simmba, Padmaavat and Gunday among others are streaming on different streaming platforms. 

Also read | Streaming Guide: Ranveer Singh movies

Operation MBBS showcases the story of three first-year MBBS students, Nishant (Ayush Mehra), Sakshi (Anshul Chauhan) and Huma (Sarah Hashmi). They come from diverse backgrounds and have their own reasons for pursuing MBBS. What happens when these three come together? Will they compete against each other or will they form great friendships? Will they become doctors for money or to save lives? That’s what forms the crux of Operation MBBS.

Also read | Operation MBBS first impression: A different take on medical college life

The sequel to the popular horror comedy, Zombieland: Double Tap is a bigger film which while failing to provide quite the same thrill as the original, has enough for it to be a worthy successor.

The Deepika Padukone starrer Chhapaak is now available on Hotstar. The critically acclaimed film, which is a Meghna Gulzar directorial, is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. The film also stars Vikrant Massey .

With its season 3, HBO's Westworld has become great once again. The novelty factor that characterised its opening season is back now that the hosts, or at least some hosts, are out in the wide world and the war between them and humans is all set to begin in earnest. Oh, and Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is part of the show's cast now.

Also Read | Westworld Season 3 first impression: Aaron Paul-starrer looks like a whole new show

Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary starring Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow, is now available on Amazon Prime Video. The film tells the story of a family that moves to a countryside house with his wife and two kids. They discover that their new house is built near a pet cemetery (spelled as Sematary). The said pet cemetery was itself built on an ancient burial ground. Among the two kids, one becomes a little too interested in the cemetery. When their pet dies and comes back, the child is happy. But as we know from horror fiction, when the dead come back, they are never the same. One of the children is also then run over by a speeding vehicle.

Also Read | Pet Sematary movie review: This Stephen King adaptation leaves you with a lingering sense of dread

Relatively Relatable is Naveen Richard's comedy special for Amazon Prime Video. The special comes with the launch of Amazon Funnies, wherein all the stand-up comedy specials will be available hereon. 

Watch the trailer here. 

Starring Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Bani J and Maanvi Gagroo in lead roles, Four More Shots Please! tells the story of four flawed women and their adventures in Mumbai. Prateik Babbar, Lisa Ray, Milind Soman, Neil Bhooplalam, Simone Singh and Amrita Puri play supporting roles. The second season is arriving on April 17, so you might want to catch up on the inaugural season before the show's sophomore outing premieres.

Devs comes from Alex Garland, known for uncanny movies with a trippy visual language. The series, starring Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Karl Glusma, Alison Pill. among others is a mystery that takes it time to get off the ground, but when it does, the payoff is big and worth waiting for. Apart from its entertainment value, Devs has a lot to say about humans, religion and so on and it is fun to peel back the layers of the story and look beneath the metaphors.

AMC's Preacher, starring Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gilgun and Ruth Negga in lead roles, is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The series is based on the comic book series of the same name from DC Comics' Vertigo. It tells the story of the titular preacher with a dark past who gets endowed with a mysterious power. He goes on a quest to find God and understand his new power with his vampire friend. The show is as entertaining and engaging as the premise described here. 

Starring Kiara Advani, Guilty is streaming on Netflix. The Indian Express' Ektaa Malik gave the film 2 stars and wrote in her review, "The problem with Guilty is not the subject matter or the premise. Rather a mainstream film on the given matter, in a post #metoo world would have helped take the conversation forward. But it’s the other infractions and the rather insipid treatment that lets you down. We get that the writers wished to reflect that strong, independent, expressive women shouldn’t be slut-shamed and that a no is a no but the way they bumble their way through it leaves much to be desired. Not once do we feel any empathy for any of the characters. Kiara Advani is reduced to the ‘tortured-artistic-creative’ types, and Tanu Sharma, in her ill-fitting clothes is a poor caricature of the small- town-girl with big dreams."

Also Read | Guilty movie review: A lost opportunity

Indianexpress.com's Anvita Singh shared in her first impression review of VootSelect's Asur, "Voot Select’s latest web series Asur is a crime-thriller (with a generous dose of Indian mythology) which stars Arshad Warsi, Barun Sobti, Anupriya Goenka, Riddhi Dogra and Sharib Hashmi among others. Having watched the first episode of the show, it is safe to say that the adjective ‘intriguing’ certainly befits Asur."

Read More | Asur first impression: This thriller holds promise

This Hulu series is now streaming on Hotstar. The series stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in pivotal roles. 

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie and Nicholas Hoult in pivotal roles, The Banker is now streaming on Apple TV+. The film has been directed by George Nolfi.

Watch the trailer here:

Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kaporo starrer Street Dancer 3D is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The dance film directed by Remo D'souza also starred Nora Fatehi and Prabhudeva. The Indian Express' Shubhra Gupta gave the film 1.5 stars and wrote, "The first thing a good dance movie ought to do is give us numbers that make us want to leap up to our feet right there in the aisle, and go shake-shimmy-shake. On that score alone, Street Dancer 3D, the third in the ABCD line, flubs it. Except for maybe two-and-a-half dance numbers which are passable, you are just sitting there, wondering just why is it so difficult to choreograph original, rousing sequences: the others are as much as a drag as the film."

Read More | Street Dancer 3D movie review: The Shraddha-Varun film is a drag

Starring Kangana Ranaut, Jassie Gill, Richa Chadha, Panga is now streaming on Hotstar. The Ashwini Iyer Tiwari directorial received good reviews at the time of the release. The Indian Express' Shubhra Gupta gave the film 3 stars and wrote, "Women trying to get back to work after becoming wives and mums is an issue Bollywood hasn’t bothered to explore in any detail. Panga’s protagonist is a former kabaddi player whose life has been subsumed by the tedium of everyday domesticity and jobbery. That Jaya Nigam, played with absolute conviction by Kangana Ranuat, dares to dream of a past life where she was in the spotlight, is a straight-off win, subject-wise."

Read More | Panga movie review: It is a ‘panga’ worth taking

Starring Rajeev Khandelwal and Aahana Kumra, Marzi is streaming on VootSelect. The first impression review of Marzi read, "A rape case. One victim. One accused. Who is guilty? Who is lying? Who is telling the truth? Voot Select’s original web series Marzi, starring Rajeev Khandelwal and Aahana Kumra, is a gripping thriller that leaves you with questions after each episode."

Read More | Marzi first impression: An engaging thriller owned by Rajeev Khandelwal and Aahana Kumra

Starring Karisma Kapoor, Sanjay Suri, Sandhya Mridul, Dino Morea among others, Mentalhood is streaming on AltBalaji and ZEE5. Indianexpress.com's Arushi Jain wrote in her review, "Mentalhood is a depiction of modern mothers who are trying to get to the end of the day without going completely insane. Meira Sharma (Karisma Kapoor), Anuja Joshi (Sandhya Mridul), Preeti Khosla (Tillotama Shome), Deeksha Shah (Shruti Seth), Namrata (Shilpa Shukla) are the mothers who seem to be in a race. A race to become the best parent. But in their quest of perfection, their imperfections show. They are competitive. They put the pressure of their dreams on their children. They spy on their kids. And, all of this while being under the gaze of a society which easily blames everything wrong with a child on the mother."

Read More | Mentalhood review: Lessons on good parenting, Ekta Kapoor-style

Sreaming on Hotstar, Special Ops is a web series by A Wednesday director Neeraj Pandey. The Indian Express' Ektaa Malik wrote in her review of the series, "If the first episode of Special Ops makes you nostalgic for Special 26 (2013) or you get flashes of A Wednesday (2008), then don’t worry. You are not the only one. The mammoth, eight-part show with 45-minute-long episodes will also make you second guess, wait is this is Bard of Blood (2019), or no wait, it’s Family Man (2019). Neeraj Pandey’s maiden venture into the web space has all the ingredients from his universe: a stellar ensemble cast lead by an alpha-male actor, Kay Kay Menon in this case, a sepia-tinted old world feel, the puzzling gamut of politics/greed/international terrorism and the antics needed to pull off a heist."

Read More | Special Ops review: Kay Kay Menon shines in Hotstar web series

The Plot Against America is a new series that is available in India on Hotstar. The show belongs to the genre of alternative-historywhere fascists took control of USA in the 1940s. The Plot Against America stars Winona Ryder in the lead role.

ZEE5's latest show titled State of Siege 26/11 is a riveting account based on the real-life terror attack that happened in Mumbai in 2008. Indianexpress.com's Arushi Jain wrote in her first impression review of the series, "State of Siege 26/11 gives you a stirring visual account of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Since we know it is not only about the victims but also the armed forces, it compels you to keep watching to understand how the security forces of the country came together to save the lives of people, kill nine terrorists and capture Ajmal Kasab alive."

Read More | State of Siege 26/11 first impression: A stirring visual account of 2008 Mumbai attacks