In her review of Netflix's Rebecca, The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote, "The only thing that stands out is the atmosphere that the film manages to create occasionally. Even in this, the film is more engaging in its first few minutes in sunny South of France, rather than in the imposing bleakness of Manderley, which is where everything of import happens. James is adequate, but never able to channel the bone-chilling terror that suffused the novel, or even the B&W starkness of Hitchcock’s film, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. The clean-cut, handsome Hammer is all wrong for Maxim de Winter: when he tells the shy companion, ‘I want to marry you, you little fool,’ it sounds wrong. The only one who internalises the vibe of the period and is suitably menacing is Thomas, dressed in black, her mouth a slash of scarlet, but even she cannot rescue the film."
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Zombie comedies are hard to pull off. There is hardly anything hilarious about walking dead people walking and making a meal out of the living. But in Edgar Wright’s hands, it seems effortless. Keep in mind, though, the movie, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, still has a lot of gore and horror.
Jon Favreau creation The Mandalorian is the first-ever live-action Star Wars series. It is about an ace bounty hunter, who due to recession in the wake of Galactic Empire’s obliteration, takes up a near-impossible job from a well-paying client.
Based on an intriguing what-if premise, The Man in the High Castle is an alternate reality show. In this world, the Axis powers won and the United States was carved up between Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. Common Americans live under two foreign, oppressive regimes and they are resigned to their fate... until the people come across another reality -- our reality -- according to which things could be better.
Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney play the roles of school superintendent Dr Frank A Tassone and district official Pamela Gluckin, respectively. The two are accused of embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars from district funds. Their job is to bury the accusation and keep it from going public.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is based on the book series of the same name by Daniel Handler who uses his pen name Lemony Snicket to write the books. The story follows three Baudelaire children – a baby girl, a boy and his elder sister. The children have a fortune to their name, but a certain Count Olaf (played with a patent delight by Neil Patrick Harris) would like the fortune to himself. He will kill the children if that is what it took. The devilish Count is assisted by even nastier minions.
The classic Doordarshan TV series based on RK Narayan's charming small-town based stories still holds up well. Relive your childhood (if you watched Malgudi Days as a child, that is) with this series.
Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s stories, which also inspired a hugely popular series of open-world RPG video-games, the world of the witcher resembles Westeros (from Game of Thrones) in many ways. For one, it is a gritty, dirty world full of violence, sex, and so on. For another, there is no clear division of good or bad like in most fantasy tales. However, The Witcher boasts of a lot of magic and fantastical creatures, which George RR Martin’s novels shied away from. The hero itself, Geralt of Rivia, is a mutated human with superhuman abilities. Game of Thrones in comparison had magic, but only on the periphery, at least in the first few seasons.
Netflix’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Victorian-era Gothic horror novel was a surprisingly clever, well-performed piece of entertainment. While it was a considerable departure from the source material, it remains an interpretation that Stoker himself probably would have been proud of.
The standard yet thrilling zombie apocalypse series has a woman being separated from her daughter. She goes on a journey to find her, determined to be reunited come hell or high water.
Wakaalat From Home is a 10-episode series shot completely during the lockdown on a zoom call. It features Sumeet Vyas, Nidhi Singh, Kubbra Sait and Gopal Datt in prominent roles. The web series revolves around a married couple, Sujin (Vyas) and Radhika (Singh), who have filed for a divorce. Owing to the lockdown, their court hearing moves to Zoom calls, where their respective lawyers, played by Sait and Dutt, take charge of the proceedings. What follows is a laugh riot and utter chaos.
What happens when two families with completely different backgrounds meet at their children’s wedding for the first time? Complete chaos. YRF’s Y-Films’ romantic comedy Bang Baaja Baaraat is about Shahana (Angira Dhar) and Pawan (Ali Fazal) who decide to get married and invite their parents to bless them. Their relationship goes for a toss when both the parents put forward their varied demands. Sumeet Vyas, who has also written the dialogues of the Anand Tiwari directorial, steals the show when he appears as a DJ in one of the episodes. Watch it for a well-written script and an apt depiction of modern-day relationships.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is not plot-driven. It is its witty, vibrant charm that casts a spell. It is the moments, the dialogues and the characters that stay with you long after the film is over. They seem wholesome and lovable despite their idiosyncrasies.
Paddington is simply the sweetest film ever made. The cuddly titular character is just so entertaining to watch and also gives a lesson, to young and adults alike, in kindness.
From ZEE5's Forbidden Love series, comes another tale of love, this time a thriller called Diagnosis of Love. Helmed by Mahesh Manjrekar and starring Raima Sen, Rannvijay Singha and Manjrekar himself in pivotal roles, the mystery drama is now streaming.
Do we ever forget the people who once had our hearts? Is it possible to really move on after a loved one passes away, and especially if that loved one is the person you spent all your days and nights with? How long does it take to heal after suffering that kind of wound? The film touches upon all these subjects, but in a manner befitting the filmmaking style of the director — ‘deal with the tragic by suffusing it with some comedy and things will fall into place.’
The Boys is about a bunch of vigilantes (the titular Boys) who have their own reasons to abhor the ‘supes’ or superheroes. This is a world in which superheroes like Justice League and Avengers exist, and instead of being symbols of hope and nobility, they are blinded by their fame and many of them are more like supervillains.
Emily in Paris, starring Lilly Collins, is the story of Emily, an American marketing executive who is sent to Paris for work. While some people liked the frivolous nature of the web series, most were disappointed with the blatant stereotyping of the French. However, the show offered some mindless fun. It is a good watch if you are tired of all the intense content.
Wrong Side Raju, inspired by 2013 BMW hit-and-run case in Gujarat, is a thriller directed by Mikhil Musale, who helmed the Rajkummar Rao-starrer Made In China. The film is narrated from the perspective of the driver who was made the scapegoat for the crime committed by his boss. Pratik Gandhi plays the driver who is a young man with a knack for ‘jugaad’. Co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl, the film won the 65th National Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati.
A typical Indian mother fusses over her daughter, who is living in the United States. Unable to secure a good sanskari Indian boy as a match for her despite all the astrology knowledge at her disposal, she is unnerved by the man her daughter does end up liking.
Wish to know what is the biggest and most important story of our times -- coronavirus? Look no further. Coronavirus, Explained is a must-watch if you are unfamiliar with the topic or only have a superficial understanding.
Set in the early ’50s, Lootera tells the story of Varun (Ranveer Singh) and Pakhi (Sonakshi Sinha). It has Massey in the role of Singh’s companion who visits Sinha’s house. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the period drama is based on author O Henry’s 1907 short story The Last Leaf. The strength of the film lies in its spellbinding cinematography, superb performances and its soulful music.
Relive your childhood and follow the adventures of ultra-rich Scrooge McDuck, and his three grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie in the classic series.
Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One paints the picture of a dystopian society in which most people are poor and have a virtual reality world called OASIS as an escape from their humdrum reality. Ready Player One, starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance among others, is an escapist film in every sense of the word.
In Margarita with a Straw, Kalki Koechlin’s character is a teenage girl who is not afraid to express her sexual urges and finds herself enjoying getting intimate with both men and women.
HBO's miniseries The Third Day is an effective mystery that rises above its premise's trappings largely due to Jude Law's superlative performance, capable direction and cinematography.
One of the few films that dared to take oppressive societal mores that restrict personal independence head on, Masaan was a surprisingly swell directorial debut by Neeraj Ghaywan. It dexterously wove two independent storylines that run parallel and hardly met. Richa Chaddha once again demonstrated why she is a force to be reckoned with by getting into her role with a professional ease. Vicky Kaushal, then a newcomer, was pretty convincing as a shy and awkward small-town boy.
Set in Kashmir in the 1990s, Haider tackled many sensitive matters pretty deftly without being too judgmental. It was another triumphant entry in Vishal Bhardwaj’s glorious line of Shakespeare adaptations set in Indian context (Maqbool and Omkara drew inspiration from Macbeth and Othello respectively) and was based on one of the most famous works by the Bard: Hamlet. With a taut storyline, strong performances particularly by Shahid Kapoor as the titular character, Haider was relentlessly absorbing.
Helmed by Drew Goddard and co-written by him and Joss Whedon, The Cabin in the Woods is a subversive horror film that takes the hackneyed remote forest cabin premise of so many horror films and turns it on its head. The result is a smartly written and acted movie. Chris Hemsworth plays the role of Curt Vaughan, who is one of the college students who go on a vacation to that forest cabin.
A typical Indian mother fusses over her daughter, who is living in the United States. Unable to secure a good sanskari Indian boy as a match for her despite all the astrology knowledge at her disposal, she is unnerved by the man her daughter does end up liking.
The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote about the film, "You pick on the central theme of the film early enough: misogyny is global, whether it is something that Usha suffered in her early years in Delhi, or Pallavi, losing her independence because of her new love, in the US. The film speaks out loud about daughters looking out for daughters, just in case we missed it, right in the end. But you wish it was done better: it goes back and forth like a metronome, swinging between the two sets of people – Pallavi and her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend and Usha and supportive spouse. Contrivances pop up, and the actors use exaggerated accents which keep slipping, especially Krishnan The ‘South Indian’ Dad underlining his ‘ths’ whenever he remembers to do so. And if you want to lace your film with ‘these superstitious Indians’, then you have to be careful that your characters don’t appear to be stereotypical."
Space Shuttle: Triumph and Tragedy tells the inside story of NASA's spaceships. As the title says, it explores both the triumphs and tragedies, and the latter includes the death of Kalpana Chawla and her team in Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003.
A Tamil anthology film, Putham Pudhu Kaalai is made up of five parts directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, and Karthik Subbaraj.
The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote about the film, "The lockdown and its impact has already been seen in many similar efforts by filmmakers around the world. But despite some perky moments here and there, this anthology remains mostly blah."
Ever wondered what it is like to live in space? This film should satiate your curiosity. It tells the story of what it takes to spend a whole year in space.
Zakariya Mohammed's Halal Love Story is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The film stars Indrajith Sukumaran in the lead role. Indrajith earlier spoke about his character in the movie. He said, "This character’s name is ‘Shareef’ and he is basically a bad actor so when considering actors for cinema inside the cinema, he’s probably the last option among many but they end up coming back to ‘Shareef’ and he gets casted as the lead in this film so there is a thin line because there are these portions where Shareef performs inside the movie and he’s not a good actor, so he has to be bad while performing."
Directed by Antonio Campos, The Devil All the Time is based on the novel of the same name by Donald Ray Pollock. The movie boasts of a star-studded cast with Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson.
Maqbool Khan directorial Khaali Peeli stars Ishaan Khatter, Ananya Panday, Jaideep Ahlawat, Swanand Kirkire, Satish Kaushik, Anup Soni. Shubhra Gupta wrote about the movie, "Khaali Peeli knows that it needs to refresh the tropes it is up against, and manages to do so only some of the time in its two-hour duration. As a pandemic time-pass, it serves. Just about."
They Shall Not Grow Old is a World War II documentary directed by Peter Jackson. It is an extraordinary experience, which has rightly earned plaudits around the world. Jackson, best known for directing the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has used modern post-production techniques, both visual and sound, including new voice-acting, and colourisation to bring alive World War II in all its terrible glory.
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm has Sacha's Borat Sagdiyev character returning to America. The original film, released in 2006, was about the titular fictitious journalist from Kazakhstan, who gets sent to the United States by his government to make a documentary on the country. In the sequel, Borat returns to a very different America, which is much more divisive. Borat is explicitly political the second time around.
This web series starring Akshay Oberoi in a significant role is streaming on MX Player. “Nine episodes, though, is a long time to keep up suspense and intrigue. If you are nifty enough, the glaring contrivances and plot holes and lazy repetitions can be quickly passed over. We get too much time to dwell on these things, and also to rue the fact that despite everything the bad guys sound very ‘filmi’,” writes Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express in her review of the series.
This horror series follows a nanny Dani as she is hired to take care of two children - Miles and Flora, by their uncle Henry, in a mansion in a town called Bly. Dani gels with the kids and the other staff at the mansion but there is a dark secret of the mansion that goes back many centuries.
Directed by Aaron Sorkin, this legal drama follows a group of anti-Vietnam war protestors after they are charged with conspiracy. The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta shared in her review of the film, “The joy of watching a film that is written so beautifully is all down to Aaron Sorkin. Everything feels of the time. The lines are laced with acerbity, humour and, in the right places, pathos. And the ensemble cast is perfect.”
This Hansal Mehta series based on the Harshad Mehta securities scam of 1992 has garnered positive reviews. “Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story is a fascinating account of a man who started small, and within an incredibly short period, amassed the kind of staggering fortune most people only dream of. The web series, which lasts an expansive ten episodes, is not just a detailed sketch of Mehta and his distinctly dodgy ways and his close cohorts, it’s also a portrait of an India which was on the verge of momentous change,” shared The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta.
Starring Hillary Swank, this series follows a group of astronauts as they leave on a mission to Mars. Swank’s character leaves her daughter and husband behind as she takes on the command of an international crew. The show will not be renewed for a second season.
This Prakash Jha directorial starring Bobby Deol is streaming on MX Player. Here, Deol plays a controversial godman whose cult-like city sees many illegal activities. The show’s first chapter streamed in August and the second chapter is all set to stream in November.
Produced for National Geographic by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way and Warner Bros Television, The Right Stuff is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Based on the bestselling book by Tom Wolfe, the series looks at the early days of the US Space Program through the story of America’s first astronauts, the Mercury Seven.
The new season of My Next Guest with David Letterman is now streaming on Netflix. This season, Letterman talks to Kim Kardashian, Robert Downey Jr, Dave Chappelle and Lizzo. The show features Letterman in conversation with celebrities as they talk about the key events of their life.
Starring Rashida Jones and Bill Murray, this Sophia Coppola directorial has the leads playing father-daughter as they follow her suspicious husband and find the relationship with each other.
Directed by Mira Nair, this six-part series based on the novel by Vikram Seth starts streaming today. The series stars Tanya Minkitala, Ishaan Khatter, Tabu, Ram Kapoor, Rasika Dugal, among others.
Starring Saqib Saleem and Shweta Basu Prasad, Comedy Couple is a romantic comedy that follows two stand-up comics who want to become the first popular duo in the Indian comedy scene. Indianexpress.com’s review of the film said, “Shweta Basu Prasad does a credible job of playing someone who is confident and passionate about her goals. But Saqib looks like he is trying a tad bit hard to come across as the chill, upbeat and reckless Deep.”
Rebecca starring Armie Hammer, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas is streaming on Netflix. “The only thing that stands out is the atmosphere that Rebecca manages to create occasionally. Even in this, the film is more engaging in its first few minutes in sunny South of France, rather than in the imposing bleakness of Manderley, which is where everything of import happens,” shared The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta in her review of the film.
The second season of the popular Prime Video is now streaming online. The new season of Mirzapur spans over 10 episodes. Indianexpress.com’s first impression of the new seasons says, “The second season takes a while to gain momentum. Unlike the first season, there’s no space for humour or even a splash of relief for viewers, which makes the episode viewing experience a bit exhausting.”