What to watch on September 24: Diagnosis of Love, Crackdown, Enola Holmes are now streaming

There is a reason why Ratatouille won an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category. Brad Bird. Bird who produced, wrote and helmed this delightful little tale of ambition and passion deserves most of the credit for the film’s success. Of course, having voice actors like Patton Oswalt and Lou Romano helps the case immensely. But everything would have not come together as smoothly as it had, had it not been for the captain of the ship. The concept of the film is, at its very base, brilliant but simple — a rat, who scurries about in the kitchen in the hopes of garbage as food, nurses the insane dream of becoming a chef? What is not to love? And human beings, who always turn up their noses in disgust at the very mention of the being, end up developing a special bond with one? This was a success to begin with, what it needed was the correct push, which it thankfully got from the big people at Disney. Ratatouille is not for kids, nor is it for adults. It doesn’t come with any label and the best thing about a ‘food movie’ is that ‘There is no such thing as a bad food film.’ (This is, of course, a personal adage). 

Gory, intense and dramatic. This Netflix series by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Neeraj Ghaywan is a compelling tale of crime, religion and politics. It features Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. 

Two unconventional wedding planners trying to make matches in modern-day India, what could possibly go wrong? The Amazon Prime show has been directed by Alankrita Shrivastva, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Nitya Mehra in parts. It features Arjun Mathur and Sobhita Dhulipala in the lead. Mathur has been nominated for an International Emmy Award (2020) for his performance.  

"Delhi Crime is a fictionalized crime drama, based on the painstaking investigation which led to the capture of the six men who attacked the couple. It works best when it sticks to the assembling of a team that the deputy commissioner of police Vartika Chaturvedi (Shah) can trust, led by the unflappable Tailang, and his band of men, crack trackers, investigators, informers, who fan out and nab the culprits, one by one," writes The Indian Express' Shubhra Gupta in her review of the show. Read more here. 

Taapsee Pannu-starrer Thappad is an emotional and insightful drama which challenges our patriarchal structure. It has been directed by Anubhav Sinha. 

"Watching Aarya reminds you of how well it incorporates that classic phrase, ‘even in the best families’. From the outside, Aarya Sareen, a supremely fit, still-stunning mother of three, seems to have everything: loving husband, luxe life, no problems other than to choose the outfit of the day from a seriously classy wardrobe. Scratch a little, though, and out spill several cans of wriggly worms, which keep us busy watching through the nine episodes of the web series, co-created by Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi. Yes, there’s dirt and grime under all that glitter, and that happens in the best of families," writes The Indian Express' critic Shubra Gupta in her review of the Sushmita Sen-starrer show. Click here to read the rest of the review.

The Matrix is one movie that cannot be simply categorised into a genre, only because it borrows so heavily and brilliantly from other genres — fantasy, comic books, action, sci-fi and even horror. It is a big-budget smart movie that knows its audience, but more than that, it knows itself. It doesn’t compromise or dumb down the narrative. Instead, it uses metaphors and hyperboles to say something its makers The Wachowskis believe in — to live for the truth and to know it in all its magnificence.

Also read | Hollywood Rewind: The Matrix

One of the best talk shows out there, this British show is cool, fun and thoroughly engaging. There are no games, no forced laughter. Just a lot of warmth and wine, and who doesn't like that?

"HBO’s Watchmen series is a sequel of sorts (called a “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. While Moore did not want to have anything to do with Zack Snyder’s slavish film adaptation of his creation, he has also distanced himself from the HBO series. He has made it clear that he is not going to watch it or any other film or TV adaptation of his works. But if he does take time to check out what Lindelof has done, I dare say he might have a change of mind," reads our review of the Emmy-winning show. Click here to continue reading. 

"Churails, a ten-episode web series, gives us a Karachi-based band of women whose motto is to wreck revenge on the men who have made their lives miserable. Directed by Asim Abbasi, who made the engaging family drama Cake, Churails brims over with feisty, feminist, fast-paced fun. ‘Mard ko dard hoga’, they promise. And that’s exactly what they deliver," writes The Indian Express' film critic Shubhra Gupta. Read more here. 

A YouTube show about food where a bunch of people try to ascertain whether a cuisine is worth its price or not? Bring it on!

Stand-up comedian Billy Eichner is the host of this freewheeling pop culture game show whose each episode spans not more than 10-12 minutes. Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, John Hamm, Anna Kendrick, Emma Stone are some of the several celebrities that have featured on this 'street show.' 

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan starring the talented John Krasinski is action-packed, complex and dynamic. The themes it explores are interesting and topical and the performances are credible as well. 

The Indian Express' film critic Shubra Gupta writes in her review of the Disney Plus Hotstar series, "The parivar is based in Prayagraj, aka Allahabad, so we get local colour by way of chatty ‘chat-walas’, tea-time offerings of dahi-jalebis, and mention of the sangam. A bit of Banarasi leheja shows up too, because Mahipal lives there, and some ‘tapori’ slang is slung in towards the end, because, well, maybe the writers thought it would be funny. And while it is a relief to get a series which is clearly trying to be light-hearted and family-friendly (the brothers show up with their wives – Anurita Jha and Sadiya Siddiqui – and kids), some novelty would have been welcome."

Also read | Pariwar review: The Disney Plus Hotstar series needed smarter writing

The Devil Wears Prada is based on the book of the same name penned by Lauren Weisberger, who chronicled her experiences as a personal assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in a fictional format via the book. The assistant in the movie is played by Anna Hathaway, who wanted to work in the ‘real’ publishing world but somehow ends up at the fashion magazine Runway. Meryl Streep plays the Anna Wintour inspired character called Miranda Priestly who is an intimidating, powerful personality. Read more about the film here. 

Stand-up comedian and host Abish Mathew's YouTube chat show is a fun talk show where celebrities speak their mind and play entertaining games. Until now, celebs like Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, Radhika Apte, Irrfan Khan among others have featured on the show. You can stream it for free on YouTube. 

Easy A is Emma Stone at her vibrant best. Loosley adapted from The Scarlet Letter, Easy A is a teen comedy that is entertaining from start to finish. Of course, tons of John Hughes' movie references also helps the matter. 

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. Read more here. 

This highly acclaimed 2020 sports miniseries revolves around the career of basketball legend Michael Jordan. Watch it when you seek some inspiration and you won't be disappointed!

A dramedy about power struggle between the family members of a reigning media company, Succession won big at the recently held Emmy Awards. You can watch the critically-acclaimed HBO show on Disney Plus Hotstar. 

Only a few movies manage to permeate various fields and influence generations of movie lovers. Alicia Silverstone-starrer Clueless is an example in case. From music, fashion to books, the impact of Clueless has been all consuming. In fact, even as I write this, a reboot of the beloved 1995 Amy Heckerling directorial is being developed for NBC’s streaming platform Peacock. But you may wonder, ‘Isn’t Clueless just your generic teen comedy?’ And you are right, at first glance, it does seem that way. But Clueless is a good-natured soft satire that often subverts its own genre.

Hollywood Rewind | Clueless

Ever since Homeland bid farewell, fans of the beloved series have been missing their dose of an exciting espionage drama. Apple TV Plus' latest show Tehran promises to fill that gap, at least that is what the reviews are suggesting. Read more about the Israeli show here. 

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.  

An early-morning explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear powerplant sends workers scrambling to assess the damage. Plant workers and firefighters put their lives on the line to control the disaster.

Modern Love is a romantic anthology TV series that dramatises the real-life love stories from the New York Times' column of the same name. For those not familiar with the column, it has essays and stories submitted by readers. The column offers honest explorations of love, relationships and related topics. Modern Love explores love in all its forms, including experiencing it, feeling it, needing it, betrayal, heartbreak, and so on.

The 10-episode web series is about the murder case of 1959 involving a decorated naval officer KM Nanavati who fired three bullets and shot dead businessman Prem Ahuja after learning about his extra-marital affair with his wife Sylvia. Sumeet Vyas is seen as maverick lawyer Ram Jethmalani. Manav Kaul plays the role of KM Nanavati. The show also stars Elli Avram, Saurabh Shukla, Angad Bedi, Kubbra Sait, Makarand Deshpande, Soni Razdan, Viraf Patel, Swanand Kirkire and Pooja Gor.

Starring Dhanush, Pattas is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Indianexpress.com's review of the film read, "Pattas is a star vehicle tailor-made for Dhanush. It gets utterly generic, though the laughs (in the first half) are great. You get action sequences, which Dhanush aces. He doesn’t look out-of-place even in a single scene."

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.

After the audience was enchanted by the new boy on television, Shah Rukh Khan in TV show Fauji, Kundan Shah brought him back in his 1989 TV show Circus. The show had SRK playing Shekharan, a young man who is stuck with managing a circus which belonged to his dad. It also starred Ashutosh Gowariker and Renuka Shahane in pivotal roles.

Watch Vicky Kaushal starrer Bhoot on Amazon Prime Video. Set inside a haunted ship 'Sea bird', this film follows Kaushal's Prithvi who finds himself in teh midst of some supernatural occurences as he is also trying to deal with the loss of his family.

A YouTube series for Netflix hosted by internet stars Kusha Kapila and Srishti Dixit, this show mainly sees the presenters reviewing random shows and films. Guaranteed to provide you laughs and a somewhat fresh perspective on things.

Psychological thriller Raman Raghav 2.0 is inspired by serial killer Raman Raghav who operated in Mumbai during the 1960s and confessed to killing more than 40 people. While Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the serial killer, Vicky Kaushal is seen as a cop in the movie.

Starring Jason Momoa, See is a story set in the distant future where humans live like tribals and the power of sight is only a myth. Things change when Momoa’s Baba Voss is blessed with twins who can see. The premise sounds promising, and if the first few episodes are anything to go by, the show is weirdly fascinating. I say weird because a few customs of this world will make you laugh out loud, even when they don’t intend to. However, the strong storytelling in the first few episodes saves the day.

One of the more underrated films,Brightburn was a truly terrifying superhero (or supervillain?) horror film. It was an inversion of Superman’s lore. Everything else was same, just one thing was reversed. Just like Clarke Kent, Brandon Breyer came from outer space and fell in a Kansas farm. And just like Clarke, he found loving parents. But instead of being a kind, thoughtful individual, he submitted before his darker proclivities and went on a murder spree. That was incredibly scary, just the thought of it: an evil, amoral and invulnerable kid with nobody to stop him.

The story, the acting, the laugh-out-loud sequences make Kundan Shah’s directorial debut Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro a must-watch. The film is one of the best dark comedies of Indian cinema.

The Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin starrer is a stylised take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s iconic novel Devdas. Though there have been nine adaptations of the tragic romance, Dev D was something the audience had never seen before. Amit Trivedi had crafted every song of the film carefully and Anurag Kashyap’s storytelling left cine-goers amazed.

Docu-drama The Social Dilemma reveals how we are being manipulated in the digital world and how social media sites are controlling our lives without us realising it. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, it features interviews with former employees of Facebook, Pinterest, Google, Twitter and Instagram. "This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations," reads the official description of The Social Dilemma.

Centered around two cousins, Dolly (Konkona Sensharma) and Kitty (Bhumi Pednekar) who are out to find love and freedom, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare is directed by Alankrita Shrivastava.

The Night of delves deeply into the intricate story of a murder case, it’s investigation and the subsequent trial.

Termed as one of the best Indian web shows, Kota Factory is set in the student city of Kota. Here, we follow 16-year-old Vaibhav, who is preparing for his IIT exams. Unlike many shows where young adults find the path to success restricting, this show celebrates student life in all its educational glory. Jitendra Kumar’s character Jeetu Bhaiya was adored by viewers. Kota Factory is available to watch on TVF Play and YouTube.

"Nicole (Johansson) and Charlie (Driver) are a great couple, great artistes, great friends, and great parents. Baumbach opens with the two reading out what got them attracted to one another in the first place, and both Nicole and Charlie’s accounts drip with warmth and genuine affection. Suddenly though we cut to the two of them with a marriage counsellor, where a distressed Nicole refuses to read what she has written. It is the first sign that this won’t be the elegant, neat divorce that Gwyneth Paltrow ambitiously termed ‘conscious uncoupling’," read The Indian Express' review of Marriage Story. Read More.

Halahal chronicles the journey of a father who wants to find the truth about his daughter’s death. Helmed by Randeep Jha and written-produced by Zeishan Quadri, the crime-thriller has been inspired by true events. 

Developed by novelist and screenwriter Richard Price, who has previously worked with HBO on The Wire, The Night Of and The Deuce, the adaptation of Stephen King's The Outsider is a police procedural tinged with the supernatural. Georgia detective Ralph Anderson sets out to investigate the gruesome murder of an 11-year-old boy but is mystified by his suspect’s ironclad alibi.

Also read | The Outsider first impression: HBO’s miniseries tells a captivating, terrifying tale

A giddy, gory take on the superhero story, Boys is pacy, fun and reflective, all at once. Both the seasons of the show are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Read more about it here. 

"Rarely a film comes long which fills you with chuckling delight, makes you sort of tizzy with its balanced pace, makes a strong political point and yet fills you with hope. Enola Holmes, which is streaming on Netflix, does all this without getting bogged down by one idea alone," writes The Indian Express' writer Ektaa Malik.

Also read | Enola Holmes movie review: There is a new Holmes in Town

This Stanley Kubrick directorial features Jack Nicholson in the lead role. Adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name, the horror-thriller is considered a masterpiece by many. 

#EnolaHolmes saying, "I don't need friends, I have my own company," is so 2020! #WatchEnolaHolmeswithIE pic.twitter.com/YYOclXzWY3

— Indian Express Entertainment (@ieEntertainment) September 23, 2020

Yes, it's true! 

Starring Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy is based on a true story about a recovering drug addict and the bond he shares with his caring, affectionate father. Watch it for the main cast's performances. 

With the Enola Holmes fever picking pace, this is the perfect time to catch up on Phoebe Waller-Bridge's riveting series Fleabag. There is lots of fourth-wall-breaking action, whilst providing insights into trauma, grief and relationships in a wholly refreshing manner. Enola Holmes filmmaker Harry Bradbeer had directed Fleabag.   

Did you know it was #MillieBobbyBrown's sister Paige Brown, who first read Nancy Springer's book, and thought the actor would be perfect as #EnolaHolmes Don't we agree to that? #WatchEnolaHolmeswithIE pic.twitter.com/zykQKSfnUR

— Indian Express Entertainment (@ieEntertainment) September 23, 2020

The beloved Enola Holmes is now streaming on Netflix.

A one-of-a-kind black comedy that has been created by SNL alumnus Bill Hader. Starring Hader in the titular role, Barry is about a hitman who latently discovers that his actually calling is being an actor. 

It's time for the #EnolaHolmes watch party! Drop a ? if you are watching along! @NetflixIndia #WatchEnolaHolmeswithIE pic.twitter.com/qReJjMdv1k

— Indian Express Entertainment (@ieEntertainment) September 23, 2020

Starring Millie Bobby Brown, Helena Bonham Carter and Henry Cavill, Enola Holmes has been directed by Harry Bradbeer.

A light, fun subversion of the popular Sherlock Holmes story, this film sees Millie Bobby Brown's Enola Holmes in action, who is out battling stereotypes and bad men in order to uncover the mystery behind her absent mother (Helena Bonham Carter). Henry Cavill plays Sherlock in the Harry Bradbeer directorial. 

While this multistarrer may have received mixed reviews, every critic agrees that the cast has done a wonderful job in the movie. A grim, action-driven piece, The Devil All the Time stars Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard, Sebastian Stan in major roles. It has been helmed by Antonio Campus. Read its review here.  

Henry Cavill, known for playing Superman and Geralt in DC movies and Netflix’s fantasy series The Witcher, respectively, says “When Harry and I were discussing the character, we were very aware that Sherlock had been played wonderfully many times by many wonderful actors. And what we liked about this version was that it was untraditional due to the nature of who the story is about.”

Also read | Henry Cavill on his ‘untraditional’ Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes: He has a lot more warmth and kindness

Millie Bobby Brown says she likes Enola’s vulnerability and also teases her big journey. She says, “I love the fact that she can be very vulnerable, yet even in her deepest despair she’s able to find herself again and fight back. I admire her courage and her strength. She goes to pretty dark places, but she never gives up. It’s a big journey for her. She’s quite naïve and comes up against forces that are way beyond her. So she has to find her own resources, her own voice even when there is no one around to help her.” Read more here.

This Gajraj Rao, Vijay Raaz, Ranvir Shorey and Nidhi Singh show is essentially a comedy series about one joint family settled in Allahabad who are constantly at war over their property. PariWar also features Abhishek Banerjee, Kumar Varun and Yashpal Sharma in pivotal parts. You can watch the series for free on Disney Plus Hotstar. 

An intense, action-packed show about fighting crime and safeguarding the country, Crackdown features Saqib Saleem, Rajesh Tailang, Iqbal Khan and Ankur Bhatia in significant parts. It is currently streaming on VootSelect. 

The Roshan Mathew, Fahadh Faasil and Darshana Rajendran-starrer is a unique thriller that plays out entirely on a set of screens. Shot during the lockdown, the film has been helmed and edited by Mahesh Narayanan. Read its review here.