Mirzapur 2 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Even as the world is coming up with new ways to battle the pandemic and resume everyday activities, theatres are still having one of the hardest times adjusting to the new normal. The movie halls will take some time to stand on their own feet. For now, we have plenty of content, thanks to various OTT platforms. From movies to web series, there is a wide variety of cinema to choose from. Recently, Shweta Basu Prasad and Saqib Saleem’s film Comedy Couple premiered on ZEE5.
The first episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Season 3 also released on Netflix during this time, which featured reality TV star Kim Kardashian West. While the episode in itself was engaging enough, it had hardly anything new to offer to the audience. “While the episode is just a 48-minute cliff notes version of Kim’s life, it is a nice little gist of the life she has lived until now. In Letterman’s defence, how is one supposed to reveal something new about a woman who opens her life to the world on a regular basis,” reads a section of our verdict.
These releases aside, there’s much to look forward to. Armie Hammer and Lily James’ modern adaptation of the classic Rebecca is now streaming on Netflix. Apart from this, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat 2, Mirzapur Season 2, A Suitable Boy, Over the Moon and On the Rocks will all be available to stream from October 23 onwards.
You can watch Borat 2 and Mirzapur 2 on Amazon Prime Video. Mira Nair’s adaptation of Vikram Seth’s novel, A Suitable Boy, will stream on Netflix, and so will the new animation feature Over the Moon. On the other hand, Sofia Coppola’s latest directorial venture On the Rocks can be viewed on Apple TV +.
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.