Five titles to watch this weekend
From 'The White Lotus' to ‘Shershaah’, our film and TV recommendations for the weekend
Shershaah (Amazon Prime)
This pre-Independence Day release is based on the life of Vikram Batra, a Kargil war hero. Sidharth Malhotra stars in Vishnuvardhan’s film alongside Kiara Advani. Lounge said in its review: “It may not have the clinical edge of Uri, but Shershaah is best when it’s an action film. The shelling of the Indian camp is quick and brutal, an excellent setup to the climactic series of heroics.”
Spotlight on Dol Palathara (MUBI)
MUBI is running a retrospective of the films of Don Palathara, a contemporary Malayali director. "His film is less a cinematic exploration of a relationship gone sour and more an investigation into the ethical questions of cinema through the time-tested device of a marriage-in-crisis picture," Lounge wrote after his latest, Everything Is Cinema, screened at the 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam. "In just that, the film accomplishes more that most domestic dramas out there."
Evil (Voot)
Hauntings and exorcisms. Night terrors and otherworldly visitors. Psychopath serial killers who may or not may not be possessed by a malevolent being from an ancient demonic cult. But wait — could the ‘haunted’ person actually be having a psychotic episode? Is the so-called demonic possession caused by a hacker blackmailing the victim by spying on them through a voice assistant? Are there really destructive paranormal forces around us or are human beings the real evil?
These are the kind of bizarre questions that arise on Evil, a show that follows a psychologist, a priest-in-training, and a tech expert as they try to determine whether a particular event has supernatural origins or not. Created by Robert and Michelle King, the endlessly inventive duo behind The Good Wife and its fantastic spinoff The Good Fight, Evil (in its second season now) is one of those shows that are hokey and formulaic but in an intelligent and self-aware way, making them irresistible. The show is on a mid-season break till 29 August, so you have plenty of time to catch up on the action and immerse yourself in Evil.
The White Lotus (Disney+ Hotstar)
The buzziest series of the month concludes this Sunday. Mike White’s six-episode comedy about entitled guests at a resort for the super-wealthy “disarms the viewer with prickly self-awareness”, our review noted. “The White Lotus was filmed in late 2020, its production simplified by the island resort location providing a safe bubble for the cast and crew, but while COVID is not mentioned on the show, it could well have been. The show could easily be set in a world where the coronavirus exists for less fortunate people, exploring the stories of those wealthy enough to evade the pandemic as they sought out Instagram spots.”
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (Netflix)
New on Netflix is this 2019 action film, the first offshoot of the Fast and Furious franchise, which pitted fan favourites Shaw (Jason Statham) and Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) against each other. “Hobbs & Shaw banks on extravagant and fast-paced fights (one with multiple vehicles and a helicopter is truly impressive), gadgets, guns, car chases and the two heavyweight leads,” Lounge had written. “Johnson and Statham, who also serve as producers, have pulled out all the stops. They also seem to have rifled through their contact list and roped in a host of impressive guest appearances, including Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart.”
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First Published:13 Aug 2021, 09:00 AM IST
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