11 shows and movies that are our top picks this weekend

83: In cinemas

A still from 83.

Are you a cinephile and a cricket buff too? If you gave an affirmative nod, pick up your phones and book your tickets for Kabir Khan’s sports drama 83. The film makes you relive the historic win of the Indian cricket team in the 1983 World Cup. It stars Ranveer Singh as the former Indian skipper Kapil Dev. Going by the reviews, the film has everything to keep you hooked throughout its runtime, from emotions, drama, Bollywood-style song and dance to the thrill of an edge-on-the seat cricket match. Applauding every character of the film, The Indian Express’ film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote in her review, “Ranveer Singh disappears into his Kapil Dev even as each of Kapil’s Devils is given their own moment in this faithful recreation of India’s 1983 World Cup win.”

Read the review of 83 here.

Atrangi Re: Disney Plus Hotstar

A still from Atrangi Re featuring Sara Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar. (Photo: Akshay Kumar/Instagram)

Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush lead the cast of this relationship drama helmed by Aanand L Rai. It is the story of Vishu (Dhanush) a Tamil boy who is forced to marry Rinku (Sara), a girl from Bihar who is in love with another man (Akshay). Both, Rinku and Vishu choose to go their separate ways but things get complex when Rinku also starts loving Vishu. Music by AR Rahman is like a cherry on the top.

Read the review of Atrangi Re here.

The Matrix Resurrections: In cinemas

A still from The Matrix Resurrections. (Photo: Warner Bros)

Helmed by director Lana Wachowski, the sci-fi film brings back Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in the lead roles of Neo and Trinity. Priyanka Chopra has joined the franchise as the adult Sati. The Indian Express’ film critic Shalini Langer gave the film a 3.5-star rating and wrote, “Twenty years later, The Matrix seems as fresh in its superlative tech slickness, and even more relevant in the issues it raised, as Elon Musk asks us to wonder about our realities, while Mark Zuckerberg tells us to live multiple ones.”

Read the review of The Matrix Resurrections here.

Emily in Paris 2: Netflix

Lily Collins in Emily in Paris. (Photo: Emily in Paris/Instagram)

The romantic comedy, Emily In Paris, starring Lilly Collins in the lead role, was a hit among the viewers of Netflix. Now its second season promises to be as entertaining for the fans of the romantic genre. In this season, Emily (Lilly) continues to struggle as an American in France while trying to deal with the complexities of her love life. The indianexpress.com’s Sampada Sharma, in her review of the show, wrote, “Emily in Paris isn’t the show where every shot, or camera movement holds subtext but it is the show that feeds your fondness for guilty pleasures and in a world where something like Money Heist has developed a ‘cult’ following’, Emily in Paris doesn’t deserve as much hate anyway.”

Read the review of Emily In Paris 2.

Minnal Murali: Netflix

Tovino Thomas in Minnal Murali. (Photo: Basil Joseph/Instagram)

The multilingual superhero drama, helmed by Basil Joseph, has Tovino Thomas as Jaison, a tailor who gains special powers after being struck by lightning. He uses his powers to save his town. The Indian Express’ film critic Shubhra Gupta couldn’t stop smiling after watching the film and called it a film which “is aware of its superhero-ness, still it never loses sight of the fact that it is set in a real place.”

Read the review of Minnal Murali here.

Being the Ricardos: Amazon Prime Video

Nicole Kidman plays Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.

Being the Ricardos, available on Amazon Prime Video, goes behind the scenes of 1950s TV comedy I Love Lucy to showcase a week in the life of Lucille Ball and real-life husband and co-star Desi Arnaz, played by Javier Bardem. Reviews of the movie have mostly been positive. The indianexpress.com’s Rohan Naahar wrote, “Nicole Kidman waltzes to Aaron Sorkin’s rat-a-tat dialogue in Amazon Prime Video’s largely enjoyable Oscar contender.”

Read the review of Being the Ricardos.

Don’t Look Up: Netflix

Leonardo Di Caprio plays an astronomer in Don’t Look Up.

Adam McKay’s satire has Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in the lead. The film revolves around two astronauts, Dr Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), who try to warn people about a planet-killer comet approaching the Earth but nobody believes them. Meryl Streep plays the President of the United States in the film. Indianexpress.com’s Rohan Naahar called the film a “sharp satire”. In his review, he wrote, “Even at dangerously close to two-and-a-half hours long, Don’t Look Up moves at a clip. McKay even finds time to insert a parallel plot line about Dr Mindy’s personal life, which remarkably doesn’t come off as if it has been shoehorned in. In fact, it is because of this that the film, in its final moments, transforms into something that can actually be described as ruminative and tender.”

Read the review of Don’t Look Up here.

Rocky: In cinemas

Rocky released in theatres on December 23.

Arun Matheswaran directorial Rocky presents the idea that violence is everywhere around you, now you may ignore it but you can’t escape it. But this film is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Get into it prepared to watch some gore where you have to choose the lesser evil. There is no hero to root for. Manoj Kumar R of the indianexpress.com called Rocky “A bold, relentless depiction of the senselessness of violence”

Read the review of Rocky review.

Shyam Singha Roy: In Cinemas

Nani starrer Telugu drama Shyam Singha Roy is directed by Rahul Sankrityan of Taxiwala fame and it is written by Janga Satyadev. The film also stars Sai Pallavi, Krithi Shetty, Madonna Sebastian, Jisshu Sengupta and Murali Sharma, among others. It features Nani in two different avatars–Vasu, a wannabe film director, and Shyam Singha Roy, a writer-turned-leader in Kolkata. At the heart of this revolutionary tale is a love story of star-crossed lovers.

Read the review of Shyam Singha Roy here.

Our recommendations

Musafir: YouTube

Dilip Kumar and Usha Kiran in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Musafir.

Starring Dilip Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Keshto Mukherjee, Suchitra Sen and Nirupa Roy, Musafir was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s directorial debut. Mukherjee dealt with the life of the common man and presented them in the simplest possible manner. Indianexpress.com’s Sampada Sharma wrote in her column Bollywood rewind, “Musafir, the first film of director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, written by Mukherjee and Ritwik Ghatak, is the kind of anthology that takes you through a gamut of emotions through its three stories set inside the same house.”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: YouTube

A still from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

The 2018 release Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, helmed by debutante directors Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey along with Rodney Rothman, is among the best of Marvel. It won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2018. Indianexpress.com’s Anvita Singh, in her column Hollywood Rewind, writes the film gave an experience where you “felt like you had walked into some kind of a 3-D comic book where you could reach out and almost touch that part of the universe yourself.” So, if you are raving in the brilliance of recently released Spiderman: No Way Home or are waiting to watch it, check out Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.