There is one strong reason you must visit the cinema this weekend, and I would love to tell you all about it. So keep reading.
Us
Directed by: Jordan Peele
With: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
What is it about? A family’s serenity turns to chaos when a group of doppelgängers begins to terrorize them.
Heads Up? Jordan Peele‘s follow-up to his Oscar winning film Get Out is yet another home run. Go see it and spread the word. I can’t wait to watch it opening weekend myself.
Hotel Mumbai
Directed by: Anthony Maras
With: Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, and Jason Isaacs
What is it about? The true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families.
Heads Up? This drama thriller based on true events. Tackling a traumatic terrorist attack that shocked an entire nation is never easy and should always handled sensitively. Echoing this sentiment, our own Lloyd Bayer wrote in his 3½ stars review: “the very mention of that tragic event can open wounds that have barely healed. Debut feature director Antony Maras knows and respects this, which is why Hotel Mumbai is not only a gripping thriller based on those events, but also one with an unusual perspective“.
Five Feet Apart
Directed by: Justin Baldoni
With: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse, and Claire Forlani
What is it about? A pair of teenagers with life-threatening illnesses meet in a hospital and fall in love.
Heads Up? This teen romance in the vein of The Fault in Our Stars and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The critical consensus is that the film is “elevated considerably by Haley Lu Richardson’s performance but bogged down by clichés, Five Feet Apart doesn’t tug at the heartstrings quite as deftly as it should“.
Kesari
Directed by: Anurag Singh
With: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra, and Edward Sonnenblick
What is it about? The story of a Sikh warrior who participates in the Battle of Saragarhi while yearning for the respect of his estranged daughter.
Heads Up? Anurag Singh directed a few of the top grossing Punjabi films of all time. This time he is making a Bollywood film with two A-list Bollywood stars. Based on a true event, the trailer suggests quite the exaggerated telling of the actual event, with an abundant dose of patriotism shoveled in. A more realistic portrayal or a totally mythical folk-telling (ala 300) would have been more appropriate. I’d give this a miss. (Alas, if only Rajkumar Santoshi‘s Randeep Hooda starrer of the same event would not have stalled)
Mirai
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
With: Victoria Grace, John Cho, Rebecca Hall, and Daniel Dae Kim
What is it about? A young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.
Heads Up? An Oscar nominated animation film from Japan that looks so cute and imaginative. The film is lauded not only for it simple yet colorful style, but also for its characters, story, and emotions. I’d say this is one of the better film that you can take your children to see.
