This weekend we have a new Star Wars film, two Bollywood releases, and a few smaller Hollywood films. Let’s see what we have to say about them.
Solo: A Star War Story
Directed by: Ron Howard
With: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, and Donald Glover
What is it about? During an adventure into a dark criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.
Heads Up: With all the drama behind the scenes during the making of this film, which involved the firing of the original directors, this film was expected to be a disaster. While it didn’t turn out to be that bad, as the majority of the reviews are positive, our own Shariq Madani was mixed about it. In his ★★★☆☆ review, he wrote: “Solo will be known as the movie that finally made a Star Wars release a non-event.”. Still, if you are a Star Wars fan, then you have to see it.
Kings
Directed by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
With: Halle Berry, Daniel Craig, Lamar Johnson
What is it about? The life of a foster family in South Central Los Angeles, a few weeks before the city erupts in violence following the verdict of the Rodney King trial.
Heads Up: The first English language film from this promising young Turkish director was received poorly by critics, so something must have been lost in translation. Therefore despite the two appealing leads, I think you better pass on this one.
The Cured
Directed by: David Freyne
With: Ellen Page, Sam Keeley, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
What is it about? A disease that turns people into zombies has been cured. The once-infected zombies are discriminated against by society and their own families, which causes social issues to arise. This leads to militant government interference.
Heads Up: The premise of this film is interesting and the reviews are decent. I’m definitely intrigued.
Bioscopewala
Directed by: Deb Medhekar
With: Danny Denzongpa, Geetanjali Thapa, and Adil Hussain
What is it about? A woman meets her dead father’s old friend, who was the operator of a Bioscope show that she loved in her childhood. Connecting India and Afghanistan, a story of love and cinema unfolds.
Heads Up: This art-house drama is based on a story by one of India’s most revered writers and poets Rabindranath Tagore. I don’t know about you, but our team at Filmphoria are looking forward to seeing this art-house Indian film.
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran
Directed by: Abhishek Sharma
With: John Abraham, Boman Irani, and Diana Penty
What is it about? A look at India’s first confidential nuclear test series at Pokhran lead by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure.
Heads Up: This is a tough one to predict. John Abraham has a good track record as a producer for realistic stories (case in point: Madras Cafe). But he has publicly clashed with the other producers of this movie, causing a release delay of months. The director has done well in the comedy space (Tere Bin Laden and the sequel). But this is his first foray into drama. Best course of action: wait for the home video release.
