I Used To Be Famous (Netflix)
Vince D (Ed Skrein) was the lead singer of a boy band 20 years ago, now he lugs around his keyboard and ironing board—his stand for the keyboard—asking people to give him a gig. An impromptu jam session with 18-year-old drummer Stevie (Leo Long), who is autistic, leads to an unusual relationship. While Vince is looking at a comeback, Stevie wants to study music so that he can be independent. The film is earnest, and while predictable, the ending is not what you would expect. Incidentally, Leo Long is neurodivergent, as are the actors cast in a drum circle in the film.
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Chup (in theatres)
R. Balki directs this twisted tribute to Guru Dutt, co-written with Rishi Virmani and Lounge columnist Raja Sen. A serial killer is targeting film critics, pursued by Sunny Deol’s cop. Dulquer Salman, Shreya Dhanwanthary and Pooja Bhatt co-star.
Narco-Saints (Netflix)
Kang In-gu (Ha Jung-woo) is in Suriname to import skate fish from there to South Korea. He gets caught in the turf war between Chinese gangster Chen Zhen (Chang Chen) and Pastor Jeon (Hwang Jung-min), who it turns out is a drug lord on the run from South Korean authorities. Kang is roped in by intelligence officer Choi Chang-ho (Park Hae-soo) to help them capture Jeon. Despite a good cast—of men; women are no more than wallpaper here—this K-drama of six episodes gets tiresome after a point. Meanwhile, Suriname has objected to being shown in such poor light.
House of Cardin (MUBI)
P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes direct this tribute to influential designer Pierre Cardin. With rare access to Cardin’s archives, the film expands on his philosophies and methods and maps his influence on the worlds of fashion, architecture and cinema.
Athena (Netflix)
Set in the working-class suburbs of Paris, this film is about the indendiary aftermath of the killing of a man of Algerian origin. Romain Gavras directs, with Ladj Ly (Les Misérables) as co-writer.
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