Cha Cha Real Smooth (Apple TV+)
Cooper Raiff plays Andrew, who is roped in as a bar mitzvah party host. At one event, he becomes friendly with Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). Like Andrew, who is trying to figure out his life, the film too is adrift. Burghardt, who is autistic in real life, is the real surprise here. Raiff has written and directed the film.—Nipa Charagi
Also read: Thor: Love and Thunder review: Waititi the film-maker needs unlocking
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between (Netflix)
Studious Claire meets aspiring musician Aidan at a house party in their last year of high school. After they hit it off, they make a pact to break up right before they go to college. Though grounded in reality, this teen rom-com still has the hallmarks of the genre, with a colourful aesthetic and an electro-pop soundtrack.—Angela Matthew
You Don't Know Me (Netflix)
Hero (Samuel Adewunmi) is standing trial for the murder of a gangster, Jamil, and the evidence is stacked against him. He decides to make his own closing statements to the jury. Thus unfolds the courtroom drama, with Hero narrating his version. At its heart is his love story with Tyra—the one who is always reading—and how it led to his run-in with the underworld. There are long monologues and Adewunmi is superb. The four-part BBC thriller, based on a book, ends inconclusively, perhaps pointing to the possibility of a season 2.—NC
This miniseries is about an American actor who comes to Paris to star in a remake of a French silent serial. Olivier Assayas artfully remakes his 1996 film of the same name. We wrote in our review: “It is not necessary at all to have watched the earlier Irma Vep, or any other Assayas film, to enjoy this one. But it does help, for all this meta-ness is very much the point.”
The Outlaws (Amazon Prime)
Detective Ma Suk-do (Ma Dong-seok of Train To Busan and Eternals fame) and his team at the Serious Crimes Unit are looking to mop up Chinese gangster Jang Chen (Yoon Kye Sang) and his men who have struck terror in Garibong district—Jang prefers hacking his victims. This South Korean action film is fast-paced, entertaining, with some humour thrown in. “Are you alone?” Jang asks Ma in the middle of a scuffle. “Yes, I am still single,” he replies—yes, Govinda comes to mind. The sequel, The Roundup, which released in May, is a box-office hit in Korea.—NC
Also read: Why is there a new frenzy to collect VHS tapes?
