While the origin story of Willy Wonka, the mad chocolatier of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, might not have seemed a particularly exciting idea for a film, the results are charming. Timothée Chalamet stars as the young Wonka (a role essayed by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp is previous films) alongside Calah Lane, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant. Paul King (the Paddington films) directs this blithe musical. (Amazon Prime, rental)
A writer is accused of pushing her husband to his death. In the ensuing court case, her blind son must testify as to what he thinks the truth is. Justine Triet directs this eloquent multilingual legal thriller. Sandra Hüller is magnificent in the lead and there are wonderful performances by Milo Machado Graner as the son, Swann Arlaud as her lawyer (after this film, Arlaud has become the subject of several swoony Tik-Toks), and Messi the dog as Snoop. (In theatres)
A Dutch-American football coach (Michael Fassbender) must try and make the American Samoa national football team – one of the weakest in the world – contenders for qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. This sports comedy is based on an excellent 2014 documentary of the same name. Directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok). (In theatres)
Orion is a young, shy boy who is afraid of, among other things, the dark. One day, Dark—manifested as a smiling creature—takes Orion on an adventure and helps him overcome his fears. This latest DreamWorks animation is directed by Sean Charmatz and written by Charlie Kaufman. (Netflix)
Compiled by Uday Bhatia
