An Italian mafia boat capsizes, spilling its cocaine cargo on the shores of a poor fishing village in the Azores. Four friends, Eduardo (José Condessa), Rafael, Silvia and Carlihos, get their hands on part of it—their ticket out of poverty, and the village. Throw in the local drug dealer, police, an investigator, the Italians, romance, and a couple of murders—there’s a lot happening here. After a point, all that white powder being snorted, gets tiring. The Azores have been beautifully captured in this Portuguese series loosely inspired by a true story. (Netflix)—Nipa Charagi
Ria (Priya Kansara) spends her time and energy making martial arts reels in the hope of landing a job as a stuntwoman. When her sister’s marriage is fixed with an eligible doctor, Ria is instantly suspicious of her potential brother-in-law and his formidable mother (a delicious turn by Nimra Bucha). British director Nida Manzoor’s feature debut picks up where her series We Are Lady Parts left off. Polite Society is a riot, mixing boisterous comedy, martial arts, Bollywood-style song and dance, and several other genres in a blender. (Amazon Prime, rental)—Uday Bhatia
A renegade group of the alien race known as Skrulls has stealthily manoeuvred itself into positions of power on Earth and is now looking to consolidate. Nicky Fury (Samuel L Jackson) must team up with Skrull ally Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) to stop the invasion. This series will consist on six episodes, and slots into Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Disney+ Hotstar)—Uday Bhatia
This wistful 2011 animated film by Eric Khoo is based on Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s manga memoir, A Drifting Life. It follows Tatsumi’s career as a comics artist in post-war Japan, his struggles and achievements. The film interweaves five of Tatsumi’s short stories into its narrative. The animation work was done at Infinite Frameworks Studios in Batam, Indonesia. (MUBI)—Uday Bhatia
A huge waste recycling plant looms over the picturesque Kamonmura village, once renowned for its Noh performances. Yuu (Ryusei Yokohama), a much-tormented man, works on the landfill. He is ostracised, and bullied, because of his father’s criminal past. When his childhood friend Misaki returns to the village, things start to look up. But this change is fleeting as dark secrets start to emerge in this slow-paced Michihito Fujii film. (Netflix)—Nipa Charagi
Detective Won-ho (Cho Jin-woong) joins hands with a low-level drug dealer Rak (Ryu Joon-yeol) to catch Lee, the head of a drug cartel in Korea, whom nobody has ever seen or met. A 2018 Korean remake of Johnnie To's Drug War (2013), watch it for the late Kim Joo-hyuk, who plays psychotic drug lord Jin Ha Rim. (Netflix)—Nipa Charagi
