Tom & Jerry will deliver some rollicking fun on the big screen (that will also stream on the US-exclusive HBO Max). Netflix’s popular To All the Boys trilogy also wraps up in February. And there are other titles that involve the likes of Zendaya, Salma Hayek, Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, and Cathy Yan.
Dead Pigs
February 12
Mubi
Before she was given the reins to Birds of Prey, director Cathy Yan made her directorial debut with this Shanghai-set social satire about life in China—growing wealth inequality and social change set amidst a backdrop of globalisation—that won a jury prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2018. Three years later, Dead Pigs is finally getting a global release, directly on streaming.
Vivian Wu (Away, The Last Emperor), Mason Lee (Lucy, The Hangover Pt II), Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2), Meng Li (The Bad Kids), Haoyu Yang (The Wandering Earth), and David Rysdahl (The Family) are part of the ensemble cast.
The Family Man
February 12
Amazon Prime Video
Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee) is supposedly nowhere to be found — or so, the trailer claims — when the second season of Raj and D.K.’s socio-political action thriller series opens. Still, everyone else is around. That includes Priyamani as Suchitra Tiwari, Sharib Hashmi as Srikant’s partner Talpade, Shreya Dhanwanthary as fellow agent Zoya, and Sharad Kelkar as Suchitra’s work associate and possibly more Arvind. Joining them is Samantha Akkineni (Rangasthalam 1985) in an undisclosed role.
Raj and D.K. have directed all episodes and co-written with Suman Kumar. All episodes available on release date.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever
February 12
Netflix
It’s a wrap on the trilogy with this third and final chapter — based on the 2017 novel “Always and Forever, Lara Jean” — which finds LJ (Lana Condor) reassess her relationship with boyfriend Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) as high school draws to a close and during two trips she takes: a road trip to a university and another to Korea with her grandmother and sisters.
For All Mankind
February 19
Apple TV+
Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore’s alt-history space race drama picks up a decade later in 1983 for its second season, with the US and USSR at the peak of their powers. NASA isn’t a space organisation anymore, with the US Department of Defense moving into their building. Yes, you know what that means: astronauts with guns.
Returning cast members include Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Wrenn Schmidt, Shantel VanSanten, Sarah Jones, and Jodi Balfour. New episodes weekly.
I Care a Lot
February 19
Netflix
Rosamund Pike is channeling Gone Girl vibes in this black comedy thriller about a crooked elder care guardian who defrauds her aging clients for her financial gain. She meets her match in the newest client (Dianne West) who’s carrying some baggage that leads to a fight with a mob boss (Peter Dinklage). Eiza González and Chris Messina co-star. J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) writes and directs.
Pitta Kathalu
February 19
Netflix
Netflix’s first Telugu-language movie is a four-part anthology, as was the case with its first Tamil-language film Paava Kadhaigal. Producers Ronnie Screwvala and Ashi Dua Sara transfer the format they used in Bollywood — with Lust Stories and Ghost Stories, both for Netflix — to South India, once again.
Here on Pitta Kathalu — that’s Telugu for “short stories” — the directors are National Award-winning Tharun Bhascker (Pelli Choopulu) and Sankalp Reddy (Ghazi), alongside B.V. Nandini Reddy (Oh! Baby) and Nag Ashwin (Mahanati). They will present four shots about distinctly bold women: “Ramula”, “Pinky”, “Meera”, and “xLife” respectively.
Eesha Rebba (“Pinky”), Lakshmi Manchu (“Ramula”), Amala Paul (“Meera”), and Shruti Haasan (“xLife”) lead the four films.
Tom & Jerry
February 19 (India), February 26 (US)
Cinemas, and HBO Max
The iconic cat and mouse duo return to the big screen after nearly thirty years — 1992’s Tom and Jerry: The Movie was the previous feature — with this hybrid live-action / animated adventure set in New York City against the backdrop of a grand Indian wedding. The premise involves the two duking it out as always, before realising they have a shared enemy in the deputy hotel manager (Michael Peña). Chloë Grace Moretz, Rob Delaney, Ken Jeong, Colin Jost, and Pallavi Sharda co-star.
1962: The War in the Hills
February 26
Disney+ Hotstar
Abhay Deol leads the troops in this jingoistic look at the 1962 Sino-Indian War that claimed the lives of 1,300-4,900 Indian soldiers. On Republic Day on Instagram, Deol posted the first look with the caption: “What better occasion than today to salute all those brave hearts who fought to protect the motherland.” Mahesh Manjrekar directs.
The Girl on the Train
February 26
Netflix
Parineeti Chopra leads this Bollywood adaptation of Paula Hawkin’s 2015 thriller novel which retains its original British setting, unlike the 2016 Emily Blunt-led Hollywood movie that transferred the events to America. It’s an interesting choice, for it tasks Indian actors to put on a British accent, given they are playing non-resident Indians who live in the UK. Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari, and Avinash Tiwary star alongside. ♦
