Weekend watchlist: 10 TV shows and movies to check out

‘La Casa De Papal’ (‘Money Heist’, on Netflix): With a cult following that few shows can match, the fifth and final season of ‘La Casa De Papal’ or ‘Money Heist’ drops on Netflix this Friday. Picking up from that shocking cliff-hanger last season, the gang has been shut in the Bank of Spain for more than 100 hours. They have managed to rescue Lisbon, but their darkest moment is upon them after losing one of their own. The Professor has been captured by Sierra and, for the first time, doesn’t have an escape plan. Just when it seems like nothing else could go wrong, an enemy comes on the scene that is much more powerful than any they’ve faced: the army. The end of the greatest heist in history is approaching.

‘Till Death’ (UAE cinemas): As someone who has always rooted for the undergo, Megan Fox needs her own cheering squad after the cards Hollywood has dealt her. With a cheesy new horror-thriller out in cinemas this week, Fox may not being going places with ‘Till Death’, but she sure could do with a bit of support from her fans. The film, out this weekend in UAE cinemas, sees the actress play Emma, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage. When her husband Mark surprises her with a weekend of romance, little does Emma know that she will wake up handcuffed to her husband’s dead body, isolated in the dead of winter and fighting for her very survival.

‘Good Girls’ (Netflix): The fourth season of the wicked drama ‘Good Girls’ has dropped this week and the lead trio of talented actors Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman and Retta make it worth your time. This is a tale of three suburban women who rob a grocery store in desperation, but end up working for a vicious mafia gangster. The web series, through its dark humour, thwarts our idea of how an ideal housewife or a woman should conduct themselves. Their unsavoury business deals as they bake cookies in their downtime is a treat to watch.

‘Home’ (Amazon Prime Video): If you are in the mood to watch a stirring sentimental family drama, then this Malayalam film will strike home. Veteran actor Indran is brilliant in his role of an emasculated father and husband. His grown sons don’t think much of him and his quest to gain some respect from his own family members form the crux of this heartwarming drama. There are no big stars leading this film, directed by Rojin Thomas, forward, but it’s the collective performances from a talented ensemble that makes this sweet film work.

‘Equinox’ (Netflix): This Danish thriller-horror kicks off when a bunch of students mysteriously disappear – and the sister of one of the missing gets a call from an old friend of hers. After decades of avoiding her hometown and her mum – who is convinced she has superpowers – Astrid must return to see things through to the end.

‘La Mante’ (Netflix): As I finished my binge watch of this French series I had to pause for thought – how much of how we behave with the world is a reaction to how it has treated us? In ‘La Mante’, a serial killer – codenamed The Mantis – pairs up with her now cop son to investigate and nab a copycat murderer. Finding the unsub will mean revisiting the past – with all the pain and realizations that that journey brings.

‘Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings’ (UAE cinemas): The much-awaited action movie is here, featuring Marvel Studio’s first Asian superhero. Simu Liu stars as martial arts master Shang-Chi, who has to confront the past he thought he left behind when he’s drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organisation. It also stars Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang in her first film role and Fala Chen.

‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’ (UAE cinemas): In the city of Samurai Town, a bank robber gets helped out of jail by a wealthy warlord whose adopted granddaughter has been abducted. In exchange for his freedom, he has to return the woman. He’s strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct in five days and sets off to find the young woman.

‘Her Private Life’ (Netflix): Romance and humour meet in this K-Drama about a dedicated art curator who is secretly a die-hard fan of a singer. When the museum she works for gets a grumpy and exacting new art director, her secret life as a K-Pop fan threatens to be exposed and things start to get complicated. However, before we know it new love blooms!

‘Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror’: This five-part docuseries from director Brian Knappenberger is a cohesive chronicle of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, offering illuminating perspectives and personal stories of how the catastrophic events of that day changed the course of the nation.