What to watch in UAE cinemas and OTT this week: The Paradise to Avengers Endgame Encore

The heat is finally starting to ease, the weekend is almost here, and there's a lot to watch this week. There's a romcom about lab coats, a Netflix mystery that will keep you guessing, Thanos back on the big screen, and a horror film that arachnophobes should avoid. Grab the popcorn (or the karak) and let's go.

The Love Hypothesis · Prime Video · Out now (23 September)

If you like fake dating, this one's for you. Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman lead the cast in the first screen adaptation of Ali Hazelwood's bestselling BookTok favourite. Olive is a brilliant PhD student who realises her best friend Anh has fallen for her crush Jeremy. To prove she's over him, she impulsively kisses Adam Carlsen, the most intimidating professor in the department. A panicked gesture of friendship turns into a fake relationship with rules and a deal that suits both of them. You can probably guess how that ends.

Claire Scanlon directs from a Sarah Rothschild script, and the grumpy-professor-meets-sunny-student setup is exactly the easy, feel-good viewing a Wednesday night needs. It runs just under two hours and carries an R rating, so it's one for after the kids are in bed.

Shaque: Trust No One · Netflix · From Thursday, 24 September

Parineeti Chopra makes her series debut in a mystery thriller about a mother's nine-year search for her missing child. The supporting cast is strong: Jennifer Winget, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Soni Razdan, Anup Soni, Harleen Sethi and Sumeet Vyas. Rensil D'Silva directs, and he co-created the show with Siddharth P. Malhotra.

The title says it all. The show plays on the thin line between trust and suspicion, and between love and obsession. D'Silva has described it as a thriller where each answer only raises another question. Clear your weekend, because this looks like a binge.

Heart of the Beast (English)
Brad Pitt plays Special Forces officer James Belmont, stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash with his combat dog, Odin. It's directed by David Ayer (Fury), so expect grit, frostbite, and possibly tears. It's a survival thriller, but it's really about a man and his dog. J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe co-star. Bring tissues. Odin had better be okay.

Avengers Endgame: Encore (PG13, English, also in Infinity Vision)
It's back. The universe is in ruins after Infinity War, and the surviving Avengers assemble one more time to undo Thanos's snap. Whether you missed it on the big screen in 2019 or just want to relive the "Avengers, assemble" moment with a crowd, this is the time. Choose the Infinity Vision screening for maximum goosebumps.

Crawlers (15+, English)
From John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk: a spider infestation locks down an apartment building under police quarantine, and the creatures keep multiplying. Building manager Serena (Matilda Lutz) may be the only one who can save everyone, if she can face her deepest fear. You'll be checking your shoes for a week.

Bloody Tennis (18+, English)
Sophie wins a place at an elite tennis academy in southern Europe, and things quickly turn sinister. Part sports drama, part psychological horror, it asks how much of yourself you'd give up to be the best. Game, set, scream.

Shish Dou (PG15, Arabic)
This is our pick of the week for anyone who likes their comedy dark. Over one chaotic night, two broke middle-aged friends kidnap an unconscious rich kid for ransom. It goes very badly. A powerful local fixer then gets involved, and the film turns into a sharp, absurd satire about class and power.

Enna Vilai (18TC, Tamil)
Nimisha Sajayan stars in a courtroom drama about a Rameswaram fisherman whose lucky find, a gold pendant washed ashore, leads to false accusations. A fearless lawyer takes his case against a corrupt system. It's a stirring underdog story about dignity.

The Paradise (18+, Telugu)
Nani and Mohan Babu headline this period drama set in 1980s Secunderabad. A marginalised tribe fights discrimination and battles for citizenship under an unlikely leader. It's big and political, and it will hit hard.