mid-day's OTT recommendations: Five movies and shows that you can binge-watch

July has been rather lulling Barely a handful of releases and fewer that catch your eye The gloomy weather of course adds to the mood So to spice up the month with interesting content I dug out a few old releases that some ardent contentbingers may have watched over time but they featured on my timeline out of the blue Now documentaries are usually not everyonersquos cup of tea some make you doze off and sometimes it feels a tad too real ndash trust me the feeling is mutual I veered of documentaries because honestly with so much going on we want to keep the real things at bay and float in the happy zone Having said that this time it is different Why do you ask Read on to see middayrsquos OTT recommendations and you will knowHow to become a Tyrant NetflixDocumentaries have a set formulapattern but Netflixrsquos How to become a Tyrant swerves off a different path and makes it an engaging historical watch With Peter Dinklage yes the man who played Tyrion in the Game of Thrones franchise as the narrator the docuseries retells the stories of six dictators who wreaked havoc on people Of course if you are wellversed with history none of these stories come as a surprise but it is not so much the stories as much as understanding the pattern that makes you sit up and take notice If you are watchful of current affairs you may even be able to make some keen relevant observations The docuseries throws light on a carefully devised and summarised playbook on how Adolf Hitler Josef Stalin Mao Zedong Muammar Gaddafi Kim Ilsung Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein rose to power The conclusion being Anyone can be a dictatorThe Keepers NetflixThis documentary revolves around the unsolved murder of a nunteacher Catherine Cesnik in 1969 However the sevenpart retelling begins 50 years later when two exstudents Gemma Hoskin and Abbie Schaub dedicate their retirement to investigate the mystery behind the murder of their favourite teacher But the Emmynominated series goes much beyond it and throws light on how the murder may be connected to the coverup of sexual abuse of minors orchestrated by one Father Joseph Maskell It also illustrates the attempts of the state and archdiocese of Baltimore in covering up the crime The docu series stands apart for its eye for detail research the sensitivity with which it is portrayed leaving the viewer at the edge of their seats or weeping into their kerchiefs or questioning the state And mind you the investigation is still on and justice is still denied like in the case of Bill Cosby and Harvey WeinsteinAlso Read middays OTT recommendations Five movies and shows that you can bingewatchThe Little Things Amazon Prime VideoIn a career spanning about 46 years Denzel Washington has probably done countless movies on police investigations or played the crusader of justice but this neonoir crime thriller takes off on a slightly different path and has you fooled right till the end Set in the 1990s the film follows two detectives Washington who has moved away from homicides after a breakdown and Rami Malek who replaces him They get together to investigate a string of murders leading them to a strange loner who may be the culprit Jared Leto While you are completely invested in finding the serial killer you are also compelled to follow the psyche of the leads It would be unfair to talk about it without mentioning the edgy performance of the three actors but that you already knew rightGirl From Nowhere NetflixStatutory warning The twoseason fictional series based on reallife stories brimming with gore is not suitable for the fainthearted But here is a little background before you delve into this Thai outing In 2020 Thailand was marked with the Bad Student movement ndash where school children protested on the streets in uniform questioning the education system and demanding the resignation of their education minister The first season dropped in 2018 much before the movement was set in motion In 2020 the OTT giant released the second instalment which has been getting rave reviews across Asia Luckily the series has English voiceovers which makes it easier for people who hate reading subtitles It is an anthology that showcases a new story in every episode lead by the central character Nanno Chicha Amatayakul In each episode Nanno ndash clearly not human is the new student who exposes the faulty system or the crimes committed by students or the faculty From sexual abuse to the dichotomy between rich and poor to social media hypocrisies to early pregnancies Nanno tackles it all ending with her cacophony laugh Of course had they cast better actors the series would have hit the right mark in every episodeAlso Read OTT brings regional content into the spotlightMalik Amazon Prime VideoAnother Faahadh Faasil offering and my sole reason to catch this film Over the years Indian cinema has explored communal violence and the hand that politics plays in it multiple times This Malayalam outing is a blend of politics and the mafia world It differs in its treatment storytelling and of course the performance while the storyline remains largely the same Faasil aka Sulaiman Ikka is the central focus but you cannot ignore the feisty character of Roseline played effortlessly by Nimisha Sajayan The story is engaging intense and realistic yet dramatic but the duration and buildup may hinder a few opinions This Mahesh Naryanandirectorial film revolves around the once harmonious brotherhood between three smalltime smugglers Sulaiman PA Aboobacker played by Dileesh Poothan and Victor Vinay Forrt Not one to succumb to pressure and constantly striving to improve the life of Muslims and Christians in Ramadapally Sulaiman starts a minimafia empire which soon becomes a hindrance for the smugglerturnedpolitician Aboobacker In order to solidify his hold in the government he creates a rift between Sulaiman and Victor resulting in misunderstandings and deaths of family and community members Malik while scores on several points and makes for an interesting watch still cannot be considered one of Faasils best worksAlso Read Fahadh Faasil Was doubtful about playing the old character