New Year picks on OTT: Blood-chilling 'Squid Game-2', gladiator's torment, Girls will be Girls!

Also read: Squid Game: The fascinating story behind Netflix's most-watched series

So, in season 2, player 456 -- Seong Gi-Hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), who remains at the heart of the this dysptopian story, wants to be put back into this playground where deadly children’s games are conducted dangling a massive cash prize as a lure.

However, Gi-hun is no longer the clueless, desperate, debt-ridden participant viewers met in Season 1. Instead, he's a man intent on a mission, to expose the sinister organisation behind the Squid Game.

Obviously, there are new characters, (since the old ones are dead) including a mother-and-son duo struggling under the weight of crushing debt and a rebellious youngster whose ideals clash with Gi-hun's. Haunted by the horrors he had endured and the deaths he had facilitated, Gi-Hun’s journey for justice will be the hook this season, which starts streaming this weekend on Netflix.

Although an official release date for Season 3 remains under wraps, it is expected to premiere in 2025.

Post-production for the final season is already underway, and is expected to centre around the ultimate clash between Gi-hun and the enigmatic Front Man, whose backstory will finally be unveiled.

Gladiator 2

If you failed to catch the visually stunning Gladiator II in cinemas, it is now streaming on Prime Video from Christmas day.

Directed by the inimitable Ridley Scott, this sequel to the 2000 blockbuster brings back the grandeur of Rome.

Set 15 years after the original 2000 film, Gladiator II "continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome."

“Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors, who now lead Rome with an iron fist,” the official synopsis reads.

Gladiator II, it seems, has outperformed the original at the domestic box-office and recently crossed the $400 million mark globally, according to Box Office Mojo.

But be warned that many critics have also slammed the film calling it a ‘pointless’ sequel and a disaster. Scott, who has made successful films like Martian, Alien, Blade Runner and much, much more, however, claims this is his best film.

Starring Paul Mescal as Lucius, and new faces like Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, Gladiator II  can be watched to recall the glory of Ridley Scott.

Singham Again

Here’s a franchise that has frankly been beaten to death and needs to be buried deep down under.

DCP Bajirao Singham (a tired botoxed looking Ajay Devgn) encounters a new foe in Singham Again, the fifth installment in Rohit Shetty's cop universe franchise.

Zubair Hafeez (Arjun Kapoor), the vindictive grandson of terrorist Omar Hafeez (Jackie Shroff) kidnaps Singham's wife, Avni (Kareena Kapoor Khan), who has a new career now. Singham sets out on a quest to free her and end Zubair's nefarious activities.

He is accompanied by DCP Veer Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar), Inspector Sangram "Simmba" Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh), DCP Shakti Shetty (Deepika Padukone), and ACP Satya Bali (Tiger Shroff).

Viewers have called it a 'snooze fest', with disappointing performances by Deeepika Padukone and Tiger Shroff. It is disjointed amalgamation of Shetty’s fading cop universe, with connections to Ramayana and some drab gunfights thrown in. Bollywood in deep slumber again. 

Can easily 'cop out' of this one.

Also read: 'Superboys of Malegaon' screened at BFI London Film Festival

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Yet another 'slapdash' sequel, sigh, this film just reveals Bollywood's desperation really. 

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 starring Kartik Aaryan, Madhuri Dixit, and Vidya Balan journeys down a well-worn track with the same stereotype characters mouthing cliches and unfunny lines.

Kartik Aaryan is Rooh Baba, a bogus ghostbuster, and Tilu (Arun Kushwah) tags along with him. He is hired by Meera (Tripti Dimri) and her uncle (Rajesh Sharma) and transported to a sprawling haveli, in order to bust the ghost of Monjulika. Remember her? But critics felt it is time to bury her. So, watch at your own risk.

Girls will be Girls

This film, started streaming last week on Amazon Prime, but it is a 'hot' recommendation.

Girls will be Girls makes you squirm, gasp and in the end leave you completely in awe of the tremendous talent on display. Writer director Shuchi Talati tells her coming-of-age story so convincingly and with the utmost honesty. Earmarked as one of 2024 best films, this is Talati's debut film and is a must watch. 

A lot of the film rests on the young and capable shoulders of its protagonist, Preeti Panigrahi, who plays 18-year-old Mira, who discovers sexual desire and romance for the first time. However, her curious coming-of-age moments are audaciously disrupted by her young mother, Kani Kusruti.

What adds to the tension here is that her mother is also lonely and starved of attention and has not grown out of her girlish self.

The film premiered and won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival, and was subsequently screened in Cannes.