Weekend Watchlist, 11/28: Killer Bs

Happy Friday, PV Guide readers! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you.

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It’s a relatively light week for new titles on streaming, led by Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing on Netflix and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia on VOD. Others worth mentioning: Daniel Day-Lewis’s return to acting in his son’s psychological drama movie Anemone on Peacock, the Tamil sports movie Bison Kaalamaaadan on Netflix (more on that in a second), and Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon on VOD.

Let’s get into this week’s picks.

Bison Kaalamaadan

If you like: Contact sports, dramas about oppression, gorgeous cinematography
Watch at: Netflix
Watch trailer here

I watched Bison Kaalamaadan Tuesday night, the new kabaddi drama from Mari Selvaraj (Karnan), and was absolutely blown away. Kabaddi is kind of like a full-contact mix of tag and wrestling, and the movie follows a young prodigy (Dhruv Vikram) from a rural village hoping to make it in the sport despite the barriers in place against people like him. Like a lot of Selvaraj's work, it features delicately interwoven themes around oppression and resilience, with complex characters, gorgeous cinematography, and a fantastic score. It’s one of my very favorites of the year, and just arrived on Netflix this week.

Blossoms Shanghai

If you like: Period pieces, business dramas, Wong Kar-wai
Watch at: Criterion Channel
Watch trailer here

At the end of 2023, the legendary filmmaker Wong Kar-wai released a 30-episode TV series in China, set in 1990s Shanghai. It’s the first TV show directed by Wong, and was a massive hit  when it was released in China. Almost two years later, it’s finally available to watch in the States, thanks to a release on the Criterion Channel. I haven’t seen the show yet myself, but it’s very easy to recommend checking out a new Wong Kar-wai project sign unseen.

Black Friday

If you like: Action-comedy-horror hybrids, Dawn of the Dead riffs, seasonal fare
Watch at: Free with ads on Prime Video and available to rent
Watch trailer here

Now here’s my Friday night watching plans – an action horror-comedy about a group of retail workers stuck in their store on Black Friday who have to defend themselves against a zombie attack. It stars Devon Sawa, Michael Jai White, and Bruce Campbell – I enjoy all three of these actors and I hope it lives up to its goofy promise as a fun seasonal watch.