Tag: john cena

Top New OTT Releases This Week: Showtime, Ricky Stanicky, Maharani Season 3, Merry Christmas

Streaming platform releases this week include the biopic based on the life of an Italian adult film actor, dark secrets of the seemingly glamorous film industry, a fantasy adventure where a princess fights a fire-breathing dragon, an R-rated comedy, and a political thriller. The biggest Indian original this week has to be Disney+ Hotstar’s Emraan Hashmi starrer Showtime, where he is seen playing the son of a successful film producer. Another big Indian title to make its digital debut is Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi’s Merry Christmas, a crime thriller that actually begins as a romance. Here you’ll see the two strangers dealing with a dead body on the first night of their meeting.

For those looking for a no-brainer and entertaining light watch, we recommend Zac Efron and John Cena’s Ricky Stanicky, which is bound to make you laugh. Here you’ll meet three childhood friends who invent an imaginary Ricky Stanicky, whom they can use as a handy alibi and put the blame on for all their misconducts. Things take a hilarious turn when they hire a dimwit, washed-up actor to play Ricky when the families grow suspicious of his existence. John Cena has done an impressive job at playing this delusionally confident actor, who takes up this acting job too far.

For those looking for something from the pages of fantasy, Millie Bobby Brown’s Damsel could do it. She plays a dutiful princess whose wedding turns into a nightmare when she learns that she is actually a sacrifice brought in to settle the ancient debts to a fire-breathing dragon.

On the international shore, you could go for the K-drama Queen of Tears which follows a marital couple fighting fading romance in their marriage.

Some other notable OTT releases of the week are Hot Wheels Let’s Race, Full Swing Season 2, The Gentlemen, and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy Season 2.

Here are our picks for the top OTT releases of the week.

Best OTT Releases This Week

Supersex

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

Supersex is a steamy biography of the popular Italian pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi. It narrates his journey from ordinary days to how he topped the adult film industry worldwide in no time.

The show starts with a sex convention where Rocco is announcing his retirement, making room for the rest of the series to be shown in flashback.

Get ready to explore the fame he experienced, the demons of his past, tumultuous relationships, and other personal anecdotes from his life, in this seven-part series.

The only Indian language in which the show has been dubbed is Hindi. Among the foreign language options are English, Portuguese, Czech, Spanish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

Showtime

When: Now Streaming

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

The four-part series will take you to the underbelly of the other glamorous Bollywood film industry. The complex power dynamics, fierce competition, mistrust, and every other dark aspect are covered.

Emran Hashmi plays Raghu Khanna, the son of a successful film producer, whose inheritance comes under threat after his father’s demise. This is Hashmi’s second OTT project after Netflix’s Bard of Blood (2019).

Mouni Roy, Shriya Saran, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajeev Khandelwal, and Mahima Makwana can also be seen in prominent roles.

Merry Christmas

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

On Christmas Eve of the 1980s, a man (Vijay Sethupathi) returns to Bombay from Dubai only to discover that his mother is no more. Drenched in his sorrow, he crosses paths with a gorgeous woman called Maria (Katrina Kaif), who got stood up on a date because she brought her daughter along. Romance sparks off and the two instantly hit it off. Everything was going rosy and the two ended up at her apartment. Soon suspense and crime take over when a dead body is discovered in the apartment. The film was filmed simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil.

Damsel

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

Princess Elodie’s dream fairytale comes to a jerking halt when she realises that her marriage with a charming prince is a sham and that she has been welcomed by the royal family as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Soon she finds herself trapped alone in a cave with a fire-breathing dragon. The rest of the film revolves around the damsel trying to make it out of the cave alive.

Maharani Season 3

When: Now Streaming

Where: SonyLiv

Rani Bharti is still in jail for the false accusation of attempting to murder her husband; not ready to apply for bail. The ambitious housewife-turned-politician decides to fight fairly for justice and strongly believes that the judicial system will prove her innocent. As ugly twists and turns take over, more drama unfurls in this political thriller exploring the dark underbelly of Bihar politics.

Ricky Stanicky

When: Now

Where: Prime Video

Three childhood friends (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, Jermaine Fowler) decide to blame all their misbehaviours on an imaginary “Ricky Stanicky”. From Halloween pranks to getting out of uncomfortable situations, Ricky Stanicky has been their ultimate saviour and cover-up for almost two decades. However, when their families finally become suspicious of whether such a man exists, the trio decide to hire a washed-up actor called Rod (John Cena), who does poor impersonations of celebrities, makes songs on masturbation, and performs in a shady club. The raging alcoholic flop actor takes this role of a lifetime too seriously and immediately steals the show. Get ready for lots of laughter in this light-hearted comedy by Peter Farrelly.

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Coyote vs. Acme May Get New Distributor After Warner Bros. Shelves Project, Amazon Said to Be Prime Candidate

Coyote vs. Acme might not get shelved after all. Following reports of Warner Bros. axing the live-action-animation hybrid film as a tax write-off, it appears as though it will now be sold to other distributors. Principle photography on the movie was completed a year ago in New Mexico and upon hearing the initial announcement, a crew member leaked behind-the-scenes footage from the same, showing a reel of stunts, concept art, and set assets. Amazon Studios is reportedly the lead contender for the purchase, albeit a private screening is planned for all major streamers.

If filmmakers around the globe hadn’t rebelled against Warner Bros., this would have been the third film to get shelved as a tax write-off. The studio previously cancelled the Leslie Grace-led Batgirl live-action movie and Scoob! Holiday Haunt — both were unfinished, but it was originally claimed that the former was ‘irredeemable’ and not worthy of a theatrical release. Coyote vs. Acme almost suffered the same fate until several filmmakers cancelled meetings with the company since such cancellations were previously touted as a one-off event. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the unnamed filmmakers are taking a ‘wait-and-see approach,’ now that the film might find a new home.

Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You), a close friend of Coyote vs. Acme director Dave Green alludes that the latter stuck to the $72 million (about Rs. 599 crore) and even movie countries for 18 months to shoot the film. As a result, some film industry friends have also allegedly planned a ‘funeral screening’ at the WB lot, albeit the term is no longer appropriate because it might soon find a new home. While it’s true that canning a film as a tax write-off makes the quarterly financial results look good, it leads to uneven franchise-building and a lack of confidence from filmmakers working with the said distributor. Just like the aforementioned Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme was part of Warner Bros.’s planned pivot from streaming content back to full-fledged theatrical releases, as the pandemic waned.

At the time, it was also decided that WB’s DC Comics slate would undergo a complete overhaul, in addition to HBO Max and Discovery+ being merged into a single streaming platform — now known as Max. Planned as a ‘popcorn-style crowd-pleaser,’ Coyote vs. Acme follows the silent Wile E. Coyote, who after failing to trap the noisy Road Runner using numerous ACME explosives and devices, decides to take the legal route and sue the corporation. In his pursuit, he teams up with a human attorney played by Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), leading to some hilarious consequences. The film also stars John Cena (Peacemaker) as the ACME CEO and Lana Condor (To All the Boys: Always and Forever).

Elsewhere, DC Studios co-chair James Gunn also reacted to the Coyote vs. Acme news on Instagram, with a picture of the titular Coyote cooking — possibly a meme reference to “let them cook.” The director also confirmed that despite the Hollywood actors’ strike — which has now ended — Superman: Legacy’s release date won’t be shifting. It is slated to release July 11, 2025, and stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/ Superman and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane.

Currently, there is no release window for Coyote vs. Acme.

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Kohrra to The Witcher Season 3: Top Movies and TV Series to Watch on Netflix Right Now

Despite the public outcry, the changes to Netflix’s password-sharing system have simply helped the streamer grow in power, with nearly 6 million new members joining the platform recently. With the ongoing Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes in full effect, I don’t really blame them for it, given the streamer is one of the few studios that’s best prepared for the oncoming content drought with a robust, long-running slate. Coming to this weekend, the slate is led by renowned favourites such as The Witcher season 3 and Bird Box Barcelona, as well as new Indian originals such as Kohrra, a procedural investigation thriller helmed by Paatal Lok creator Sudip Sharma.

Every week, Netflix compiles a list of its most trending content, from compelling dramas to more action-oriented affairs such as Hidden Strike, the new pair-up between Jackie Chan and John Cena. Of course, content such as Lust Stories 2 is going to rank high up on the list for expected reasons, though I was surprised to see the Randeep Hooda-led crime-thriller series CAT up on there, apparently having spent six weeks among India’s Top 10 list. You can check out the entire hierarchy by visiting the official website, but for now, let’s focus on some of the best films and TV series you could binge-watch on Netflix right now.

One Piece to Ahsoka, The Biggest Web Series Releasing in July

Maamannan

It’s always interesting to see comic actors like Vadivelu take on intense roles, with Maamannan putting him in the shoes of the titular veteran statesman and his son Veera (Udhayanidhi Stalin), who are pulled into a violent power struggle when a cold-blooded politician charts his rise to power. Fahadh Faasil plays the vengeful and entitled Rathnavelu, Salem’s district secretary, who discriminates against people based on caste, often at loggerheads over political shifts with his rival, insisting how even progressive ideals would fall prey to casteism in time. The film also stars Keerthy Suresh (Dasara) as an educator for the less privileged, and Lal (2018) as the fictional Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The Witcher Season 3: Vol. 2

Over the years, The Witcher series took a nosedive from being a highly-praised fantasy epic, to gradually veering from the source material to focus on its world-building and politics. In what serves as the last hurrah for Henry Cavill’s portrayal of the monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, it was revealed that the mysterious mage Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) had been sowing discord across the Continent. Our trio of heroes Geralt, Sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan) must now face hordes of monsters and mages to thwart evil, as the stone-cold witcher slowly comes to terms with his feelings.

Hidden Strike

Hidden Strike puts iconic death-defying actor Jackie Chan and WWE legend John Cena on the same team, to escort a group of civilians across the Iraqi roads after an oil refinery gets attacked by mercenaries. Tonally, it’s something along the lines of the Rush Hour films, a buddy-comedy filled with endless banter and over-the-top action sequences, as our heroes dodge RPGs, blast rooftops during old-fashioned standoffs, and fail to understand the simple mechanics of a hand-grenade. Scott Waugh — best known for Need for Speed — directs the film, which also stars Game of Thrones veteran Pilou Asbæk as the mercenaries’ leader Owen Paddock.

Bird Box Barcelona

The events of Bird Box Barcelona run parallel to the ones in the US, which you might have already seen in the original Sandra Bullock-led version. Threatened by a mysterious force that has begun annihilating the human population by forcing them to kill themselves, a father and daughter — Sebastián (Mario Casas) and Anna (Alejandra Howard) — venture through the desolate streets of the titular Spanish city, in hopes of finding a safe haven. But when they run into a group of other blindfolded strangers, they learn of another imminent threat that seems more formidable than the unseen creatures. Helmed by returning directors Àlex and David Pastor, the movie also enlists Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) and Diego Calva (Babylon) in the cast lineup.

Kohrra

When an NRI Punjabi named Paul is found murdered just before his arranged marriage in the countryside of Jagrana, Punjab, two police officers — Amarpal Jasjit Garundi (Barun Sobti) and Balbir Singh (Suvinder Vicky) — must work together to unravel the mystery, which opens a pandora’s box of a dysfunctional family’s secrets, deceit, and infidelity. To make matters worse, the victim’s close friend Liam (Ivantiy Novak), a British national, goes missing, prompting an investigation process more serious than regular routine checks. Kohrra explores the customs of the NRI community which makes up a sizeable population in greater Punjab, in addition to themes of masculine ego.

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WWE 2K23 Release Date Set for March 17, Features John Cena as Cover Star: Details

WWE 2K23, the latest instalment in 2K’s annual pro-wrestling video game franchise, just got a release date. Featuring the 16-time world champion John Cena on the cover, the game is slated to release March 17, across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Those who purchase the premium versions of WWE 2K23 will gain three-day early access, starting March 14. WWE 2K23 aims to celebrate wrestler-cum-actor Cena’s 20th anniversary by featuring him on all three covers — Standard, Deluxe, and Icon editions, fashioned after iconic moments from his career.

WWE 2K23 2K Showcase

After charting Rey Mysterio’s career in WWE 2K22, the latest iteration sees players stepping into the shoes of Cena and facing his toughest competitors through his 20-year-long stint at WWE. This, in a sense, marks the second 2K Showcase for Cena, who previously got a small feature in WWE 2K15, focused mainly on his rivalry with CM Punk. This time, players can expect to go all the way back in time — his debut — and relive those moments once more, as the events seamlessly transition from gameplay to live-action footage, and vice versa. Of course, Cena will narrate the whole event, giving insight into his mindset during those key matches.

“It is a pleasure to tell the story of my career through the WWE 2K23 Showcase,” Cena said in a prepared statement. “2K has done a fantastic job capturing and invigorating the WWE 2K franchise through this concept, and I am honoured to grace the cover of WWE 2K23.”

WWE 2K23 pre-order and editions

Pre-orders are now live across PC and consoles, with the Standard Edition offering the base game and a Bad Bunny Bonus Pack, which includes music star Bad Bunny as a playable character and a Ruby tier MyFaction card for the same. WWE 2K23’s Standard Edition costs Rs. 3,399 on PC (Steam), and Rs. 4,499 on the old-gen PS4 and Xbox One. Meanwhile, over on the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X, the base version is priced at Rs. 4,999. Cross-gen edition of the same will be available digitally only.

As stated before, the Deluxe edition and beyond grants three-day early access to WWE 2K23, which includes all the aforementioned content alongside a season pass to “all five” post-launch DLC content packs, the MyRise Mega-Boost and SuperCharger, Ruby John Cena MyFaction Evo Card, Gold Edge MyFaction card, Emerald Bianca Belair MyFaction card, Gold Asuka MyFaction card, and three “Basic Premium Launch” MyFaction Card Packs.

Across consoles, regardless of generation or version (physical/ digital), WWE 2K23’s Deluxe Edition will cost you Rs. 7,499. On PC, it is listed at Rs. 5,699.

And finally, the Icon Edition compiles all the previous perks, and adds throwback versions of John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, and Brock Lesnar, along with the WrestleMania 22 arena and the John Cena Legacy Championship. WWE 2K23’s Icon Edition costs Rs. 7,999 across all consoles and Rs. 6,799 on PC.

WWE 2K23 additional features

WWE 2K23 introduces a new WarGames mode, which lets players engage in thrilling 3v3 or 4v4 single or multiplayer matches “inside two side-by-side rings, surrounded by a double-steel cage” — the press release adds. MyGM returns as well, allowing players to pick from a roster or create their own custom General Manager to assign budgets, sign free agents, and put on a good show.

Meanwhile, the MyFaction mode has been expanded to online play, allowing players to build out their squad and heat out for global dominance in Weekly Towers and Faction Wars modes. MyRise, aka the career mode, also returns, letting you map out an existing or custom Superstar’s rise to glory, starting from their humble beginnings. And who can ever forget the hilarious Creation Suit, where one could create, search, and share their custom wrestlers for use in-game?

WWE 2K23 releases March 17, across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. Those who purchase the Deluxe and Icon Editions of WWE 2K23 gain three-day early access, starting March 14.

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