What To Watch This Weekend: 'Us' And 'Hotel Mumbai'

This weekend, a couple of thought-provoking new releases are headed to a theater near you. In the horror thriller "Us," Lupita Nyong'o plays a woman who experienced a traumatic event as a young girl that has left her fractured over the years.

In the mood for a drama-thriller based on true events? "Hotel Mumbai" also makes a big splash, starring Dev Patel and Armie Hammer as two people from very different walks of life, who find courage and resilience in the midst of peril and violence.

Here's what to see and skip this weekend:

“Us” — Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elizabeth Moss; directed by Jordan Peele

Writer-director Jordan Peele returns with yet another incisive horror flick following the blockbuster success of his debut film, “Get Out.”

In “Us,” Lupita Nyong’o plays Adelaide Wilson, who, as a child in 1986, wandered off the Santa Cruz Boardwalk one blustery night, and stumbled upon a haunted house. As the young girl explored inside the place, she encountered a child that was her exact look-alike— to her horror!

Thirty years later, Adelaide, now married with two children, is still grappling with the trauma from her past. And despite its chilling effect on her life, she returns to her childhood home in Santa Cruz with her husband Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke) and their two kids, Jason (Evan Alex) and Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph), for a long weekend getaway.

One night, Adelaide becomes increasingly uneasy and frightened, begging her husband for all of them to leave at once. However, as the Wilson family packs up, another family of four appears in their driveway. Dazed and confused, the Wilsons will soon discover that these mysterious people are hostile doppelgängers of themselves. Can the Wilson family ever make it out alive?

See it. Simply put, genius is written all over Peele’s “Us.” It’s insanely brilliant. Plus, Nyong’o is magnificent in showing her range and depth as an actor. And for those wondering whether this movie is better than “Get Out,” the answer is a resounding YES!

Watch the trailer:

“Hotel Mumbai” — Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi; directed by Anthony Maras

On November 26, 2008, a group of terrorists rained terror upon Mumbai, hurling India’s financial and entertainment capital into catastrophic turmoil and destruction. For four days and nights, the city was under siege. In India, these tragic events are otherwise known as 26/11 (Wednesday, 26 November), the day when the devastating series of attacks all began.

A true story of courage and human sacrifices, Anthony Maras’s directorial feature debut is a dramatization of the shocking events that took place at the iconic Taj Majal Palace Hotel during the four-day standoff. As an ensemble piece, the narrative centers around five main characters who are suddenly thrust into the nightmarish world of terror and violence.

One of them is Arjun (Dev Patel), a newly-minted waiter who works under the guidance of Taj’s head chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher). Heroic and resilient, both men vow to protect the hotel’s guests in the face of peril and terror. As the movie draws deeper into the epicenter of the attack, a desperate couple (Armie Hammer and Nazanin Boniadi) will risk everything to protect their newborn baby from the bloodbath. Finally, we also learn about the mysterious Russian millionaire named Vasili (Jason Isaacs), who is bound to defy everyone's expectations.

See it. Poignant and gut-wrenching, the movie is on fire with searing performances and impressive direction.

Watch the trailer:

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