GlobalRanger

This is a passable reboot of Superman, with action & acting being its strongest points. Too many unnecessary jokes don't allow us to take the characters & proceedings seriously.. in other words, the movie doesn't feel relatable.

Coming to the performances, David Corenswet is very good as Superman and Rachel Brosnahan is also quite good as Lois Lane. Nicholas Hault makes for a mean & menacing Lex Luthor. The "justice gang" doesn't make much of an impression except for Mr. Terrific. The background score is pretty good and reminds us of the OG Superman from 1978.

Overall, my rating is 6/10.. this is a one time watch for Superman fans but doesn't have too many memorable or emotional moments.

When Vinod(Neeraj Madhav) unexpectedly loses his Dubai based job, his plans of building a house in Kerala run into rough weather. To make matters worse, Vinod's plans of marrying his girlfriend Gouri(Gouri Kishan) is rejected by the parents at both ends, and the option of a registered marriage isn't as easy as Vinod & his girlfriend had envisaged. How Vinod deals with both these challenges forms the crux of the story. This is a well directed web series by Vishnu Raghav and the performances of all actors including the lead pair is very good, with Aju Varghese as Pappettan leading the supporting cast.

The 6 episodes in this Web series are of 30 minute duration and the total runtime comes to around 180 minutes, the same as a 3 hour movie.

Verdict: "Love under construction" is an enjoyable Web series with an unexpected twist in the end. Definitely recommended (8/10 stars).

Movie Review : "Stree 2 - Sarkate Ka Aatank"

Viewer advisory : "CBFC certification - UA".

Some sequences may horrify children below the age of 8, hence in my humble opinion it's better not to take kids of that age group to the cinemas.

Those of you who have not seen its 2018 prequel ("Stree"), should see it to maintain continuity and get a better hold of the proceedings.

Synopsis : Just when Chanderi town seems to have returned to normalcy after the exit of "Stree", a new terror grips the town - a headless evil entity called 'Sarkata'. Now it's again up to Vicky & his 'gang' {including the nameless Shraddha Kapoor} to save Chanderi from the clutches of the headless monster.

Review : 6 yrs ago when "Stree" hit the screens, it was appreciated for its extremely unusual combo of horror & comedy done right. As a genre, Horror-Comedy needs a trickily effective balance of both elements. With "Stree 2", I am pleased to report that Director Amar Kaushik & his team have again succeesed in presenting a film that cleverly toes the line of the original and comes up trumps. Just like in "Stree", the horror sequences involving the demon as well as the comic camaraderie of Vicky & his friends is super effective here. Technically, the film employs a generous dose of VFX but it's very well done. Cinematography is also strong with the night sequences conveying a sense of dread throughout. Music is pretty good - There are 2 songs during the main film and 2 songs in the end credits. Acting wise, Rajkumar Rao once again leads from the front with a "super-natural" performance. Shraddha Kapoor has lesser screen time but she looks easy on the eye and does her part well. Rest of the supporting cast including Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee & Aparshakti Khurrana are all in good form. Tamannah Bhatia stars in an item song and a couple of scenes. There are a couple of surprise cameos, but I don't wanna share any spoilers here. The biggest plus point of "Stree 2" is that it comes across as a very well connected sequel to the original. The cast, sets, story & atmosphere are all in sync and the continuity feels very natural.

Verdict : If you enjoyed "Stree", I would definitely recommend the sequel. If you haven't seen the original, give that a try before watching this.

Rating : 7.5 out of 10.