MovieNotes - Man of Steel

Movie - Man of Steel

*ing - Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russel Crowe, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane & Others

Director - Zack Snyder

Language - English

Preamble

Confession - Haven't watched any of the Superman movies before. And not a big comic book fan either.

However the interest level in watching the resurrection of the Superman series was quite high. Mainly due to Christopher Nolan being attached to it. The trailers looked promising. Nolan's touch along with Hans Zimmer's music prophesised a Superman struggling with his own identity, a darker villain and a good background story with big name actors playing the minor characters.

Basic Premise

Superman and his Kryptonian origins are explained. He is yet to become the hero known world over but taking his baby steps towards becoming one. Also a titanic clash to save the world and establish his superhero credentials (for the forthcoming movies).

Notes

The High Notes

• Best Scene - When Superman goes on his first flight. Full-on Goosebumps
• Performance of the film - by the two fathers of Superman - Crowe & Costner, incidentally both also known for playing Robin Hood.
• A villain whose intentions are not necessarily wrong. General Zod was trying to save his race.
• The back-story of Krypton. Probably won't be mentioned ever again.
• The climax battle between Superman & Zod.
• The Easter Eggs hinting at Lexcorp & Wayne Enterprises for forthcoming movies.

The Not High Notes

• The conclusion of the climax battle. If it was this simple, why was hell wrecked on Metropolis. Probably a million died in this battle to "save" Earth.
• The portrayal of Lois Lane.
• The Superman Character Destruction - The S does not stand for Superman; he doesn't wear his underwear outside any more; Lois Lane knows Superman's real identity before he joins Daily Planet. The true comic book fans must be seething on seeing all this.
• Superman finding a ready-made suit for his world-saving role.
• There is nothing worth remembering in the movie. No memorable dialogues, action sequence etc.

The Random Notes

• The Superman Pose - After you become "Super", you need to stand straight, hold your arms into your body and then (most important) look towards your side with the head slightly bent and wearing a serene smile
• Henry Cavill finally breaks his unlucky jinx and gets to play a major role.
• The term "Superman" is hardly used throughout the film.

Rating - 7/10; Overall the movie left me a bit underwhelmed. Mainly due to the higher (almost unrealistic) expectations set by the The Dark Knight Tilogy.

Previously on MovieNotes - Zalzala

Deja Vu - Issued In Public Interest

It felt like the opening scene from Hangover II. It had happened again. The questions were why me? And again?

Losing a mobile is not a nice experience. Losing repeatedly is even worse. Feels like I have been "marked" as a serial victim.

Now to the event itself. Got onto a BEST bus as per my daily schedule. After some time, say 15 minutes, decided to check the phone. And the phone had disappeared. As simple as that. Heart sank with the feeling of deja vu.

Asked the neighbouring passenger to dial my number. As expected, phone was switched off. The thieves are quick, both at nicking the phone, and manually removing the battery.  Tried to recollect the incidence of the theft.  This is probably how it had happened.

A large sized fellow was the first to get onto the bus. Near the top step, lots of coins "slipped" out of his hand which he stopped to collect blocking the way. Meanwhile I was directly behind him on the next step, with both hands on the bus handles for balance. Felt a sudden surge behind me due to others trying to get on. Probably this was the moment when the phone was nicked. Also noticed that the big fellow who had dropped the coins got down after a couple of stops. Pretty sure this was an organised operation. One person creates a distraction while blocking up the path and someone else uses this precise moment to pick the pocket.

Another bitter lesson learnt. Do Not get distracted in crowded, public places even when the distraction is right in front of your eye. "Constant vigilance" is the only way to keep your belongings safe.

Losing a phone is major nuisance. The worst bit is that the cost of the phone itself is the least concern. The value of the personalization and memories attached with the phone is much greater than just the phone cost. Contacts, messages, pictures, your personal high scores in various games are intangibles which have no use to the thieves but cant be replaced.

And a suggestion - Always keep the phone locked with a pin/password. You might never see your lost phone again. But at least your "personal" data will not be accessible to anyone else.

Sharing this, so that others maybe alert in such scenario.

P.S. Hoping & Praying that this tragically epic trilogy of losing phones has reached its conclusion.

Rains - Likes & Dislikes

Has there been any weather phenomenon more romanticized than the rains? More paeans have been written about, more songs composed in the praise of and in the wait of rains than for any other natural occurrence. And as with every other feature of life, it comes with both positives & negatives. 

After about two and a half days of the monsoons, I have already begun liking & disliking the rains in about equal measure. 

• Like - The first pit-pat-patter of the rain drops, the smell of the wet earth, escape from the summer heat. WOW
• Dislike - Getting stuck in the office commute
• Like - On an early morning drive with just a slight drizzle.
• Dislike - The dish signals disappearing during live sports programming. Already affected - Champions Trophy cricket, French Open finals & ironically a rain-hit F1 Grand prix.
• Like - Sipping tea while watching the falling rain outside.
• Dislike - The almost non-stop drizzle forcing a stay-at-home Sunday.

As the season progresses, the list can go on and on. Already beginning to dread the to and fro office commute from tomorrow.

P.S. A little rainy day song compilation from some three years back.