Ant-Man***
Dir: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pena, Anthony Mackie, Corey Stoll, Abby Ryder Fortson, Judy Greer

The Marvel Studios juggernaut appeared to be on an unstoppable roll post the first Avengers movie with some hugely enjoyable fare (Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Thor: The Dark World; Guardians Of The Galaxy). But the second Avengers film (it was good pop-corn fun but suffered in comparison to the original) and now the latest Marvel Studios entry has taken some sheen off the money-making machine (box-office take notwithstanding).

There are quite a few things to like in the film, Paul Rudd’s subversive charm chief among them. He effortlessly brings his patented cheeky likability to Scott Lang, the recently-released-from-prison computer hacker and burglar who inherits the mantle of Ant-Man (a size-shrinking hero and spy who can pack a powerful punch in his microscopic state) from the original (Michael Douglas playing Hank Pym) and aims to redeem himself and save the world from the schemes of an evil megalomaniac. The other cast members give him able support (Michael Pena, as another ex-con, almost steals the movie in a hilarious turn) and the special effects are pretty good.

But, plot-holes aside (almost standard for super-hero/action films) the script is a bit clunky, probably suffering with the exit of original writer/director Edgar Wright and his uniquely off-kilter vision. Ant-Man also suffers from the same problem as the first Thor and Captain America movies - audiences not familiar with the hero from the comics have to be properly introduced to him. This leads to much exposition and slows down the proceedings. But just as the second Captain America and Thor films turned out to be vastly superior to their first cinematic outings, I suspect that, with the origin out of the way, the second Ant-Man movie should be even more fun than the first.

Cut to chase: Enjoyable but doesn’t pack a giant-sized punch.

Drishyam *** ½
Dir: NishikantKamat
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Rajat Kapoor, KamleshSawant, Ishita Dutta

Drishyam is a remake of the original Malalayam film of the same name (also filmed in Kannada as Drishya, in Telugu as Drushyam, and in Tamil as Papanasam) which took its own inspiration from the Japanese novel/film The Devotion Of Suspect X/Suspect X. An ordinary family man Vijay Salgaocar(Ajay Devgn) tries to outwit the police in order to save his family from the unintended consequences of their actions and a game of cat and mouse begins when a tough-as-nails police inspector Meera Deshmukh (Tabu) with a personal stake in the matter gets involved (I’m being deliberately vague about the plot because I don’t want to give any of its twists and turns away).

The script could have done with a bit of tightening (the unnecessary comedy in the beginning and the musical interlude could have easily been done away with, for instance) and it is a bit too convenient in how Meera figures out some of Vijay’s moves but this is an intriguing film that will keep you guessing and watching. It navigates its way through a moral grey area where both sides are in the right as well as in the wrong and delivers a heart-wrenching denouement when Vijay and Meera face each other for the final time.

The performances are all good but Tabu absolutely steals the show, capturing the various shades of her character with a timely roll of her eyes, a pursing of her lips, an angry flicker,  a momentary furrowing of the brow. Even if the film wasn’t good she would have made it watching.

Cut to chase: Absorbing and with a terrific performance from Tabu.