EXCITING MOVIE SEQUELS ON ITS WAY IN SA

ALYSSIA BIRJALAL

IT’S not easy getting the formula right, and sometimes directors, scriptwriters as well as the cast can either fly high or fall flat on their faces. Nevertheless, fans, brimming with hope, root for their success.

This year, directors of awardwinning South African movies like Riaad Moosa’s 2012 comedy Material, Jayan Moodley’s smash-hit, Keeping Up With The Kandasamys 1 and 2 and Thabang Moleya’s romantic drama Happiness Is A Four Letter Word have set the wheels in motion for their not-to-be-missed sequels.

Material 2 has already been filmed and is awaiting its big cinema debut. The movie was set to release last year.

With Riaad Moosa in the lead role, the story picks up in Fordsburg with his character, Cassim Kaif, still trying to crack it in the comedy industry.

Another movie in the waiting line is Keeping Up With The Kandasamys. The film wrapped up last October.

Bringing family matters, community envy and a colourful Indian experience to the forefront are returning cast including fan favourites, Jailoshini Naidoo, Maeshni Naicker, Mariam Bassa and the gorgeous Mishqah Parthiephal and dashing Madhushan Singh among others.

Happiness Ever After, the sequel to Happiness is a Four Letter Word, will be available for streaming on Netflix later this year. The sequel joins the friends for another journey of self-discovery and reevaluation. “The first film was big. It was major, and when you need to come back from that and try and double it or make it work, that’s where the pressure is. And I think that is what everyone is feeling,” said Khanyi Mbau, who plays Zaza in the film.

Reviews

INVINCIBLE is a new animated show based on a comic by Robert Kirkman of the same name, and it’s one of the best new entries in the superhero genre. In the show, we follow Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) who is a normal teenager except for the fact that his father Omni-man/Nolan Grayson (JK Simmons) is an alien from planet Viltrum who is the strongest hero on planet earth.

While Mark goes through most of his early life powerless, shortly after his 17th birthday, his powers start kicking in. However, his father is keeping the truth about the Viltrumites from Mark. The superhero boom seems to only be getting bigger and bigger. Marvel’s new MCU streaming shows are the talk of the town on social media and it looks as if more and more studios are looking at how they can get a piece of the pie. Amazon Prime Video has already struck gold with their live-action adaptation of The Boys and Invincible is another home run.

This show and The Boys shared some similarities since they both don’t shy away from violence, swearing and sex -this show is not for kids by the way. Invincible sports an A-list voice cast including the likes of Sandra Oh, Zachary Quinto, JK Simmons and Steven Yeun. This show can go where very few in the superhero genre can. Not only because it’s an animated show, but also with the fact that it tackles several issues superheroes would face dealing with both the weight of the world on their shoulders while still trying to balance their personal lives.

Invincible is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with a episode dropping weekly on Friday. | Jamal Grootboom

DISTURBING YET BRILLIANTLY EXECUTED CRIME DRAMA

DEBASHINE THANGEVELO

IF YOU decided to forgo watching The Serpent on Netflix, do yourself a favour and reconsider that decision.

This eight-part series, which is inspired by true-life events, is such a compelling albeit unsettling watch.

Aside from the adroit direction, the taut and compelling script, the casting is sheer genius.

Set in the mid-1970, this series follows the crime spree of con artist Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim) and his Canadian girlfriend, Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman). They are aided by Ajay Chowdhury (Amesh Edireweera).

As someone who enjoys travelling, this series definitely gave me the chills. It’s the kind of fear where you hope that you have a Liam Neeson (“Taken”) in your corner.

This couple, operating under the ruse of dealing in gems, find young and trusting backpackers on their hippie trail through Bangkok, Thailand and other parts of Asia.

After befriending them, they drug them and steal their passports and travellers’ cheques. Their marks are often people who are a bit lost. Many of their victims don’t make it back home.

It is only when Dutch diplomat, Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle), begins looking a closer at the murder of a Dutch couple that he realises that he has kicked a hornet’s nest.

But getting justice for the victims is a costly battle. The Serpent is currently streaming on Netflix.