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REVIEWS PREVIEWS: Facing the enemy
As expected, Gene Hackman’s latest starrer, Behind Enemy Lines is a concoction of the American military whose supremacy we have already seen in our daily lives — that is bombing civilians and not their peers.
BEL takes place in the mid-nineties when Europe was trying its best to quell the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hackman stars as Admiral Reigat, commanding officer of an aircraft carrier based somewhere near the troubled area. The real trouble for the Admiral starts when his ace pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) is shot down over enemy territory. Things get even worse when Chris’s partner is executed and now the enemy is after Chris. In a hostage-like situation, Chris gets orders from the high command to reach a certain destination where the pickup will be waiting.
Behind Enemy Lines is a true story which led to the indictment of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. The Serbians were reponsible for the mass murder of Bosnain Muslims which Chris and his partner had recorded on their on-flight camera. As strong as its sounds, the movie tends to veer away from a strong script. Hackman portrays an emotional commander who treats his boys like kids rather like men.—Khurrum Anis
A family affair
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Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum is written and directed by Karan Johar, the same man who brought us Kuch kuch hota hai. His latest venture stars six of Bollywood’s biggest stars in the sub-continent’s most anticipated movie.K3G tells the story of the Raichand family homestead — once a realm of colour and happiness, now a disillusioned one through family feuds. Yash Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) is the head of the family. His pride lies in his two sons, Rahul (Shahrukh) and Rohan (Hrithik) — from both of whom he expects respect and unquestionable trust in his decisions. So when Rahul returns one day with a wife by his side, even after Yash had disapproved of the girl, he is disowned from the family name and property for being a dishonourable son.
Half the movie is in a continued flashback with Hrithik listening to his grandmother about the family feud. It is only later that he makes up his mind to go and fetch his elder brother for whom their mother (Jaya Bachchan) has been mourning for. As much as she loves Rahul, she still doesn’t have the heart to go against her husband’s decision. K3G is a family drama through and through. The subject of the movie flips from sequence to sequence with some being emotional and some being hilarious.
Also starring Kareena Kapoor as ‘Poo’ or Pooja, playing the part of Hrithik’s flame. The movie is definitely worth the time watching and the director has justified all the six principal performers, very well.—Nazia Mirza
To catch a murderer
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The 51st State stars Full Monty’s Robert Carlyle and ‘the non-negotiating’, Samuel L. Jackson. With a pirated print, the soundtrack really makes you lean against the speakers to hear the dialogue.Samuel stars as a lonesome drug dealer (Mclean), based in America, who in his quest to sell narcotics tries to push out some of his more unreliable associates. But then one survives, and now he’s after the Irish-kilt-wearing drug-pusher. By this time Jackson has left for England, Liverpool, where he’s finishing off his last job — selling the medicine’s formula for 20 million dollars. The English police, a hit-woman and a group of white idiot racists are after Jackson. With his idea inside his head, nobody wants the man dead, initially. Meaning that they want him dead — only after he’s given the catching party the formula.
Carlyle stars as Jackson’s sidekick — an Englishman, who plays a smart-alec, toughie, only to realize that the lady wanting Jackson dead, is nobody else but his ex-girl friend, played by Sophie Marcau. With an 18+ rating, the movie is interesting but for those who have patience as it is a slow track, see.—KA
An appetite for things
If you think that a comedy about the life of a group of people in a restaurant is similar to a TV sitcom, think again because Dinner Rush is no such stuff.
The movie is as refreshing and delicious as the menu served in the restaurant. Danny Aiello plays Louis Cropa, the proprietor of an exceptionally busy restaurant, but it seems that the good days of the place are over when everything that can go wrong, does. Mixed up orders, power outage, fussy guests and even murder.
There are many characters in the movie which add colour and fun to the story: a chef who’s a compulsive gambler (Kirk Acevedo), head waitress Nicole (Vivian Wu) who has too many people after her including Louis’s surly son, a nasty but rich art gallery owner (Mark Margolis), an all-powerful restaurant critic (Sandra Bernhard) and many others. All these characters are pulsating with life and not caricatures, which is why each manages to make an impact in the little time they have on screen. There are a few sub plots but they all tie together well so as not to confuse, and make Dinner Rush a light entertainer that is fun to watch.—SAK
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