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REVIEWSPREVIEWS
Son of the Mask
A decade ago Jim Carrey starred in The Mask, a big-screen venture full of his mischievous stunts and the then-cutting-edge special effects. Though its predecessor was quite a success, to say that the sequel, Son of the Mask failed to impress the audience would be an understatement.
The movie stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist who gets handed the same old green mask which had gone missing in the earlier movie by his dog Otis. The mask helps Tim perform brilliantly at his advertising company and gets him an instant promotion. He impresses his boss and, still wearing the mask, goes home to impregnate his wife.
Some months later we have the son of the mask in the form of baby Alvey (Ryan and Liam Falconer) who is born with cartoon like abilities. His birth is followed by a host of problems only Bugs Bunny would love. Tim also loses the mask when a jealous Otis sneaks off with it and hides it.
The focus of the film seems primarily to be a CGI stand off between a very attention-deprived, jealous dog and Tim’s demon baby, Alvey. The rest of the plot keeps running into the wall. There may be a way this could be made funny, but Son of the Mask doesn’t find it. To quote Carrey, “Somebody stop me!” —Humna Ishtiaq
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Black
After the musical extravaganza of Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is back with a bang. But this time he takes us through the journey of the deaf and the blind; he takes us through the journey of Black. High on emotions, this is one film which will not only make you cry in the moments of sadness, but also during moments of happiness. The film, based on Helen Keller, is difficult to describe in just a few words. Breathtaking performances, crisp cinematography, a touching vision and a great script is delivered splendidly by Bhansali.
Black is brilliant but, there are always two sides of a coin. Unfortunately the film is a story based on an upper class family, so at least 65 per cent of it is in English. The movie is dark and depressing and except for the storyline, cast and the goodwill of the director, it is not very appealing.
Michelle McMillan (Rani Mukherjee) is a deaf and blind girl trapped in a world full of suffering, until there comes along her magician: her teacher Debhraj Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan). The movie is about their journey to achieve their dreams to see Michelle graduate and to see her independent. It’s Debhraj’s fight against destiny to teach the girl that black is beautiful.
Apart from the two main leads, Ayesha Kapoor who plays young Michelle is outstanding. Nandana Sen is effective even in a small role and Shernaz Patel who plays Michelle’s mother performs her scenes well. On the whole Black is an artistic journey with touching moments and brilliant performances. In short: Black is beautiful. —Zoha Tapia
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The Pacifier
Joining the ranks of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and many more silver screen tough guys, Vin Diesel is doing what is expected of an action hero after a while in the industry: to appeal to the whole rated ‘G’ audience, with ample amounts of cuteness.
Shane Wolfe (Vin Diesel) is the best at what he does: a US Navy Seal sent on a mission to protect the family of a scientist, whom he fails to rescue. While their mother (Faith Ford) is sent to retrieve the device which can surely destroy the world (like it could be anything else!), he finds himself babysitting five undisciplined children, including a toddler and an infant cared for by their neurotic European nanny (Carol Kane doing what she does best).
What follows is no surprise: super-seal Wolfe teaches the children the meaning of the word respect while following their heart. During this he even finds the time to flirt with their principle (Lauren Graham) and fight the school’s bullying wrestling coach (Brad Garret) while doing a little song and dance number for the toddler.
Diesel gives the film one hundred per cent but director Adam Shankman (Bringing Down the House) and the hackneyed script don’t help. This doesn’t mean that the film does not have its fair share of good family fun, which, nowadays, is priceless. — Farheen Jawaid
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