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Herbie: Fully Loaded
The plot of this movie revolves around Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) who, upon being the first one from her family to graduate from college, receives a car as a graduation present from her dear old dad (Michael Keaton). She visits a scrap-yard to pick out a car in fairly good condition so she can restore it. She initially sets her mind to a Nissan 250Z, but due to a certain mishap settles for a Volkswagen Bug named Herbie.
Little does she know that the Bug has a mind of its own and eventually takes over the car’s controls. In order to fix the car, she pays her best friend Kevin (Justin Long) a visit. After a nut and bolt job, Maggie goes to a car show where she manages to beat all-time top racer Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon). Severely humiliated, Trip demands a rematch, concurrently trying to find out the secret behind Herbie — all the while aiming to squash the Bug and regain his own wounded pride.
Directed by Angela Robinson, this movie proves to be quite a drag (no pun intended). Singer-cum-actress Lindsay Lohan could have done a much better job, considering the fact that her previous acting expeditions like Mean Girls and Freaky Friday fared well with audiences. Apart from that, the screenplay seems to be absolved of any essence whatsoever, to the extent that even actors like Michael Keaton (ex-Batman) and Matt Dillon don’t manage to emanate much of their characteristic persona on screen.—Unaiza Maniar
The Eastwood collection
Clint Eastwood is unquestionably the most famous of all actors to make Westerns a separate entity, matched only by John Wayne. In this recently released 3-DVD box set, he features in three of his best Westerns: Hang ‘em High (1968), High Plains Drifter (1973) and Pale Rider (1985).
In Ted Post’s Hang ‘em High, which was the actor’s first Hollywood Western after the Spaghetti Westerns in Europe, Eastwood plays Marshall Jed Cooper, who’s gun does the talking but with a clear warning: all criminals are to be taken alive for trial. But who cares, with Eastwood in a mood for vengeance.
In the other two self-directed flicks, Eastwood stars as a stranger. In the spooky High Plains Drifter, he is offered ‘anything he wants’ if he agrees to help defend a town full of cowards against three recently released outlaws who are hell-bent on seeking vengeance from the townsfolk. He excels as director, producer and actor in this flick, as he does in Pale Rider, which is the best film in this set. Eastwood makes an entry after Megan (Sydney Penny), the teenaged daughter of a miner, prays to God for someone to help her and the town against oppressors. As a preacher, Eastwood is the help, and hell follows him close behind. He not only saves many of the local miners from the town bullies but in the end, single-handedly battles six deputies of gun slinging Marshal Stockburn (John Russell).
Although all the Eastwood movies in this box set feature him as a back-from-the-dead character, they are a must-see for all, especially fans of the actor and those who love Westerns.—Omair Alavi
Stealth
Stealth is a film that joins the mushrooming league of movies that propagate the idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) going corrupt and turning against its own creators in a bid to survive.
Lt Kara Wade (Jessica Biel), Lt Henry Purcell (Jamie Foxx) and Lt Ben Gannon (Josh Lucas) are part of a top-notch team of US navy pilots. The trio handles assignments related to wiping out terrorist targets. They soon join a top-secret project where the navy is working on perfecting an unmanned fighter jet controlled by an AI programme code-named EDI (Extreme Deep Invader). At first, everything seems hunky dory as EDI astounds everyone with its precision, agility and replication of
intricate flight manoeuvres. However, when a
thunderstorm disrupts its circuits, it begins to select
targets at its own bidding and is well on the way to start a global war. The three pilots have to rein in the rogue jet while fending corruption that can be traced to the higher political echelons.
Stealth uses some events to resonate political and moral implications of the global ‘war on terrorism.’ For instance, the squad is about to bomb a fort housing
terrorists, but they refuse to carry out the orders when they realize that the attack might release radioactive dust and endanger the lives of innocent civilians inhabiting the area. However, the commanding
authority still displays a flagrant disregard for human life and orders the attack. This facet happens to be the only bold flight the movie can boast of.
The rest of Rob Cohen’s venture is a forgettable affair, relying too much on its Top Gun style stunts to keep the pace going. The unimpressive casting also fails to etch any positive impressions.—Taimur Saleem
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