It is easy to assume that The Pink Panther would be an extended version of the cartoon by the same name. It is, however, none of that and although the film is no catastrophe, it is certainly quite a disappointment.
The story kicks off with the mysterious murder of a world famous football coach and it’s found that his stunning diamond-studded ring, the Pink Panther, is missing. The French government needs an expert detective to solve the murder mystery and retrieve the diamond. Per chance, chief Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) hires Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) for the case.
Assisted by Ponton (Jean Reno), Inspector Clouseau must solve the mystery without getting himself or the country’s name on the line. During investigation, Jacques meets several interesting characters including pop star Xania (Beyonce), an old Chinese lady, the soccer player Bizu and Yuri the trainer. Adding to the complications is the chief’s egotistical drive to take all the case-solving credit for himself, and Jacques along with Ponton must keep him from stealing the limelight.
Steve Martin makes an effort to add some — albeit a bit overdone — comical moments to the storyline and Beyonce successfully kicks up the glamour a few notches, but the film is scattered with predictable scenes and repetitions. Director Shawn Levy has tried to play around with the elements of both comedy and thrill, and Jacques’s impulse to run blindly after women has worked well with Beyonce. The fact that the film is one of the better comedies churned out during early 2006 is of some comfort.
— Tahir Yahya
Transporter 2
Sequels have never been the quality cinegoer’s cup of tea as they simply try to rehash or capitalize on the ideas that made their maiden ventures big. There is nothing wrong with having a sequel if it is done tastefully and aesthetically; juxtapositioning the “tried and tested” with a dash of originality every now and then.
British bloke Jason Statham returns in his role as Frank Martin, a professional driver in Miami in Transporter 2, who is doing his friend a favour by filling in for him as a chauffer for the Billings family. As Frank develops a rapport with their son Jack Billings (Hunter Clary), he is thrown into a sticky situation when the child gets kidnapped and Frank is a prime suspect in the crime. As he rushes to recover the boy and clear his name, he uncovers the truth behind the real nature of the kidnapping which was a part of an elaborate plot devised by the Columbian drug lobby to wipe out the narcotics policymakers; of which Jack’s dad (Matthew Modine) is a crucial part.
The film boasts of slick action sequences, vehicle chases and stunts but that effect is marred to a large extent by the insubstantial script and hackneyed dialogues. Similarly, the whole virus routine around which the plot revolves has been done to death by other films of the genre. The bad guys also fail to etch an impact as they appear to have a negative I.Q. Big only on action, Transporter 2 may be a decent popcorn flick but that’s all there is to it.—Taimur Saleem
CSI
The dawn of the new millennium brought a drastic, entertaining and pleasurable change in cop shows in the form of CSI — Crime Scene Investigation, which, currently in its 6th season, is still a force to reckon with because of its ability to engage the audience. The show is about the lives of the CSI division of the Las Vegas Police Department’s Forensic Unit and consists of an eclectic cast with varied personality traits, making character interactions very interesting.
The cool-headed Gil Grissom (William Peterson) leads the graveyard shift, followed by a single mother, Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) who was an ecdysiast before turning to CSI, the easy-going Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) who recovers from his gambling-while-on-duty problem and straight-arrow Nick Stokes (George Eads) who became a CSI Level 3 during the season. They are joined by Grissom’s ex-student Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and are supported by ex-CSI boss/homicide detective Captain Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle), Dr. Al Robbins (Robert David Hall) and DNA expert Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda).
The format for the series is simple — a crime is committed before Pete Townsend’s “Who Are You” intro, the criminologists arrive on the scene and let evidence talk, since “it never lies”, according to Grissom. Most episodes divide into three crime acts with the cast solving each case separately. Most cases are based on real-world headlines and invite multiple viewings, being devilishly complex. Unlike some TV shows which take their time to settle in and attract viewers, CSI came so strongly that it had to be made into two spin offs — CSI Miami and CSI New York. Despite a scarcity of special features on DVD, the inaugural season of CSI remains addictive. Instead of watching cops shootout bad guys, CSI manages to create drama, emotion, suspense and action all at once, so that the viewers are as enthusiastic of the next DNA scan as the criminologists themselves. Available in Pakistan on DVD.
— Omair Alavi
It is easy to assume that The Pink Panther would be an extended version of the cartoon by the same name. It is, however, none of that and although the film is no catastrophe, it is certainly quite a disappointment.
Sequels have never been the quality cinegoer’s cup of tea as they simply try to rehash or capitalize on the ideas that made their maiden ventures big. There is nothing wrong with having a sequel if it is done tastefully and aesthetically; juxtapositioning the “tried and tested” with a dash of originality every now and then.
The dawn of the new millennium brought a drastic, entertaining and pleasurable change in cop shows in the form of CSI — Crime Scene Investigation, which, currently in its 6th season, is still a force to reckon with because of its ability to engage the audience. The show is about the lives of the CSI division of the Las Vegas Police Department’s Forensic Unit and consists of an eclectic cast with varied personality traits, making character interactions very interesting.
