LATEST REVIEWS

[Angel]

Hey guys, plz post reviews of latest hollywood movies here :)



Film review: Monster-In-Law
By: Tushar Joshi


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*YUCK **WHATEVER ***GOOD ****SUPER *****AWESOME


Hollywood’s saas-bahu jhagda



Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan and Jennifer Lopez in Monster-In-Law
Monster-In-Law **
Dir: Robert Luketic
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes

Plot: This one seems inspired from our desi saas-bahu soaps. An overprotective mother (Jane Fonda as Viola) refuses to let go of son Kevin (Michael Vartan) out of insecurity for a twenty-something lass, Charlie (Jennifer Lopez). Taking cues from Julia Robert’s My Best Friend’s Wedding and J-Lo’s The Wedding Planner, Monster-In-Law is more like a rehash of successful romantic comedies of the past few years.

Acting: Everyone knows J-Lo is a better singer than actor. However, in this film, she pleasantly surprises you with her comic timing. Jane Fonda tries to do a Barbara Striesand (in Meet the Fockers) and even succeeds in reminding us that the actress is brilliant at comedy.

What’s hot: Even though most of the gags and one-liners seem borrowed from movies with similar plots, they work at a certain level. Fonda’s return to the big screen after more than a decade needs to be applauded. Letting go of her uptightness, she lets the director and the script mould her the way they want to. Sinking into the skin of the evil Viola, who will do anything to keep Charlie at bay, is an amazing sight for sore eyes.

What’s not: Jennifer Lopez as Charlie is exactly similar to every other character she has played in every film she’s done to date (except The Cell perhaps). This Jenny is trying too hard to prove she’s a regular girl from the block.

Bottom line: If you enjoyed Meet the Fockers, but found some of its gags over-the-top, and want a milder version of the same, then Monster-In-Law will serve the purpose. And don’t be surprised if we find an adaptation of the film in Bollywood real soon!

[Angel]

Film review: Flight Plan
By: Tushar Joshi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*YUCK **WHATEVER ***GOOD ****SUPER *****AWESOME

Turbulent flight



A still from Flight Plan
Flight Plan ** 1/2
Dir: Robert Schwentke
Cast: Jodie Foster, Sean Bean, Peter Sarsgaard

Plot: Kyle (Jodie Foster) is grieving the loss of her husband in a freak accident in Berlin. She has a daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), who she escorts on a flight to New York; the plane is also carrying the dead body of her husband.

At a height of 40,000 feet, after settling themselves in, mother and daughter decide to nap; but when Kyle awakens, she finds that Julia has vanished. She then turns the plane into a search-and-rescue for her daughter.

Acting: There’s something about Jodie Foster that attracts you to her films. There’s this edgy, hysterical shade, which each of her characters bear. In Flight Plan, she’s stuck in a situation that isn’t new to her. Exactly three years ago, Foster panicked in a room to save her daughter’s life (David Fincher’s Panic Room).

Here, she’s on a plane doing the same, but looking older and a bit too tired to fret and fume. Peter Sarsgaard in the role of air marshal Gene Carson has quite a lot to do in the latter half; in the first, he is mostly stuck to his seat, narrow eyes taking in the scene. Sean Bean impresses with his minuscule role as the pilot.

What’s hot: The premise of a child going missing in an airplane is interesting enough to keep you glued to the screen. The second half, where the story gathers pace, makes up for the slow first.

What’s not: The script is the major culprit, as it tries to figure out what it wants to play on. The missing girl, a woman losing her life-partner post 9/11, on an US-bound plane, are some of the angles the film keeps swinging between. Also, the introduction of an Arab character as a passenger on the plane raises more chuckles than conveying seriousness.

Bottom line: Flight Plan makes a decent watch, if you are a Jodie Foster fan who loves watching her stuck in situations that are complicated and unwarranted.