MOVIE REVIEW

THE EQUALIZER

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Richard Wenk, Michael Sloan
Cast: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz
Strength: Acting, action and character development
Weakness: Slow plot development
Runtime:  131 minutes
Rating: 3.5/5
Plot: A man believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and has dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by - he has to help her.
Review: Denzel Washington lights up the screen once again, this time as the Equalizer.  This movie is based on the hit television series of the same name from the 1980s. It is about an ex-CIA operative who uses his special skills to help ordinary people who have no other recourse against the injustice they face. Though there are great choreographed fights, special effects and fantastic explosions, The Equalizer is more Bourne than Bond. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the man who brought us Training Day, The Equalizer is a gritty and violent, suspenseful and superb action film. This movie is very character-driven, and Denzel, who plays protagonist Robert McCall, gives another stellar performance. Robert McCall keeps to himself, content to live his ordinary life; he is every man's man. But, his steady moral compass, and strong sense of justice lead him back into the fray. This character is not infallible, and he is not looking for trouble. Most importantly, he is not a wise-cracking cop in the wrong place at the wrong time, but rather a quiet and complex character, whose sense of justice is awakened when a young girl is brutally beaten. This movie gives you everything you would want from an action film: guns, explosions and great effects. However, the violence and bloodshed in this movie are deserving of its R-rating, and create this film's authentic feel. It is not suitable for children. The only disappointment in the film is the inability of the bad guys to put up a proper fight; they seem to go down easy. The excellent performance by the cast is really the main reason to watch this movie, not the action. Chloe Grace Moretz, in an important role although she gets little screen time, offers a fantastic performance as well.

Reviewed by Zakir Mushtaque

***

CREATURE

Director: Vikram Bhatt
Writer: Vikram Bhatt
Cast: Bipasha Basu, Imran Abbas, Mukul Dev
Strength: Innovative graphic effects
Weakness: Script, story, character development
Runtime:  134 minutes
Rating: 1.5/5
Plot: People visit a newly-opened lodge in deep forest, but they find something unexpected waiting for them.
Review: Although marketed as a horror film, the movie's predictable plot and development along with lack of suspense factors ensure that the chill factor in this movie is zero. Creature will be a disappointment to fans of the horror genre. After opening a forest resort in the middle of dense jungle, Ahana (played by Bipasha Basu) finds her life turned upside down by brahm-rakshash, a monster who creates a havoc among the visiting tourists. From the director of horror films like 1920 and Raaz series, Vikram Bhatt disappoints once again with his lame and over-melodramatic drama. The movie does have a new concept introduced in Indian Cinema in the form of an animated antagonist, the creature, but that does little to overshadow the many unappealing factors that appear throughout the movie. The film had no spooky moments and will remind you of the early 80's Ramsay' classics like Purana Mandir and Veerna which had C-grade actors, blazing lights and big-old broken houses. The 'love breaks' are annoyingly intrusive. Pakistani star Imran Abbas is as decorative to the goings-on as the leading ladies used to be in Amitabh Bachchan's action era in the 1980s. This is the third time Bhatt and Bipasha have teamed up in the making of a movie, and the only silver lining is the better-than-usual acting performance by Bipasha Basu.

Reviewed by Broti Rahman

***

CLASSIC REVIEW

CITIZEN KANE (1941)

Director: Orson Welles
Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane
Runtime: 119 minutes
Strength: Cinematography, narrative structure, acting, attention to detail, music
Plot: After the lonely death of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, his last uttered word sparks curiosity in the mind of a newspaper reporter, causing him to seek out Kane's near ones in the hope of unraveling the mystery behind the enigmatic word.
Review: The protagonist was modeled after a real-world person – William Randolph Hearst. Welles has symbolized America through Kane, who despite reiterating how strongly he's an American at heart, eventually deviates from his ideals  into the lustful clutches of power. The predominantly jovial nature of the first half serves as a harbinger for the onset of the tragedy. Since this narrative structure was novel and undoubtedly a bit confusing for the Hollywood audience, hints and reminders are provided to keep them wary of events of future significance. The film further portrays how the inherent frustration resulting from a caring parent creates impositions on the child, in the process make him part with his happy memories, and end up subconsciously turning him into his own worst enemy. The unique palette of cinematography and narrative structure, alongside its poignant and tragic story has long established Citizen Kane as somewhat a “benchmark of film production” and the greatest film ever made (to have been displaced by Vertigo). Welles has proven to seasoned directors what even relatively inexperienced and much younger minds driven by passion and self-expression are capable of pulling. The spectacular crew along with its brilliant director has enabled Citizen Kane to have invented “a whole new cinematic vocabulary.”

Reviewed by Ahmed Adib