MOVIE REVIEW

KICK

Directors: Sajid Nadiadwala
Writers: Vakkantham Vamsi, Rajat Arora
Stars: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Runtime: 146 minutes
Strength: Action sequences, Salman Khan's acting
Rating: 2.5/5

Plot: An adrenaline junkie walks away from a whirlwind romance and embraces a new life as a thief.
Review: The first thing you should know about Kick is that it is an outrageously silly film. It lurches from a thwarted love story to infantile comedy to slick action to shamelessly manipulative melodrama without any attempt at coherence or consistency.  The plot, as befits a Salman Khan spectacle, is completely and delightfully cuckoo. Devi Lal Singh (Salman Khan) is a guy who wanders about searching for kicks. His father (Mithun Chakraborty) eggs him on in his pursuit. Devi runs into the sexy Shaina (Jacqueline Fernandez), but before anything can happen, he's off and away. It's time for Devi's alter-ego, Devil, to show up, and be chased by a cop (Hooda), and a crook (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) here and there and everywhere. Never mind these niceties. We know that a Salman film is created solely to display his popular quirks and his one-liners which are designed to send his fans into a swoon. When the story dares to fling such complex phrases as 'retrograde amnesia' and 'conservative management' at us, we fling them right back as we wait for Salman to slam it.
Are you following this story? It doesn't matter because a Salman Khan film isn't about the plot. It's about Salman, who once again plays his signature persona — a charming, playful, slightly crooked superman with a heart of gold. What's fun is that Salman is in on the joke. He's aware that he's on the screen not to deliver a performance but to give us a good time.

Reviewed by: S.M. Intisab Shahriyar

***

TREE  HOUSE

Director: Michael Bartlett
Writers:  Alex Child, Miles Harrington
Stars: Dana Melanie, J. Michael Trautmann, Clint James
Strength: Story and cinematography
Weakness: Screenplay and low production values, as expected from an independent film
Rating: 2/5

Plot: A teenage boy discovers the perpetrators of several brutal kidnappings in his home town.
Review: More psychological than a horror film, Treehouse is a low-budget and small film making success even if it stumbles at its conclusion. Two teenaged brothers stumble upon an abandoned treehouse while breaking town curfew in the middle of a desolate forest. In Treehouse, the town is on high alert and a strictly enforced curfew when a brother and sister go missing from their home. When they find the missing girl hiding up in the treehouse the teens sense something is seriously wrong. Alex Child and Miles Harrington smartly cultivate a believable story that is originally done. Actions and events that unfold around the main characters, portrayed by Dana Melanie and J. Michael Trautmann, are thoughtful and attempt to be as practical as possible so as not to distract the viewer. Director Michael Bartlett should be proud of the menacing mood he is able to create through austere open shots and expert manipulation and utilization of light. The dialogue was not great for most of the film and the actors did commendably well for their age though a below-average performance. Treehouse ends on a sour note that is illogical,and confounding – not a devastating decision just a sigh-inducing one. Treehouse is definitely a small and independently made film that should be commended for its success and not criticized for being improperly labeled as a horror. Although the production values are low, if you like good old fashioned intrigue and anticipation in a film that makes you wait before revealing its secrets, then Treehouse is worth the watch.

Reviewed by Mohammad Haque

***

CLASSIC REVIEW

BEN-HUR (1959)

Director: William Wyler
Screenplay: Alec Coppel, Samuel A. Taylor
Stars: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins
Runtime: 212 minutes

Plot: An epic tale of betrayal and revenge witha strong religious conclusions of hope, redemption and forgiveness.
Review: Published in the aftermath of the American Civil war, General Lew Wallace's epic goes down in history as one of the greatest films ever made. For the late 50s' Ben-Hur was the most expensive film of the decade, at $15 million, released in 1959 this goliath of a movie took more than six years to plan, and required a cast of 15,000. The film opens with a look at the birth of Christ, then begins in Judea where, Messala (Stephen Boyd) enters the city as the newly appointed Roman Tribune who used to live there as the protagonist Juda Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston)'s childhood friend. Messala is under orders to crush the Jewsish uprising, Ben-Hur, opposes and gets falsely convicted of a crime and sentenced to the gallows, while his mother and sister are sent to prison. The film then takes a smooth turn from betrayal to kindness, when Roman admiral Quintus Arrius, orders his solders to unchain the protagonist, who in turn saves the admiral's life when the ship goes down.  Later, Ben-Hur's sentence is forgiven by the Roman Emperor, leading him into a life of chariot racing. After earning his freedom our hero heads back towards Judea to seek revenge and finally gets his chance during the chariot race, one of the greatest action sequences of all time. The film then ends on a rather religious note as it highlights the life of Christ throughout and brings forward a message of hope, redemption and forgiveness. The film was released in 1959 and was nominated for 12 and took home 11 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Color Cinematography, Best Color Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Sound, Best Score, Best Film Editing, Best Color Costume Design and Best Special Effects.

Reviewed by Waleed K. Rajamiya