MOVIE REVIEW

WILD CARD

Director: Simon West
Writers: William Goldman
Stars: Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Dominik García-Lorido
Strength: Acting, action and fight choreography
Weakness: Story and plot development
Runtime: 92 minutes
Rating: 3/5
Plot: When a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem gets in trouble with the mob, he has one last play...and it's all or nothing.
Review: Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When a friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss. Suddenly Nick is plunged into the criminal underworld, chased by enforcers and wanted by the mob. To add to his troubles, when he goes too far and loses the biggest hand he has ever owned, it seems that there is no way out for Nick. Wild Card has been a passion project of Jason Statham's for several years, the actor having even secured Brian De Palma for the director's chair at one point. With De Palma stepping away, Statham enlisted the competent but much less exciting Simon West with whom he'd already collaborated on The Mechanic and The Expendables 2. From its top notch cast to its look and pacing, Wild Card feels like it wants to be a gritty drama, a moody character piece with bursts of action and well-choreographed fights. Unfortunately it never quite reaches the heights of its ambitions, the film being unable to conjure up something special, unexpected, original enough to put it over the top. But that doesn't mean that the film is not an entertainer. The film draws you into this world easily and convincingly. The acting is very strong and the characters are pretty appealing. The writing is sharp. While there are only but a few of them, the action scenes, handled by Hong Kong legend and frequent Statham collaborator Cory Yuen, are incredible and memorable. All this makes for a perfectly serviceable film but one unfortunately stuck between two worlds. Which makes it quite a shame that Brian De Palma backed out of the project as his style would have no doubt elevated Wild Card to something pretty fascinating.

Reviewed by Mohammad Haque

***

HERO
THE SUPERSTAR (2014)

Director: Bodiul Alam Khokon
Writers: Kashem Ali Dulal, Lawrence Raghavendra
Cast: Shakib Khan, Eamin Haque Bobby, Apu Biswas, Amit Hasan, Misha Sawdagor
Strength: Story and script
Weakness: Makeup and costumes
Runtime: 160 minutes
Rating: 2/5
Plot: A young man and his lookalike team up to fight injustice and settle their personal scores with the evildoers.
Review: The story revolves around the character Hira (Shakib Khan) who is a software engineer by profession and a generally good hearted person. While visiting the house of the local neighborhood ruffian Salma Khan to save his uncle, he sees Priya (Apu Biswas), who turns out to be Salma's sister, and falls instantly in love. Word reaches Salma that Priya's new boyfriend Hira is from a rival gang and plots to have him killed. Salma Khan puts her men on Hira's trail and arrives at a place where they plan to kill him, but things don't go as planned as Salma Khan Witnesses the killing of a Minister by Hira. Puzzled at the sight of the murder, Salma Khan sends her entourage to investigate about Hira. Later on, a CBI officer (Shiba Shanu) comes barging into Salma Khan's residence and takes her into custody. Once under police custody, she finds out that Hira is wanted for the murder of several gang members, much to the astonishment of everybody.
The movie presents a lot of the tried and true vengeance plotlines from lots of other productions. The characters conflicting actions will give audience constant surprises and Shakib Khan has done yet another great job in upholding his character in the movie. Hero the Superstar is all about the Hero himself, Shakib khan. He portrayed both characters perfectly. Misha Sawdagor also did a very good job portraying the villain. The movie may utilize some used up ideas but the plot twist makes this movie watchable.

Reviewed by Abdullah Al Amin (Rubel)

***

TOOTSIE (1982)

Director: Sydney Pollack
Writers: Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr
Runtime: 116 minutes

Plot: An unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult disguises himself as a woman to get a role in a soap opera.
Review: Hoffman stars as Michael Dorsey, a character maybe not unlike Hoffman himself in his younger days. Michael is a New York actor, bright, aggressive, talented - and unemployable. Michael has a bad reputation for taking stands, throwing tantrums, and interpreting roles differently than the director. He goes with a friend (Teri Garr) to an audition for a soap opera. The character is a middle-aged woman working as hospital administrator. When his friend doesn't get the job, Michael goes home, thinks, decides dresses up in drag and goes to an audition himself. And, improvising brilliantly, he gets the role.
Dustin Hoffman is actually fairly plausible as "Dorothy," the actress. If his voice isn't quite right, a Southern accent allows it to squeak by. The wig and the glasses are a little too much, but in an uncanny way the woman played by Hoffman looks like certain actual drag queens.
Michael Dorsey finds to his interest and amusement that Dorothy begins to take on a life of her own. She's a liberated eccentric, a woman who seems sort of odd and funny at first, but grows on you and wins your admiration by standing up for what's right. One of the things that bothers Dorothy is the way the soap opera's sexist director (Dabney Coleman) mistreats the attractive young actress (Jessica Lange) who plays Julie, a nurse on the show. Dorothy and Julie become friends. Dorothy's problem, however, is that the man inside her is gradually growing uncontrollably in love with Julie. There are other complications. Julie's father (Charles Durning), a gruff, friendly, no-nonsense sort, lonely but sweet, falls in love with Dorothy.
The movie manages to make some lighthearted but well-aimed observations about sexism. It also pokes satirical fun at soap operas, New York show business agents and the Manhattan social pecking order. And it turns out to be a touching love story, after all - so touching that you may be surprised how moved you are at the conclusion of this comedy.

Reviewed By S.M. Intisab Shahriyar