MOVIE REVIEW

JOLLY L.L.B

Director: Subhash Kapoor
Cast: Boman Irani, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao
Genre: Drama
Duration: 130 minutes
Strengths: Jolly LLB isn't a comedy - despite jokes about 'appeal' spelled as 'apple' and Jolly telling Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists he's Maskhar-e-Taiba.
Weakness:  Predictable story, Very slow first half
Showbiz Rating: 3/5
Plot:  When a rich Delhi kid, accused of mowing down six pavement dwellers with his speeding car, is let off for lack of evidence, a small-time lawyer spots an opportunity and gets the case reopened. Lawyer Jagdish Tyagi 'Jolly' dreams of making it big like his advocate idol Tejinder Rajpal.
Review: Jolly LLB is a serious movie, showcasing the arrogance of the rich, the helplessness of the poor and the corruption of the law. Jolly (Warsi) is a struggling mofussil lawyer, itching for big-city deals. He convinces girlfriend Sandhya (Rao, attractive and effective in her hot schoolmarm-avataar) and hits Delhi's District and Sessions Court where his 'office' is a desk under the sky. Jolly flounders about until he meets the super-polished, super-successful Tejinder Rajpal (Irani), arguing the 'victimization' of his rich client Rahul Dewan, whose Land Cruiser's run over six labourers on a footpath. An eye-witness appears - Jolly files a PIL. What happens when Rajpal replies using cash?
Rather like its protagonist, Jolly LLB's first half meanders a bit, featuring a clumsy 'daaru' song and a Meerut that mysteriously hides - but boy, does its second half hammer things home. With crackling scenes between Jolly versus Rajpal (Irani deadly smooth, like velvet soaked in blood) and Rajpal versus judge Tripathi (Shukla in a brilliant show, hysterically yelling, "Gavel kidhar rakha hai?!", thundering at Rajpal, "Sit down! Ye mera court hai, aapka club nahin!"), the action becomes electric. Drama builds as Jolly (Warsi, highly endearing and impressive) finds his voice. Jolly's astonishment at Rajpal's callousness - "Footpath sone ke liye nahin hai" - Jolly responding, "Footpath gaadi chalane ke liye bhi nahin hai!", mirrors the aam aadmi's bewilderment and determination to fight. Jolly LLB works because of its bigger point - decency is for all and worth fighting for. Using bittersweet satire and plot twirls, the film shows corruption even used against the corrupt. Despite that weaker first half, this truly becomes a Jolly good show.

Reviewed by Broti Rahman

***

CHANDER PAHAR

Director: Kamaleshwar Mukherjee
Writer: Bibhutibushan Bandyopadhyay
Cast: Dev, Gérard Rudolf, Martin Cito Otto
Runtime: 148 Minutes
Strength: Dev's acting
Weakness: Too lengthy
Showbiz rating: 4/5
Plot: Recently completing his FA, a young Bengali takes up an adventure of a lifetime in Africa in the years 1909-1910.
Review: When a movie is an adaptation of a book, the expression of the viewer is almost always the same; “Nope! It is nothing like the book – it is just not working…” Chander Pahar has overcome the expression with flying colours. There is not much difference between film and the book by Bibhutibushan Bandyopadhyay. It is a fast paced movie with great book-to-movie adaptation. The great cinematography by Soumik Haldar has to be seen to be appreciated – he has done amazing work with his camera. The first act of the film is a bit slow – honestly, a shorter runtime would've made it a smarter film. Scouting over the Kolkata movie industry, Shankar, the protagonist played by Dev felt like the only choice for the film makers. The way Dev moulds himself into the character of Shankar is something to watch, and the director utilizes the screen presence of Dev well. The last act of the film is almost solely carried by Dev's acting. The movie couldn't have a ground without the way Dev presented Shankar's loneliness and dealing with experiences of death. The extra point in rating the movie is only for Dev. When it comes to graphics and technicality, the movie loses its ground a few times. There also could've been a little more spice in the screenplay. From start to the end, the constant narration by the direction becomes a tad boring. Diego Alvarez played by Rudolph could've been a better job, but these are forgivable flaws given the story and the overall production values. The movie as a whole is a great watch, and the African tone embedded in the music and background score add to the ambience of the film. The movie demands praise for Dev's brilliant acting and for Kamaleshwar Mukherjee's directorial performance in presenting us with a good Bangla movie.

Reviewed by Showbiz Desk

***

Director: David O. Russell
Writer: Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence
Run time: 138 minutes
Strength: Acting; versatile cast
Weakness:  Story; no real message or concluding morale
Star Showbiz rating: 4.5/5
Plot: A brilliant con-man Christian Bale, who, along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Amy Adams is forced to work for a wild FBI agent - Bradley Cooper. Jeremy Renner is the passionate, volatile, New Jersey politician who gets caught between the con-artists and feds.
Review: It is hard to point out any traditional good guy in American Hustle. It deals with con-artists, FBI agents willing to do anything to make a name and politician who wants to be popular at any means. Done in a film-noir style, with a star-studded cast, American Hustle presents a storyline that both engaging and entertaining, but with no real message or concluding morale. Once again, Christian Bale showed how far he would go to make a character believable. Small trivia here; Christian Bale achieved the physical traits of his character by gaining over 40 pounds, getting a comb-over and slouching his posture and ended up herniating two of his disks in the process. Amy Adams came out of her usual shell of a cute romantic dame; she plays a seductress willing to do anything. Arriving into film industry late, Bradley Cooper is maturing in each and every new movie. Jealous and vindictive with whole lot of innocence, Jennifer Lawrance's role brings more insanity into the storyline. Jeremy Renner is probably the saner of characters of the movie and he demands sympathy from us, although, again, he is not entirely a good guy. Acting and drama is where American Hustle steals the show, especially in the case of Christian Bale. Bradley Cooper was brilliant as well - there wasn't a single person that didn't pull their weight, and it makes the film's more-than-2-hour-length fly by. There's not much physical action, but the drama of the film is so well handled that action simply isn't necessary. A great soundtrack with songs of blues and rock reminds us of a period of bell-bottomed jeans and gold-chains. It's no doubt that American Hustle will be a strong contender in many categories for upcoming film awards.

Reviewed by Zia Nazmul Islam