Comfortable pair

in her shoes

Director: Curtis Hanson Cast: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine

5.5/10

The story of two sisters who cannot stay with or without each other. Having lost her mother at a very young age, Cameron grows up to be a dysfunctional school dropout who cannot even read properly, let alone keep a half-decent job. And every few months, she is found camping in her elder sister’s living room, broke, and with no place to go. Her sister on the other hand is the extra-cautious, extra-serious lawyer who photographs a sleeping lover to later show as proof to herself. She hates it when Cameron lives off her, littering her house, breaking her precious shoes. But loves her too much to turn her away. But when Cameron sleeps with her sister’s new boyfriend, things change a bit.

Reasonably humorous and sometimes touching, it will keep you smiling. Though the problems between the two get a bit repetitive, the pace picks up in the latter part of the film. Performances are decent, the pleasant surprise being Toni, who holds her own against the sexy as ever Cameron.

The two women make a fetching sibling pair, looking comfortable with each other. Not exactly award-winning, but a pleasant one-watch film.

Pooja Tolani

Watchable, if nothing else to do

things to do before you are 30

Director: Simon Shore Cast: Donna Alexander, Rosie Cavaliero, Darren Cheek, Sebastian J. Brook, Scott Bunce

4/10

ne knows what you are thinking. Yes, sex is uppermost in all their minds ? the bunch of Brits ? oops, did one mention that it’s an English production and not Hollywood? One guy wants a threesome experience, one is a closet gay, the others are straight but have messed-up personal lives.

But how wacky can you get? A man tries to explain to his son what a threesome is or if Mom is a lesbian because she is a lady who likes other ladies.

But there’s a catch. All these guys are desperate to do one thing ? now one knows that you are horribly offtrack ? to play their 500th football match before they turn 30. Wives and girlfriends come in the way, friendships turn sour, but their love for the game transcends all.

It’s not a great movie, no stars, no fancy director. But watch it, if only to find out whether the bunch succeeds.

Pallabi Biswas

Age-old message

umar

Director: Karan Razdan Cast: Jimmy Shergill, Prem Chopra, Kader Khan, Satish Kaushik, Shehnaz Treasurywalla

3/10

Is anyone interested in Karan Razdan’s stern message for the children of senior citizens? If there is, then he should see Umar for Razdan has stated his message loud and clear. Respect your parents and treat them well. There is a message for the elderly, too. Prove your worth and do not die a hundred deaths before you do that.

The 70-, or are they 80-plus, gentlemen pack in quite a lot of action. “Yeh haath haath nahin, hathoda hai,” roars Prem Chopra, the absolute nemesis of the villain. Why did Razdan pick the UK for the setting of his film? Apart from London, there is not much that he shot of the countryside.

Probably his social message has more relevance in the West! The script, the narrative, the songs, the cinematography are all suited for one another. As for the histrionics, why don’t the Prem Chopras and Kader Khans take into account their own umar?

Anasuya Basu

Fear in the air

red eye

Director: Wes Craven Cast: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy

5.5/10

Even the multiplex does not believe in this film, relegating it to a solitary poster on the sidewalls. Yet Wes Craven’s latest directorial venture emerges as a taut thriller, which shows his deft touch goes beyond provoking the horror of Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream.

Rachel McAdams plays a brisk hotel clerk flying back to work. During the airport wait she meets Cillian Murphy to exchange a brief drink and flirtation. Boarding, she finds him on the next seat but his intentions are not exactly romantic.

Forced to collaborate in an assassination plot by the threat to kill her father, Rachel superbly portrays the mouse that turns. At its best the film rides her fear as she seeks to thwart her co-passenger within the confines of a flying jet. At its worst it degenerates into a killer-in-the-house melodrama. Sharp observation, dialogue, camerawork and editing pace its 90 minutes of rising tension.

Sudip Mallik