MOVIE REVIEW

GOYENDA GOGOL

Directed: Arindam Dey
Written by: Samaresh Basu
Cast: Ahijit Ghosh, Indraneil Sengupta, Rachana Banarjee
Run time: 111 minutes
Strength: Child actors
Weakness:  Not for adults
Star Showbiz rating: 1/5
Plot: During the holiday, a child sleuth comes across a haunted house. He comes to know that people, once they go inside the house, disappear mysteriously. The curious kid sets out on a mission to seek the real story.
Review: Giving a thought of apprehension, the movie kicks off with a family's visit to Puri's beach, where the raging wind compels their pestilent entrance to a house known to the locals as the Hana Bari. Ultimately, they consecutively disappear within the house. This haunted effect runs over the veins of the movie. The enactment of an adolescent detective was alluring and the charismatic depiction of the detective connected us to the character further.
All through the movie, the kid had the anxious excitement of comprehending unresolved situations. It might seem a bit unnerving seeing the kid eyeing on the Hana Bari and his chase of exploring it. This could be interesting to some, while others might seek for maturity in this conscious role. Swinging with the flow of the movie, the antagonist couldn't really throw the vicious effect in comparison to the child, who spawned the suspense at every sequence.
There were characters that drifted their existence in almost every sequence, which wasn't a treat to the eye. The protagonist and the antagonist had many scenes together, which gave a feeling of instant revealing of
suspense. The torch being the instrument and the child being the victim, carrying it all through made the movie somewhat thought-provoking. Science fiction, detective books have always been a geek's passion, which brought a geeky child into the role. This movie will definitely enchant kids, but it might be interesting to elderly people who maintain interests for children's movies at heart.

Reviewed by Zia Nazmul Islam

***

Don Jon

Directed by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Written by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore
Run time: 90 minutes
Strength: Strong acting, bold expressions, engaging storytelling
Weakness:  Centred around addiction to pornographic films; only for adults and not a family movie
Star Showbiz rating: 3.5/5
Plot: Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to "pull" a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn't compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected romantic comedy.
Review: No longer a taboo, the subject of sex/porn addiction has provided the driving force for a diverse array of movies recently. Gordon-Levitt plays Jon, who has his life and his priorities neatly figured out, one of which is his daily obsession of watching pornographic films. When he finally meets the girl of his dreams (Scarlett Johansson), he promises to put aside the porn, but can't do so any more than she can renounce the dopey Hollywood love stories that fuel her own self-centred dreams. Only when he starts to connect with a night-school classmate (Julianne Moore) who has experienced both the pleasure and pain of genuine human interaction does Jon begin to understand what it means to lose yourself in someone else. Refreshingly frank about the perils of commodification and objectification, Don Jon is a snappily directed affair that benefits hugely from Moore's terrifically grounding presence. In other hands, her crucial role could be as trite and cliched as the macho rituals that define the first act. In the end, the movie is a heartwarming tale about twenty-something guy lost in sex, who is finally awakening to the feelings of true love for the first time in life.

Reviewed by Zakir Mushtaque

***

Club 60

Director: Sanjay Tripathy
Stars: Farooque Sheikh, Sarika, Raghubir Yadav
Length: 137 minutes
Strengths: Strong emotions portrayed; great lead actors, mainly Farooque Shaikh
Weakness:  Predictable story, weak supporting cast
Showbiz Rating: 2.5/5
Plot: A couple in their 60's loses their only son to gun violence in the US. With no reason to live and nobody to love, the two almost give up on life until they bump into the jovial members of Club 60.
Review: After the untimely death of their only son, neurosurgeon, Dr Tariq Sheikh (Farooque Sheikh) and his wife Dr Saira (Sarika) are unable to put the pieces of their broken life together. Tariq suffers from depression, while Saira struggles to cope with her husband's suicidal tendencies. In an attempt to make a fresh start in life and to get rid of the 'nothingness' that haunts them, they shift to Mumbai from Pune. More than the city's distractions, it's their loud neighbour Manubhai (Raghubir Yadav), who manages to kill the deafening silence that plagues them with his somewhat annoying yet adorable antics. Manu bhai introduces Tariq to members of his sports club - where life begins at 60.
Club 60 has its heart in the right place. Sanjay Tripathy makes an earnest attempt to reach out to the elderly, who seek purpose in life. This one scene in particular where Saira doubts her longing for her son is heartbreaking. Farooque Sheikh and Sarika are outstanding. They prove what a huge role and huge difference, a 'good casting' makes in cinema. They hold the film together with their presence, even as the film deviates from tragedy to the unwanted naughty antics of the oldies.
Guess the intention was to show mischief but the club members eying women of all ages and cracking jokes with sexual innuendo, makes them look way too lecherous for your liking. We wish the supporting characters were more defined and sincere. You don't feel much for anyone except for the lead couple. Club 60 is essentially a heartrending tale of a couple, coping with an irreparable loss. In spite of the flaws, you can watch it solely for the immensely talented Farooque Shaikh and the sublime Sarika.

Reviewed by Broti Rahman