Sky High
Director: Mike Mitchell
Cast: Michael Angarano, Kelly Preston, Kurt Russel, Danielle Panabaker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
5.5/10
Every teen has his troubles and if you are a superteen, troubles usually come in twos. For Will Stronghold they appear first in the form of expectant superhero parents, and then as a pair of jealous superhero girlfriends, one of whom turns out to be the super-villain. Nor does it help when, armed with a super-pacifier, she turns his parents and teachers into chubby babies.
Sky High is the Marvel comics version of Hogwarts, located above the clouds and accessible only by super-buses that fly the last lap. There is a spoof in there somewhere, and possibly a moral or two, but the Walt Disney presentation is primarily a well-enacted lark, in which Heroes and Sidekicks battle gadgetry, wizardry, peer pressure, dating blues and each other to reach a happy ending. A smoothly made film that is quite witty at times. You don’t have to believe it to see it.
Sudip Mallik
Enter the new dragon
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Cast: Tony Jaa, Patchtai Wongkamlao, Punwaree Yodkamol, Suchao Ponguilai
4.5/10
He could have been Govinda in the simple village boy act, as armed with a taviz and a vow to bring back the stolen moorti head, for therein lies the prosperity of the village, he sets off for the city. But Govinda would have shed a few tears as well, Tony Jaa the muay thai martial art hero looks deadpan.
With that look he could have been Mohit Ahlawat as he fights through the barest minimum plot in this Pinkaew film, invincible absolutely. Though low on substance, Mohit’s film was high on style, at least. Pinkaew’s take on Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films is low on both.
But the way Tony dodges anything and everything and jumps anywhere and everywhere, as chased by a group of hoodlums he runs through the streets of Bangkok, totally unaided by special effects or computer graphics, makes it worth sitting through the rest of the film, which in its simple village vs bad city morals resembles a stereotype Hindi flick, made decades ago.
Deepali Singh
