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Monday - April 30, 2007
Movie Mania
So over the past week, I've watched quite a few flicks. While none of them were terrible, some were definitely better than others. Here they are in no particular order.
Blood Diamond: Very good, Djimon Hounsou definitely should have gotten the Oscar instead of Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine. I'm starting to like Leo, despite some of his earlier acting choices.
Last King of Scotland: Probably the best out of the group. Forest Whitaker's portrayal of General Idi Amin was amazing... no wonder he won the Best Actor Oscar. It tells the story of a fictional doctor interwoven the historical backdrop of Amin's regime. The DVD contains some nice extras, including a documentary that highlights some of the changes they made to insert fiction into fact.
Shut Up & Sing: I admit that I have a fascination with documentaries, and this one was no different. It follows the Dixie Chicks and the aftermath of 'the incident'. Most people don't even remember the quote "Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.". Now I'll freely admit, that I'm not exactly a fan of Dubya, and wasn't really outraged with the original statement. If you are a strong supporter of the President, you will probably not like the film. Anybody else will be amazed by the story. Only downside is that occasionally the lead singer Natalie did get on my nerves. It also provides some insight into some of the music on their most recent album. It gives me chills when I hear the verse from Not Ready to Make Nice.
I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over
And finally since Lara was out of town this weekend, I picked up a couple thrillers that I know she would never watch with me.
Pulse: Although this flick was panned by most critics, I actually enjoyed it. Yes, some of the acting was quite bad (I'm looking at you Christina Milian). Most people complained about the 'look' of the film, but I thought it added to the gloom. It was supposed to be set in Ohio, but was filmed in Bucharest, Romania. As long as you can overlook that fact, it shouldn't be a huge stumbling block. I will admit that I really enjoy zombie/post-appocolype type movies, and while this doesn't exactly fall into either, it does have some related themes.
Sublime: I picked this one up on Xbox Live, which has the added benefit of being in HD. Sadly, this is probably the worst of the group. The preview seems very promising, and the first half of the movie is actually pretty decent. Unfortunately the surprise ending can be seen from a mile away. Also, the timeline jumps too much from past to present. It's not hard to follow, just annoying. Thomas Cavanagh (from TV's Ed) and the stunning Katherine Cunningham-Eves actually both do a good job of acting, but even they can't save the sinking ship. I didn't hate it, but I just wish it was better.
Posted by jcraven at April 30, 2007 11:17 AM