The Last King of Scotland
Tuesday, August 12, 2008


Forrest Whitaker is awesome. Period.

This film is supposed to be about Idi Amin, seen through the eyes of a nascent Scottish doctor. Granted, James McAvoy plays a cute, naive, and well intentioned Dr. Nicholas Garrigan. He doesn't realize how deep the doo-doo he's in, until it is nearly too late.

In my humble opinion, Forrest Whitaker owns this movie from the moment he appears on screen. He's compelling, scary, unpredictable, canny, and paranoid. One wonders what he's going to do next.

This Idi Amin has a menacing quality mixed with latent charm. Why? The guy is huge. He makes Dr. Garrigan (McAvoy) a child, in every sense of the word.

For me, there is no other reason to watch this film than to see Forrest Whitaker's performance.

Dr. Garrigan likes women, especially native African women. Without giving away the plot, his little head gets him into trouble. Big trouble.

Kerry Washington, as always, was lovely in this film. She plays Amin's third wife, Kay.

By the way, this film is not a true story.

Educational tip (at least for me): Amin was a Muslim with many wives. I had heard about him, the number of people killed under his rule, and other horror stories. In 2003, after living in exile and comfort in Saudi Arabia, he passed away. Got that? Unlike the thousands of people he had slaughtered, this dictator died of old age.


Useless fan fact: As an ex-New Yorker, I've seen my share of the famous.

I saw Forrest Whitaker, many many years ago in Manhattan. There he was strolling down 9th Avenue, a big guy with no entourage. What I can recall, and liked the most about him, is that he did not wear a, 'You know who I am?' smirk on his face. Instead, he makes eye contact, and that's it. Nice.

Labels: Forrest Whitaker, Kerry Washington, The Last King of Scotland

posted by GoldenAh
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The Dark Knight
Monday, August 4, 2008


I expected to see more of Health Ledger as The Joker. I wasn't disappointed by his performance. He wasn't the sole focal point I expected. This movie was a heady-duty ensemble piece. I would say that if they didn't have all these characters the film could have been tighter. The Joker was enough.

The surprise is that the film didn't feel long. With some movies I feel like I should have brought a pillow. Then again, I walk in just as the credits roll or the film starts.

May I say how hot Christian Bale is?

It's a shame too, because there is absolutely no chemistry between Christian Bale and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Zip, zilch, nada. Hey dudes, try a Latina, or black woman next time - at least to make it interesting! Kerry Washington would be a fantastic pick.

Christoperh Nolan, the director, and whoever the producers are, need to study up on the James Bond films. Bond has massive sex appeal - along with being deadly - that's why the franchise has lasted so long. Not saying this film wont break records, I like logical continuity and development of a character.

This movie is excellent. It is, however, not a film for anyone under 13 or 14 years old. There's hardly any blood, but the suggested violence had me flinching, and I'm a veteran of nihilistic gory films.

Aaron Eckhart (another hotness) as Harvey Dent was another "hero" in contrast to Batman. He is day light (knight) - in personality and temperament - to Batman's dark night (knight).

Get it? Wickedly and deliciously, the roles reverse.

Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne shows very little character in this film, unlike the first. To me, he's become one dimensional. I blame it on the movie having too many characters: they weren't necessary. Heath Ledger as The Joker did not steal this film: Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent did.

The contrasts: blond, cleft-chined Harvey Dent was the open, willing, non-masked, non-caped crusader for justice. He was focused on fighting the good fight and he wasn't afraid of dying.

The clever scheme: The Joker was able to make the case, to a fickle public, that The Batman, caped crusader, masked, unknown and protected was the real menace to society and coward.

The conundrum: The Joker cleverly corners Batman. How does one fight a madman who thrives on chaos and violence? The irony of this film - that violence is all Batman has to offer, exposes an elemental flaw.

This Batman is too much brute strength, violence, high tech tools, and not enough brain.

Christopher Nolan forgets that part of Batman's winning appeal and arsenal of weapons is his intelligence. He can give us riveting contrasts to Batman, but he neglects Bruce Wayne's brilliance.

I would appreciate if the next director and writer could remember that Batman isn't just a violent buff vigilante, he's a clever one too.

As always, I'm impressed by British and Australian actors who speak American dialect(s) so flawlessly and easily.

Labels: Aaron Eckhart, Batman, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Joker

posted by GoldenAh
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