A few movie reviews

Queen of Light took her bow
And then she turned to go,
The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom
And walked the night alone.

Oh, dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morn-ing light.
The dark Lord rides in force tonight
And time will tell us all.

Led Zeppelin - Battle of Evermore

I've been meaning to write this for ages, but I wanted to wait till I got around to seeing The Last King of Scotland, which took me a while. So yeah, this is late as fuck. So be it. Here are my thoughts on some of the more critically acclaimed of last year's movies.

The Departed - so by now probably everyone's seen this one, and if you haven't, it's a Scorcese gangster pic based off a pre-existing Hong Kong movie titled Infernal Affairs. The movie was solid, even if Martin pretty much goes scene-for-scene with Infernal Affairs. The only differences really being the ending (and i preferred the original version to be honest) and the fact that at thirty minutes longer, Scorcese's characters are given a much greater (and much needed) depth. The real strength of the movie, though, are the actors. Nicholson, as always, steals every scene he's in. Mark Wahlberg is Mark Wahlberg (he won't steal the show but you know you're gonna get a decent job out of him). But the two main stars of the movie are Matt Damon and DiCaprio. Now I can't say I'm really a fan of either, but both delivered superb performances. Scorcese always seems to manage to get the best out of his actors. The Departed was strange for Scorcese in that it had wide commercial appeal, and ended up winning him the elusive best picture Oscar. Now, this was by no means Scorcese's best work (Gangs of New York, Taxi Driver, Casino and Goodfellas were all better, thought I did like it better than the extremely overrated Raging Bull), but it was time the man got acknowledged for his contribution to cinema. Hopefully, The Departed will lead fans to watch Scorcese's older films.

Blood diamond - Blood Diamond is an action/drama set in Africa starring DiCaprio, Djimon Houssou, and Jennifer Connelly. While Hounsou turns in an excellent performance and Connelly is quite attractive throughout the film, DiCaprio steals the show. I have to admit, I was impressed. Now as much as Titanic did for Leo's career, it also hurt him. It caused many (me included) into pigeon-holing him as a no-talent hack that was getting by solely on his looks (like the majority of female actresses in Hollywood). But with The Departed and Blood Diamond, DiCaprio proved his acting chops, andhe should have won the best actor Oscar (which he was nominated for). The movie itself was slightly above average. The problem for me was that going in I expected something more akin to the excellent Hotel Rwanda. And while the movie does lightly touch upon the socio-economic problems plaguing Africa, it is first and foremost an action flick. The end of the movie even features one of the msot cliched Hollywood endings. Don't get me wrong, the movie was quite good, just perhaps not what I was expecting. A little more Die Hard than I thought it would be. All-in-all, though, definitely worth a look.

Babel - without a doubt one of the most disappointing movies for me. The movie, about how we are all interconnected, ultimately fails cause, ironically, it's just too damn disconnected. It was trying to be a less-subtle version of Crash. The problem here is that the reason Crash was so powerful is that it didn't try to have any pretenses. You came in knowing Crash was about racial tensions and that's exactly what it delivered. Babel tried the more subtle route, which just doesn't work in this case. And if you thought some of the situations in Crash were slightly improbable, what about the circumstances in Babel? And really, did the movie actually show how we were all interconnected? If we did, I missed it. All that happened in the end was that the poor minorities got screwed over while everything worked out fine for the Americans. What the hell is that? The low-point of the movie was probably Cate Blanchett's character. She just wasn't very likable. And the Moroccan family, which had the most interesting of the four arcs, were not given enough air-time. And cal me old-fashioned, but I kinda would've liked to know what happened to everyone in the end instead of just having an abrupt ending. Babel tried to be a worldwide version of Crash, but Crash worked precisely because it was set in LA. Babel was a great attempt at a movie, but in the end it must be considered a failure.

The Last King of Scotland - The movie is a fictional-historical movie about a Scottish doctor in the regime of Idi Amin. I wanted to see the movie to catch Forest Whitaker's performance that I have heard so much of. I still can't believe that he went from Species 2 to wining best actor. How improbably is that shit?? He does do a truly epic performance though, and though I would have personally given the award to DiCaprio, it's hard to argue with Whitaker receiving it. The movie is good, if nothing too exciting. I mean, it's a historical drama. It is what it is. But Whitaker himself will keep you attentive and have you eagerly awaiting his next scene.

Children of Men - A sci-fi flick set in the post-apocalyptic future where man has ceased to be able to give birth. The movie is based off a the novel by PD James and has immediately moved to the top of my reading list. Directed by Alfonse Cuaron, the director of Y Tu Mama Tambien, the movie is beautiful in it's dark portrayal of the future. Though one can look at the movie in many lights, it is hard to ignore it's damning of humanity. Put pure and simple, this is not a happy movie. It will NOT lift your spirits. It's severely depressing. But it truly is an excellent film, which didn't receive the credit it deserves likely due to it being classified as "sci-fi". But the directing, the acting, the cinematography, and the art direction ensure that this is a movie that is sure to become more popular by word of mouth. Just an excellent, well-done movie that will both entertain you and make you question everything. An excellent cast featuring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and the always excellent Michael Caine do enough to drive the movie forward without stealing from the overall message of the film. I have no idea how a movie as good as this went this far under the radar. Check it out, but be warned you may need a couple beers after it.

Pan's Layrinth - And if Children of Men wasn't depressing enough for you, watch Pan's Labyrinth. It's hard to explain the exact plot fo the movie. It is set during the Spansih civil war of, I believe, the 1940s, and the foreign import is, quite simply, the best movie of 2006 that I've seen so far. It's both tragic and up-lifting at the same time. It contains a fantasy world to distract the mind, and a distinct anti-war message to bring one back to reality. Guillermo del Toro directs and does a masterful job. The script and story are excellent (though I'm sure much is lost in translation), and the special effects are something to behold. The various creatures throughout the movie are amazingly complex and detailed, and some are sure to creep you out. A movie that is brutal and raw... and just beautiful. Del Toro holds back nothing, and the movie will touch you. One of the most enjoyable movie experiences I've had in a while, though you will likely need a few pitchers of beer to feel better after seeing it. How Pan's Labyrinth failed to win best picture is beyond me.