azguki Blog

Under discussion:

The Last King of Scotland  (2006)

   The first time I watched this was on a Sunday afternoon about 3 months ago and I think I was interrupted a few times.  I remember being happy for Forest Whitaker winning the Oscar (I will never forget his absolutely brilliant cameo in The Color of Money), but I was also a little disappointed that Ryan Gosling didn't get it (Half Nelson was probably the best movie I saw out of all the Oscar hopefuls). 

    But upon a second, uninterrupted,  viewing of this film last night, I can firmly say that I have a much better appreciation for it.  Not only are all of the performances perfect, it details what must have been one of the most intense times and places of the last fifty years.  I love a good fish-out-water story (being a white man in Asia myself) and watching McAvoy's astonishment at all things African,before realizing it isn't the grand adventure theme park he anticpated, seems 100% realistic and believable to me.  I wonder how much of his character's story is based on fact. 

     Before I close this down, I have to rave about Kerry Washington!!!  Not only is she beyond beautiful, but she has to be one of the most talented young actresses out there now.  Look at her in The Dead Girl.  Yeah!  That's the same girl.

Under discussion:

The Condemned  (2007)

  Vinnie Jones was the only thing that made this watchable.  Actually, the only reason I bought it was because the guy was selling 6 DVDs for $10 on the sidewalk in Phnom Penh and I had run out of options.  I JUST LOVED the critic's quote on the front of the pirated copy "It seems as though thinking hurts Steve Austin's head.  Watching him certainly hurts mine."   Aren't those blurbs supposed to entice one to watch the film?  hahahahahaaaaa

Under discussion:

The Road Warrior  (1981)

     Last night I watched THE ROAD WARRIOR for the first time in probably six years.  I cannot believe that this film is 25 years old. It works better today than 99% of the action movies I've seen in the last five years.  For an action film, this is close to flawless.  Where are you when we need you George Miller?  The savagery is not only believable, it's downright eerie.  Everything in this movie works!  This costumes, the actors, the story, and the tone are all pitch perfect and flow in perfect harmony with one another.  There are also stunts in this film that would scare the living **** out of half of the stuntmen working today.  No CGI here, folks!  Nothing to see here but pure testosterone.   Throw in the whole post-apocolyptic backdrop and you have a sure-fire winner.  I absolutely love it.  Isn't it great when you are reminded of the movies you loved as a kid,  and then discover they are just as good now as they ever were?      

(did anything ever come of the talk about Mad Max 4?........i heard the name was going to be Fury Road, but that was about two years ago)