thane of winchester
Oct. 5th, 2006 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
molly_oLast night we went to see "Last King of Scotland." It's a great movie, but *frustrating* -- frustrating partly on an "issues" level, because it's a reminder of all the horrible stuff that continues to happen around the world, but also frustrating on a fictional level, because the main character is such a DUMBASS.
The premise is that this recent med school graduate from Scotland travels to Uganda on a lark and winds up becoming a "close personal advisor" to Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker plays Amin, and he does a stellar job -- as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sanj would say, he's ferocious-witty-adolescent-infectious-arrogant-pathetic-dismount. All the same, I had a hard time really *knowing* Amin; I can't tell if it's a flaw in the performance or just the nature of the dictator-beast.
James McAvoy (Mr. Tumnus!) plays the Scottish doctor, and I had no trouble knowing that character, but then I kinda wished I *didn't* know him. If he were just being a stupid jerk, I could mutter at the screen (the way I did during Jet Li's Fearless). But he's the kind of dumbass who skates on through and leaves other people to pay the price for his stupidity.
The film has that "based on a true story" vibe, so I was surprised to learn it's actually based on a novel, and the Scottish doctor is a composite character. There's an interview with the author here that I found kinda interesting.
Also? Supernatural is just a 21st-century version of The Hardy Boys.
The premise is that this recent med school graduate from Scotland travels to Uganda on a lark and winds up becoming a "close personal advisor" to Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker plays Amin, and he does a stellar job -- as
sanj would say, he's ferocious-witty-adolescent-infectious-arrogant-pathetic-dismount. All the same, I had a hard time really *knowing* Amin; I can't tell if it's a flaw in the performance or just the nature of the dictator-beast.
James McAvoy (Mr. Tumnus!) plays the Scottish doctor, and I had no trouble knowing that character, but then I kinda wished I *didn't* know him. If he were just being a stupid jerk, I could mutter at the screen (the way I did during Jet Li's Fearless). But he's the kind of dumbass who skates on through and leaves other people to pay the price for his stupidity.
The film has that "based on a true story" vibe, so I was surprised to learn it's actually based on a novel, and the Scottish doctor is a composite character. There's an interview with the author here that I found kinda interesting.
Also? Supernatural is just a 21st-century version of The Hardy Boys.