The Last King of Scotland

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

As a child, I first heard of Idi Amin over the news. He was supposedly an African president who eliminated his enemies and (rumor had it) ate them afterwards. It is a frightening thought and over the years, I learned that Amin was indeed a monster who ruled Uganda with an iron fist. I was thus a bit surprised when I heard that Forest Whitaker signed on to play Amin in “The Last King of Scotland”. Whitaker, the lazy-eyed, hulking actor who mainly played character roles, was finally thrust into the lead for this film. Boy, did he run with it.

Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) is a Scottish doctor who wants to explore the world. On a whim, he flies to Uganda and works for a small hospital. At around this time, Gen. Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) overthrows the former Ugandan president and seizes power. When their paths cross, Amin is impressed by Garrigan’s brashness and honesty, thus hiring the doctor to be his personal physician. Initially turning a blind eye to the growing paranoia and moral corruption of Amin’s regime, Nicholas is forced to finally see the man as the monster that he is. He tries to escape the country, but Amin won’t let him go so easily.

It is easy to see how Forest Whitaker won all the top acting awards for this film. Immersing himself into the role of Amin, Whitaker supposedly researched the part heavily, even learning Swahili and the East African accent for the movie. Darkening his complexion a bit, Whitaker uses his 6-2 frame to the fullest, portraying Amin with all the charisma and murderous madness that the dictator truly possessed. After all, this was a man who was loony enough to dub himself “His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular" and “King of Scotland” (hence the film’s title). McAvoy was also brilliant as Garrigan. A hedonist who goes to Africa just to get away from his father’s shadow, McAvoy plays the everyman who gets caught up in Amin’s magnetism and dragged into the moral decay of his Uganda.

Director Kevin McDonald made every effort to shoot “Last King” in Amin’s actual homeland, lending a lot of credibility to this fictional account. Seeing Uganda, even set in the 1970s brought home the message that a madman can rise to a position of power and even have people cheer him for it. The director shows the dichotomy of Uganda: a poor African nation that still has people consulting witch doctors, yet trying to be progressive and join the wealthier countries of the world. Dropping Amin into the middle of this was like placing a timebomb in front of a crowded plaza.

Though fictional, “The Last King of Scotland” also mixes a lot of actual events. Garrigan is supposedly a hybrid of several people, yet his character succeeds in giving us, the audience, a clear view into what could make Amin so charming yet sickening as well. A combination of great actors combined with a good story and startling cinematography help ground the film as more “real” than any discourse on Amin and Uganda that hasn’t been aired on the Discovery Channel.

The atrocities that Amin committed were many, accounts of the death toll he inflicted number at approximately 500,000. Like a real life Hannibal Lecter or Lex Luthor, Amin didn’t care what other people thought outside his immediate circle. In his mind, he was always right, damn everybody who didn’t think so. For a monster like that to have actually existed, and for him to actually rule a nation for nine years is a scary thought indeed. Whitaker himself admits that his devotion to detail had him eating, sleeping, and dreaming as Amin even after filming wrapped. He clearly deserved the Oscar for Best Actor in this role. Lucky for him and for us, the monster that was Idi Amin died in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2003.

Pan's Labyrinth

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

We all loved hearing bedtime stories as children. What child was not exposed to “fairy tales” or “fables” or other stories about magical beings and mystical entities? Though we’ve largely seen the cleaned up version of these stories (thanks to Walt Disney and his cartoons), a lot of fairy tales had more violent and sinister qualities when they were first heard. It is from this school of thought that “Pan’s Labyrinth” seems to come from.

In ancient times, Princess Moanna, daughter of the king of the underworld went to the surface and lost her memories. She aged and died, but the king believed that someday, her spirit would return to him. When the film begins, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) travels with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to meet her stepfather. Set in fascist Spain, the stepfather is the cruel Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), a man tasked to hunt down Republican rebels while stationed at an old mill. Placed under the care of Mercedes (Maribel Verdu), a maid who is secretly helping the rebels, Ofelia stumbles into a nearby labyrinth. There, she meets a magical faun (Doug Jones) who recognizes Ofelia as the true Princess Moanna. Only by accomplishing three tasks can she reclaim her kingdom.

First of all, the Spanish title of this piece is really “El Laberinto del fauno” or literally “The Labyrinth of the Faun”. So, the faun Ofelia meets never gives his name, and director Guillermo del Toro says he isn’t meant to represent the Greek god Pan. I only saw the trailer for the film once, and didn’t really know what to expect when watching the DVD. All I knew was that it would be in a foreign language (Spanish as it turns out), had subtitles, and had magical creatures. That was just the tip of this considerably sized iceberg.

My only knowledge of del Toro before this was as director of the movies “Hellboy”, “Blade 2” and “Mimic”. With that kind of resume, I was kind of expecting a more action-oriented flick. However in this instance, the director succeeds more in telling a story with heart and substance rather than just going for explosions and special effects.

Since “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a Spanish language piece, I had no preconceived notions about any of the actors chosen. Thus, in my eyes, each was performing their parts perfectly. Though we have gotten used to child actors like Dakota Fanning, Haley Joel Osment, and their ilk in recent years, it was nice to see Baquero doing her own thing as the lead in this film. She doesn’t overact or resort to cuteness to get her message across. In fact there is a sense of honesty in her Ofelia that I tend to find lacking in Hollywood’s child stars. Lopez’s Capitan Vidal is cruel, malevolent, and downright nasty. In other words, he’s just the type of villain you’ll love to hate. Verdu as Mercedes also earns my sympathy, even as the character balances serving under Vidal while also plotting his downfall.

I would be remiss if I didn’t cite the exceptional performance of someone who is too often hidden under makeup and hardly ever gets any credit. Doug Jones performed as Abe Sapien in “Hellboy”, but his voice was dubbed by David Hyde Pierce. He will be the Silver Surfer in the upcoming sequel to “Fantastic Four” but Laurence Fishburne will be the voice emanating from his mouth when he speaks onscreen. In the case of “Pan’s”, we see Jones perform as two characters. As both “Pan” and the creepy “Pale Man”, Jones is once more buried under prosthetics that he would be unrecognizable even to those who know him. However, I found out that in preparation for this film, he actually studied an older form of Spanish so that as Pan, it would be his lips we’d see moving. Now that’s dedication!

All in all, “Pan’s Labyrinth” isn’t for the faint-hearted. Del Toro doesn’t try to hide the atrocities of war, and there are parts that are downright gross and disgusting. The ending did leave me a bit confused, but I guess that’s exactly what del Toro had in mind when he crafted it. Add to that his creepy characters like the Pale Man, and you’ll see why this isn’t even remotely a kid’s movie. It is a contemporary adult take on both the Spanish Civil War as well as a dark and twisted fable. No, it isn’t for everybody and some might find that disturbing. Luckily, I am not one of those people, and I thought it was still pretty good.

Sunshine

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

The science fiction genre in film has, for the most part, been overwhelmed by special effects over story quality. Though I am a big “Star Wars” fan, I can’t help but feel that when thinking of the large use of CGI and special effects in George Lucas’ prequel trilogy. Add to that the fact that most people panned those prequels and you’ll see where I’m coming from. Too often, the special effects and the advances in digital technology overwhelm whatever plot the director or scriptwriter came up with. I’m glad to say that this wasn’t the case with “Sunshine”.

Set in a future where our sun, Sol, is dying, “Sunshine” tells the story of a mission aimed at re-igniting the sun. Onboard the Icarus II ship, the eight-person crew embarks on this mission after the Icarus I failed to complete its task seven years earlier. Led by Captain Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada), the multi-ethnic crew knows that by launching a solar bomb into the hurt of the sun, they may not make it back to Earth. Still, they soldier on, armed with the knowledge that success means survival of the human race. However, a crisis happens when they hear a distress signal from the long-thought unsalvageable Icarus I. When the crew decides to go to the other ship, they not only put their mission in jeopardy, their lives are on the line as well.

For a film buff such as myself, I regrettably have yet to watch director Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting” and “28 Days Later”. Though both have been lauded for being original, groundbreaking, and quite intelligent pieces of film, I just haven’t found the time to sit down and watch them. One of the advantages I have then (since I’m coming in with no real experience with Boyle’s work) is that I’m encumbered by his past when watching “Sunshine”. Taking this film strictly for itself, I was thoroughly engaged throughout the movie. As I said earlier, it is so rare to find a character-driven sci-fi piece now that when I do find one, I’m ecstatic. “Sunshine” is exactly that.

I became a Cillian Murphy fan after watching his Scarecrow in “Batman Begins” and his creepy terrorist in “Red Eye”. As the physicist Capa, Murphy serves as unwilling protagonist for “Sunshine”. Sanada (whom I first saw in the original “Ringu” or “The Ring” from Japan) proves to be the capable captain of Icarus II. I’m glad that Boyle chose to have an Asian leading the crew, perhaps giving some hope for the future of race relations in the world. It was a bit offsetting to see Michelle Yeoh in a non-martial arts role. Playing botanist Corazon, Yeoh displays more acting than her prerequisite kicking and punching that we’re so used to seeing. Psychiatrist Searle (Cliff Curtis), vice-captain Harvey (Troy Garity), and analyst Trey (Benedict Wong) also comprise the ship’s eight-person crew.

The last time I saw Rose Byrne, she was a bit of a psycho in “Wicker Park”. Before that, she was Brad Pitt’s Trojan conquest in Troy. Although she’s pretty, I can’t help but feel that I keep seeing her crying in her films and “Sunshine” is no different. Of course, my favorite character in the film is probably the temperamental yet no-nonsense Mace (Chris Evans). Though not as hot-headed as Johnny Storm in “Fantastic Four”, Evans wears his Human Torch haircut for most of “Sunshine” so I couldn’t help but yearn for him to burst into flame and scream “Flame on!” in the film’s critical moments.

I guess the fact that so many of these characters resonated with me is a credit to Boyle and writer Alex Garland. Each character was well-threshed out and had different elements that made them more than mere caricatures. As fantastical as the plot is, I lost myself in the film and was quite engrossed by the magnitude of the Icarus II’s plight. SPOILER WARNING: When the creepy Captain Pinbacker (Mark Strong) of the Icarus I makes a surprise return in the latter part of the film, the tension is heightened and an element of danger and suspense is added to the sci-fi story. I can’t say I didn’t like that touch, and I’ll even go so far as to say that it made the film even more enjoyable in my view.

All in all, I wasn’t expecting much from “Sunshine” in the few trailers I had seen of it. I was just a bit curious because there really weren’t that many films to choose from last week. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the results onscreen and I for one am happy that good stories can still find their way into space in a crowded market like science fiction.

The Reaping

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Horror

I’ve been looking for a really good scary movie recently. “The Messengers” was such a huge disappointment, “Silent Hill” stunk up the place, and “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” turned out to be a bit anti-climactic that the last really good scare I had was probably the 2005 version of “The Amityville Horror”. In my quest for a good scary movie, I came upon the trailer of Hilary Swank’s latest film, “The Reaping”.

The film tells a story of former ordained minister Katherine Winter (Swank) whose family’s death led her to renounce her faith. Since then, she has dedicated herself to debunking claims of “miracles” worldwide by using scientific facts. When Katherine is approached by somebody from the town of Haven, Louisiana about fears of a Biblical plague, she and fellow scientist Ben (Idris Elba) investigate. It turns out that a local boy had died in the swamplands and the people were blaming his sister, Loren McConnell, (AnnaSophia Robb) for the murder. What follows is Katherine’s quest to disprove both the townsfolk’s hatred of Loren and examination into a different kind of terror.

Swank isn’t required to do the heavy acting here like she did in her two previous Oscar-winning performances. She’s fairly straightforward as the bitter believer-turned atheist who seems bent on bumping heads with a higher power wherever she can find the opportunity. David Morrissey’s Doug character looks and sounds a lot like Liam Neeson did in films where he put on an American accent (like “Leap of Faith”). In my view, the big revelation in this film is AnnaSophia Robb. The kid has certainly shown a great deal of flexibility in her roles. From the spoiled, gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to the heroine in “Bridge to Terabithia” to this creepy part, she has shown that Dakota Fanning and Abigail Breslin don’t have a monopoly on the best child parts in Hollywood.

As for the story itself, it isn’t so bad. But that doesn’t mean it’s great either. I mean, there are maybe one or two parts where you might get jumpy, but there isn’t an overall feeling of dread to last you throughout the film. SPOILER WARNING: Once it’s revealed that a cult of devil worshippers is behind Loren’s sudden surge in powers, I honestly felt it got a bit silly. There seemed to be such a rush to get to the end of the film that there were questions that were left unanswered. Jo and her parents were discussing those over dinner last night, and I think it’s fairly accurate to say that the ending was confusing. So was Katherine the “angel” or was it Loren? Is the child Katherine is carrying a “second child” or a first-born since her daughter Sarah had died earlier?

Like I said earlier, “The Reaping” isn’t bad, it’s just not great either. It’s okay, but if you find the desire to see something else, by all means, please do so. No plagues will fall upon you if you choose to skip this film.

TMNT

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

One of the quirkier trends of my high school life was the rise in popularity of four large, walking, talking, ninja amphibians. Collectively known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they were a pop culture phenomenon in the late 80s and early 90s. With a hit cartoon series, lots of popular toys and other merchandise, the Turtles were a licensor’s dream come true. I’ll admit that I myself was a fan of the old Turtles cartoon, although I can’t say I was as devoted to it as I was with say, “Slam Dunk” or “Star Trek”. Still, they were so huge, three hit movies came on the heels of “Turtle-mania”. Perhaps the most striking image of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” was the image of white rapper Vanilla Ice screaming “Go ninja, go ninja, go!” A memory that still terrifies me to this day.

As with most popular fads, the Turtles luster soon began to fade, and the toons, as well as the rest of their merchandise, slowly disappeared from store shelves. That’s probably one of the reasons I was surprised by the announcement of a completely-CGI motion picture simply titled “TMNT”. Don’t get me wrong, I consider myself a Turtle fan from back in the day, but I hardly saw the point behind producing another motion picture. Still, I heard generally positive reviews of this film, so I decided that I wanted to watch it.

Picking up chronologically from the first three Turtles films, “TMNT” sees the four ninja turtle brothers separated. Raphael has been brooding incessantly, taking the law into his own hands at night as the masked “Nightwatcher”. Donatello has been running his own personal call center. Michelangelo acts as a mascot, entertaining at kiddie parties. While Leonardo, the leader of the group, has been ordered by their master (the rat named Splinter) to train in South America.

Even as the brothers have been split apart, a new crisis looms that forces them to reunite. A mythical immortal warrior (voiced by Patrick Stewart) has been gathering thirteen monsters with the aim to free his four generals who had been turned to stone 3000 years before. April O’Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar), the Turtles’ human friend has been dating fellow Turtle-pal Casey Jones (Chris Evans) while collecting antiques. During one of these trips, April tells the in-training Leonardo that his brothers need him to return to New York. When Leo does return, he finds that things have changed in the sewers and that Raphael isn’t so willing to follow his leadership anymore. All this while they battle the revived Foot Clan, now under the leadership of Karai (Ziyi Zhang).

I was a bit skeptical heading into the cinema for this round of Turtle celluloid fun. After all, it had been over a decade since I last saw the foursome on a big screen. (I can’t even remember what happened in “Turtles III” anymore.) Still, I was hopeful since I read an article in the March issue of “Wizard” that director Kevin Munroe sought the blessings of series creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird when making this film. With a fan on board, I was very hopeful that this film would at least be decent.

And I was right. With a CGI world at his disposal, director Munroe lets the Turtles fight, twist, jump, and kick their way all over the movie screen. Not limited by high-risk stunts or guys in rubber Turtle outfits, the action flows smoothly and effortlessly. Though some of the human characters look a bit too much like anime characters, I feel that actually helped the film rather than harm it. Great voice acting was provided by Stewart, Gellar, Evans, and in what would turn out to be his last film, the great Japanese actor Mako as Master Splinter. I was also surprised at how perfectly the four turtle voice actors captured the essence of the old series and comics.

As far as story goes, this was as believable as one could get in the “Turtle-verse”. I was very thankful that Munroe even attempted a fight between brothers Leonardo and Raphael, something that I had been waiting for since the toons first came out in 1987. Ultimately a tale of brotherhood that was lost, and the struggle to establish one’s personality in light of an older sibling, “TMNT” was quite the enjoyable flick. It was a very pleasant surprise on a semi-quiet Black Saturday in Makati’s Power Plant.

Dreamgirls

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

I first heard of “Dreamgirls” sometime in the early 1980s. From what little I recall, it was described as a musical loosely based on the rise of Diana Ross and the Supremes. As a fan of what has become known as “the Motown Sound”, I was curious about this musical, but sadly, had no means of watching it on the stage. Fast forward to 2006 and “Dreamgirls” was all set to be filmed for the big screen. Not only were the producers able to cast Beyoncé Knowles as the Diana Ross analogue Deena Jones, big time African-American actors like Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Danny Glover were also cast. What threw me for a loop was the choice to play temperamental diva Effie White.

Jennifer Hudson was an “American Idol” contestant the same year Fil-American Jasmine Trias was on. Jennifer was one of the early favorites to win that year, but Simon Cowell and the rest of “Idol” seem to have underestimated the power of Pinoys in America (the same can probably be said for Indian-Americans and the presence of Sanjaya Malakar this late in the competition). Well, the annoying Fantasia Barrino won that year, in my mind the worst “Idol” winner ever and Hudson? Well she beat out Fantasia for the coveted role of Effie.

“Dreamgirls” sometimes feels like a historical piece because it eerily mirrors the rise of Motown and the Supremes. Set in Detroit, Michigan in the early 1960s, friends Effie, Deena and Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose) are trying to snag a regular gig as a singing trio. When impresario Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Foxx) offers the girls a chance to be backup singers to James “Thunder” Early (Murphy), they agree and are rechristened “The Dreamettes”. Eventually Taylor sees the opportunity to market the girls as an all-girl group and renames them “The Dreams”, but pushes Deena into the lead singer role. This doesn’t sit well with Effie, and the resulting tension becomes the pivotal storyline to the picture.

In real life, producer Berry Gordy made Diana Ross the lead singer of the Supremes eventually causing Florence Ballard to get depressed, leave the group, try and fail at a solo career, and eventually die at age 32. “Dreamgirls” doesn’t go that far with the Effie character, but it does show the bitterness and anger that was long-rumored to be the cause for Ballard’s departure from the group. Though James “Thunder” Early was clearly a combination of James Brown and Marvin Gaye, the character’s fall and death were heightened for the story’s dramatic purposes.

Director Bill Condon came up with a virtuoso performance behind the lens for this film. In a genre that has made a comeback in recent years, Condon shows both a mastery of the musical as well as a reverence for the source material. It’s never easy to incorporate singing and dancing in a movie, yet Condon seamlessly weaves these elements together to come up with a dazzling spectacle.

Though she was nominated (and won) as Best Supporting Actress in several award-giving bodies, it could easily be argued that Hudson was the lead actress in “Dreamgirls”. After all, it was Effie’s dismissal, fall, and rebirth that is at the film’s core. Hudson more than holds her own as the temperamental White, not showing any intimidation in front of more established actors and true movie stars. Knowles’ Deena doesn’t seem to do much acting here, perhaps because her real life has been very “Deena-like” as well. Foxx’s Taylor is portrayed as an ambitious producer with a clear vision on how to rise to the top, no matter who he has to step on to get there. From being a used car salesman to the brains behind the powerful Rainbow Records label, he is more twisted genius than brilliant music lover.

Some have argued that Murphy’s Jimmy Early was just a rehash of his old SNL spoof of James Brown. I, however, saw Murphy showing off both his acting and singing talents. Few remember that Eddie actually had some pop hits in the 80s, and his comedies have taken some luster away from his acting skills. If there’s anything that “Dreamgirls” proves however, it’s that if it is needed, Murphy can summon those acting skills with aplomb.

I enjoyed watching this film, even though the pirated DVD started skipping near the end. More than the music, the funky period costumes, or even the stellar cast, it was the story that was at the heart of the film that got to me. And although the “real” Effie faced a tragic ending, it was nice to see that, even as a hint or a memory, Florence Ballard lives on as a Dreamgirl.