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The Last King of Scotland - Maggers - 02-04-2007
"The Last King of Scotland" was impressive but Forest Whitaker's blustery, one-note performance in the title role was not. I fail to see what all the hoopla has been about. James McAvoy, the young man who played the Scots doctor, was the heart and soul of the movie, and he played it extremely well. Hard to believe that he was the exceptionally creepy faun in "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." I still haven't gotten over that faun, ugh, so much pale white, goose-pimpled flesh.
At any rate, "The Last King of Scotland" is very good and I recommend it.
But I cannot concur with awarding an Oscar, should it come to that, to Forest Whitaker. Like Helen Mirren in "The Queen," he plays the title character. But unlike Mirren, his performance is not touched with subtley and nuance as her's was. Perhaps it can be said that Amin was anything but subtle, yet nevertheless, an actor has to be able to show more than one side, one aspect of a character. I didn't see that with Whitaker.
But do see the movie. It's an eye opener.
For what it's worth....I haven't seen 3 of the 5 best actor nominees. Of those I've seen, I'd give the Oscar to DiCaprio, but for "The Departed" over "Blood Diamond," for which he's nominated. However, I'd give it to DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond" over Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland."
The Last King of Scotland - Bluesman Mike Lindner - 02-05-2007
Maggers Wrote:"The Last King of Scotland" was impressive but Forest Whitaker's blustery, one-note performance in the title role was not. I fail to see what all the hoopla has been about. James McAvoy, the young man who played the Scots doctor, was the heart and soul of the movie, and he played it extremely well. Hard to believe that he was the exceptionally creepy faun in "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." I still haven't gotten over that faun, ugh, so much pale white, goose-pimpled flesh.
At any rate, "The Last King of Scotland" is very good and I recommend it.
But I cannot concur with awarding an Oscar, should it come to that, to Forest Whitaker. Like Helen Mirren in "The Queen," he plays the title character. But unlike Mirren, his performance is not touched with subtley and nuance as her's was. Perhaps it can be said that Amin was anything but subtle, yet nevertheless, an actor has to be able to show more than one side, one aspect of a character. I didn't see that with Whitaker.
But do see the movie. It's an eye opener.
For what it's worth....I haven't seen 3 of the 5 best actor nominees. Of those I've seen, I'd give the Oscar to DiCaprio, but for "The Departed" over "Blood Diamond," for which he's nominated. However, I'd give it to DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond" over Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland."
I haven't seen the film, Maggers, but some hombres whose film expertise I respect assured me Whitaker did a brilliant job. What could have been nuanced about Idi Amin? A dark-night-of-the-soul scene in which he realizes the only thing he's been truly proud of was earning the rank of sergeant in the British Army? I am not questioning your view here--but I wonder if, within the confines of a 2-hour film, such subtlety is possible when there seemed to be so little of it in the historical character portrayed. A psychopathic brute is, well, a psychopathic brute.
The Last King of Scotland - GeraldRice - 02-05-2007
There was a movie in the 80s about Amin. I don't remember the name, but my mother showed it to me and my brother when we were little. Wasn't he a cannibal or somesuch?
The Last King of Scotland - Bluesman Mike Lindner - 02-05-2007
GeraldRice Wrote:There was a movie in the 80s about Amin. I don't remember the name, but my mother showed it to me and my brother when we were little. Wasn't he a cannibal or somesuch?
There was such a flick, and I disremember the title too right now. And yeah, he was reported as a cannibal. A typical sub-Saharan srongman. All ego, all fear, both giving and taking.
The Last King of Scotland - Maggers - 02-05-2007
GeraldRice Wrote:There was a movie in the 80s about Amin. I don't remember the name, but my mother showed it to me and my brother when we were little. Wasn't he a cannibal or somesuch?
He may have been. He had 300,000 of his fellow Ugandans killed, and he seemed to enjoy torture. What was done to one of his wives in the film was beyond belief, though I don't know if it's accurate. I believe that he did order torture for many thousands of people, but specifically what was shown was so awful that my brain could not comprehend what it was seeing. He was quite a horror, psychopathic, paranoid, delusional.
The Last King of Scotland - jimbow8 - 02-05-2007
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote:There was such a flick, and I disremember the title too right now. And yeah, he was reported as a cannibal. A typical sub-Saharan srongman. All ego, all fear, both giving and taking.Idi Amin - Portrayal in the media
The Last King of Scotland - Bluesman Mike Lindner - 02-05-2007
jimbow8 Wrote:Idi Amin - Portrayal in the media
You got it, Jim. Thanks.
The Last King of Scotland - Kenji - 03-10-2007
Today I saw "The Last King of Scotland".
Oh, this is great flick! Especially, Forest Whitaker was awesome. Sometimes I forgot breathing while I was watching this movie.