New to DVD this week is The Last King Of Scotland, a methodically paced and dramatically satisfying political thriller starring Forest Whitaker in his astounding Academy Award winning performance as the notorious Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The movie also stars the amply talented James McAvoy who sadly got lost amidst the Whitaker media storm, but is actually extraordinary here as well. He plays Amin's physician and eventual confidant in the film, a character who witnesses first hand the violence and paranoia that defined Amin's bloody rule.You can also check out the sophisticate drama Notes on a Scandal, adapted by Patrick Marber (Closer) and starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, both in extraordinary roles. Dench plays an odd outcast with a somewhat neurotic penchant for manipulating coworkers at the London high school where she teaches into becoming her "friends" and personal pawns. Her latest endeavor is to conquer a bohemian artist (Blanchett) who might be making the greatest mistake of her life in entertaining the affections of an underage student. It's one of the best penned screenplays of last year, filled with viciously sharp and witty dialogue that Dench and Blanchett deliver with aplomb.
A few final suggestions for the week include Joe Carnahan's adrenaline rush action thriller Smokin' Aces, which centers on a Pulp Fiction-y ensemble of tongue-in-cheek criminals and murderers that includes performers ranging from Jeremy Piven to Alicia Keys. It's a madcap carnival ride of violence and suspense brought to life in the niftiest of crime caper stories. Also, you can check out the well adapted film version of the award winning play, The History Boys. It's one of the few theater productions of late to survive the transition to film with the original cast and creative team intact and it does a fine job of reviving the long dead Dead Poet Society ideal of bright students inspired by unconventional yet troubled adults. It doesn't break the mold, but it does fill it well.
2 comments:
I'd have to say Notes on a Scandal is the cream of the crop this week for me ... Although Dame Mirren was a worthy winner of the Oscar, there wasn't a performance I liked more in 2006 than Dame Dench's simply chilling performance here
Some of the best films of 2006 in DVD this week!! Good recommendations. Have to say I was glad to see Smokin Aces go to DVD so quickly, it's where it belongs. Fun home viewing!!
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