Three things that West can't do without:
1) War
2) Paranoia
3) A white man's burden to prove he's carrying the world ahead
With much hopes we went for the movie .. High Hopes indeed with Whitaker getting the Oscar .. And we came back singing a dud tune. With a series of good movies last year esp on Africa/racism (Crash, Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamonds) we were expecting another good flick. But maybe that expectation itself turned out to be too much for asking. Based on the life and times of Idi Amin, the movie does hold well for most part of its running but then it doesn't appeal either as a cinematically sound work or a metaphorical expression. Visually it depicts the story pretty well perhaps. But where it lacks in is the purpose. The director seems to be clueless about the purpose for which he's made the movie: Whether it is to entertain, or remind us about the past or a plain simple political statement. I haven't read too much of Amin's history but the movie is not entirely about that either. Its more of a person story/biography than anything more. And even in this effort it disappoints badly.
Another point that hits you directly is the Oscar for Whitaker. Certainly not for god sake! Its def not an Oscar winning performance. Is it the phenomenon of Counter Racism that we are witnessing? Did the academy succumb to the pressure of "anti-racism" to deny D'Caprio of what would have been thoroughly deserving act in The Departed? I don't know. Its for everyone to see. All I can say about the movie is see only if you have nothing else to do. Else you may skip the story of a guy who's willing to have sex at the drop of a hat.
P.S: Oh Ms Anderson, how old you look in the movie. If only you could continue to look the way you did in X-Files.
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