Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by clarkjohnsen (R) on December 08, 2006 at 13:33:36

In Reply to: Blood Diamond -- up for this afternoon. But first, I checked the local review: posted by clarkjohnsen on December 8, 2006 at 07:08:33:

...I shouldn't be writing yet because I'm still wiped out.

Yes, it had those elements of white guilt and political correctness mentioned earlier, but for me and my buddy all that crap was swept away by sheer cinematic and dramatic magnificence.

Mind you, I'm criticizing it on my matinee scale, not my evening scale, but I think even at night this flick would still rate.

Can one actor be nominated for "Best" twice in the same year, for two different roles? That would be Leo DiCaprio. Holy Mother of God was this guy good! Nor were the lesser roles any less perfectly done.

The dialog was spot-on.

The first act was totally smooth and seamless; I was hooked after half an hour and didn't care whether the thing became a mess (it didn't).

The photography never intruded, yet presented an African panorama.

The cutting was likewise unobtrusive.

Only at the beginning of the third act did things look as if they might get spotty, but in five minutes we were back in the swing. (The end of the second act is marked by some natural humor.)

But be warned, this is a very, very rough movie. You will not be happy that your eyes have witnessed such atrocity. (I'm just sayin'...)

A bonus: We looked in on Apocalypto, my buddy at the beginning of a showing (he said it was great), myself in the middle of another, and I was utterly riveted; in fact I could scarcely, ah, rip myself away for Blood Diamond. Report follows.

clark

PS I happen to be in South Florida, where the exhibition (at least on the East coast) is usually excellent -- and that always helps.