Lord of War

[Mobiesque]

I thought both more and less of this film than I'll properly address just yet..

This is basically Goodfellas crossed with Syriana, and is sadly, more like the former in any way that matters.

The protaganist is an arms dealer played by Nicholas Cage, who is reprehensible, but still represented as the 'coolest' character in the film. He rationalises his place in the sequence of world events constantly, and not terribly. His first person voice-over narrative both adds to the glorification of his role, and to it's ultimate moral depravity.

The second half of it is better than the first, and really makes me wish I knew more continental African politics. This switch is the swift shift from post-Berlin-Wall Soviet block, to the 90's African civil wars, of so many countries, but predominantly Liberia. The president of which, most people of taste will know from his early 80's works in The Bill, but then as Kareem Said in Oz. A major character, he is the closest thing Cage's character meets in terms of the reality or severity to his crimes.

Other notable stars include 'the young white guy from Requiem', as Cage's dropkick, then later idealist brother. Ethan Hawke as the Fed that is ideologically sound, but dressed up as authoritarianly impotent. And the AK-47, which is glamorized as a porn star and put into the occasional, but always disconserting 'statistics for coolness' sake' themed voiceovers that as stated at the beginning, condemn but mostly glorify and stylize Cage's role within the global arms trade.

Worth a watch, probably not worth thinking about even close to as much as I did.

[judasmuppet]

Thanks. I think I'll give it a miss.

[Hitman]

Syriana

What's this like?

[Mobiesque]

Better than you'd expect, given the hype.

[Hitman]

I didn't see any hype.
I know nothing about the film.
Just noticed it at the vid store the other day...

[Mobiesque]

Clooney pretty much sold it as "The film made by actors who care about the truth and are willing to break all the Hollywood rules". Smug and self important. That being said, whilst it's hardly the most shocking film (wow, America doesn't respect the sovereignity of other nations, I never knew!) It's a well told and different style of film to most.

[judasmuppet]

...and it doesn't pretend to solve anything.

[Hitman]

Sweet.
I might check it out.

I generally enjoy Clooneys film work...

[Rado]

Clooney was good but the film generally bored me...

[Jeff]

I thought both more and less of this film than I'll properly address just yet..

This is basically Goodfellas crossed with Syriana, and is sadly, more like the former in any way that matters.

The protaganist is an arms dealer played by Nicholas Cage, who is reprehensible, but still represented as the 'coolest' character in the film. He rationalises his place in the sequence of world events constantly, and not terribly. His first person voice-over narrative both adds to the glorification of his role, and to it's ultimate moral depravity.

The second half of it is better than the first, and really makes me wish I knew more continental African politics. This switch is the swift shift from post-Berlin-Wall Soviet block, to the 90's African civil wars, of so many countries, but predominantly Liberia. The president of which, most people of taste will know from his early 80's works in The Bill, but then as Kareem Said in Oz. A major character, he is the closest thing Cage's character meets in terms of the reality or severity to his crimes.

Other notable stars include 'the young white guy from Requiem', as Cage's dropkick, then later idealist brother. Ethan Hawke as the Fed that is ideologically sound, but dressed up as authoritarianly impotent. And the AK-47, which is glamorized as a porn star and put into the occasional, but always disconserting 'statistics for coolness' sake' themed voiceovers that as stated at the beginning, condemn but mostly glorify and stylize Cage's role within the global arms trade.

Worth a watch, probably not worth thinking about even close to as much as I did.

I liked it a bunch. Pretty funny if nothing else. Of course, I'm widely know to have a terrible sense of humor.