Lord of War Is Anti-Gun Propaganda

Title

Lord of War (2005)

Directed by

Andrew Niccol

Writing credits

Andrew Niccol

Selected Cast

Nicolas Cage .... Yuri Orlov
Bridget Moynahan .... Ava Fontaine
Jared Leto .... Vitaly Orlov
Ethan Hawke .... Jack Valentine
Shake Tukhmanyan .... Irina Orlov
Jean-Pierre Nshanian .... Anatoly Orlov
Eamonn Walker .... Andre Baptiste Sr.
Sammi Rotibi .... Andre Baptiste Jr.
Jasper Lenz .... Gregor
Kobus Marx .... Boris
Stephan De Abreu .... Liev
Ian Holm .... Simeon Weisz
Tanya Finch .... Ingrid

Review

Lord of War is the story of a gunrunner who rises to the top and must face the horrors committed with his merchandise.

Lord of War was promoted as a humorous action movie, but it is far from that. WARNING: Spoilers in italics. This film is a dark and depressing tale that closely follows the standard Mafia Don formula: A young immigrant turns to a life of crime, takes some big chances, rises to power, tries to go straight, makes one last deal, and loses everything. Basically, we’ve seen it all before.

Lord of War does not have much of a story, and that is because the film spends too much time preaching to the audience about how terrible guns are. Lord of War naively fails to confront the more serious issue of why wars and genocide have existed throughout most of human history. This issue would make for a good film, but this rather shallow film never once delves into the psychology of a warlord. Why do people kill each other? Certainly, it is not only because they have guns.

Lord of War makes several common film mistakes. The narration is overused, the supporting cast (specifically Ethan Hawke) is underused, and the pacing of the film is far too slow. There just is not much interesting material, and the characters are not engaging.

Lord of War is an overly political movie that has too little substance to go anywhere and does not have much to say. If you want to know the message of Lord of War, it’s very simple: People don’t kill people. Guns kill people. If you agree with this message, you will love Lord of War. If you disagree, you will be very disappointed and annoyed.

Rating (1-10)

4

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Two for the Money Bets on Characters

Title

Two for the Money (2005)

Directed by

D.J. Caruso

Writing credits

Dan Gilroy

Selected Cast

Al Pacino .... Walter Abrams
Matthew McConaughey .... Brandon Lang
Rene Russo .... Toni Morrow
Armand Assante .... Novian
Jeremy Piven .... Jerry
Jaime King .... Alexandria
Carly Pope .... Tammy
Charles Carroll .... Chuck
Gerard Plunkett .... Herbie
Craig Veroni .... Amir
James Kirk .... Denny
Ralph Garman .... Reggie
Chrislyn Austin .... Julia
Kevin Chapman .... Southie
Gedde Watanabe .... Milton

Review

Two for the Money is about a sports-gambling genius who becomes the protégé of a high profile betting advisor.

Two for the Money does not have much of a plot, but the plot is secondary, because this film is highly character-driven. Matthew McConaughey is very likeable and believable. Al Pacino does an incredible job of playing a loveable scumbag. Remarkably well-written dialog aids their performances and makes for some entertaining exchanges that range from humorous to intense.

A weak point of the film is the football footage, which seemed strange and fake. It just kept taking me out of the movie. For example, the big football game in Two for the Money is Super XXXX. I guess the producers were trying to save money by not paying for Super Bowl rights, but why didn’t they at least get the Roman numerals right? Were they going to get sued by the NFL for Super XL? These awkward sports-related details damage the film’s credibility. The director should have found some more effective ways to dance around all of those tightly controlled copyrights.

Overall, Two for the Money is a pretty good film, with some engaging characters. If you’re a Pacino fan, you will definitely enjoy his performance.

Rating (1-10)

7

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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Jarmusch’s Best Film

Title

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Directed by

Jim Jarmusch

Writing credits

Jim Jarmusch

Selected Cast

Forest Whitaker .... Ghost Dog
John Tormey .... Louie
Cliff Gorman .... Sonny Valerio
Frank Minucci .... Big Angie
Richard Portnow .... Handsome Frank
Tricia Vessey .... Louise Vargo
Henry Silva .... Ray Vargo
Victor Argo .... Vinny
Damon Whitaker .... Young Ghost Dog
Vince Viverito .... Johnny Morini
Yan Ming Shi .... Kung-Fu Master
Vinny Vella .... Sammy the Snake (as Vinnie Vella)

Review

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is the story of a mob hit man who lives his life by the code of the samurai (Hagakure).

This film (Jarmusch’s best) has gotten mixed reviews because the film has the image of being a funky ghetto martial arts movie. Fortunately, the ghetto martial arts aspect makes up only about 10% of the film. This is not a hip-hop movie. It is not a martial arts movie. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is about dignity, respect, and finding purpose in life.

Forest Whitaker gives one of his best performances in portraying Ghost Dog, a hitman who lives on his own terms for his own honor. With that said, the film is highly character-driven. The audience spends the entire film learning to understand Ghost Dog and why he makes such unusual choices for his life.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is tender, charming, sad, funny, and inspiring. The score is incredible, and the screenplay is even better.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a great example of why independent films are important.

Rating (1-10)

9

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Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (Say This Is Love), a Bollywood Breakthrough

Title

Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000)

Directed by

Rakesh Roshan

Writing credits

Rakesh Roshan
Sagar Sarhadi
Honey Irani
Ravi Kapoor

Selected Cast

Hrithik Roshan .... Rohit Chopra
Hrithik Roshan .... Raj Chopra
Amisha Patel .... Sonia Saxena
Anupam Kher .... Saxena
Dalip Tahil .... Shakti Malik
Mohnish Bahl .... Insp. Kadam
Ashish Vidyarthi .... Insp. Shinde
Satish Shah .... Rohit's landlord
Farida Jalal .... Lily
Tanaaz Currim .... Neeta
Vrajesh Hirjee .... Tony
Asha Patel .... Mrs. Chopra

Review

Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai is the epic love story of a rich young woman and her true love, a singer from a poor family.

While this film does not have particularly engaging story, it is a breakthrough for Indian film. Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai combines the Indian movie conventions with those of American action films. The idea was to, merge the two types of film to create a new type of film for India’s younger movie audiences.

Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai executes this merge fairly well. The film has many huge musical numbers and fancy costumes that keep with traditional Indian expectations, but the film also has guns, chases, murders, and intrigue to appeal to India’s youth, which is gradually becoming more Americanized in their tastes.

The story of Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai is slow, tedious, and unbelievable, but the film has great music, excellent cinematography, and stunning locations. It also features a strong performance from Hrithik Roshan, who carries this film and deserves his notoriety.

Rating (1-10)

5

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The Cave: Aliens with Cave Divers

Title

The Cave (2005)

Directed by

Bruce Hunt

Writing credits

Michael Steinberg
Tegan West

Selected Cast

Cole Hauser .... Jack
Morris Chestnut .... Top Buchanan
Eddie Cibrian .... Tyler
Rick Ravanello .... Briggs
Marcel Iures .... Dr. Nicolai
Kieran Darcy-Smith .... Strode
Daniel Dae Kim .... Kim
Lena Headey .... Kathryn
Piper Perabo .... Charlie
Vlad Radescu .... Dr. Bacovia
Simon Kunz .... Mike
David Kennedy .... Ian
Alin Panc .... Razvan
Zoltan Butuc .... Corvin
Brian Steele .... Creature

Review

The Cave is a horror movie about a team of cave divers that disturb a colony of subterranean monsters.

The Cave is basically a very close cousin to the Alien films; however, the story takes place on Earth in caves during the present day. The underwater cinematography is beautiful, and the movie is entertaining, but there is little in The Cave that we have not seen before in movies such as Aliens, Pitch Black, Alone in the Dark, etc.

The Cave is not necessarily a bad film, but the material is 90% recycled. The Cave is pretty much the standard “man-eating creatures in the shadows” film. If you watch The Cave, don’t be surprised if you’re not surprised.

Rating (1-10)

5

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