I rented The Last King of Scotland this weekend and The Good German. Ex-wife wanted to see German. I have not seen it yet as I watched Last King instead. I enjoyed the movie. It had some fun moments, but was also a scary look inside an oppressive regime. You wonder when the people of Africa are even going to get the kind of leadership that they really need, rather than maniacs who take power by force, steal from the people and then get overthrown. It’s a vicious cycle. I had not realized that Amin was British trained and supported. Much like Hussein was trained and backed by the US. It must be hard however dealing with someone so powerful and yet so volatile. You are constantly walking on eggshells wondering when he would blow up – or just decide to put a bullet in your head. The good doctor was lured in by the power (and the car) and overlooked some of the scarier aspects of the personality. I thought that Whitakker did a great job. It was good to see Gillian Anderson in movie again, that didn’t revolve around aliens. She was good too. And the young doctor should probably try to not let his little head make decisions that he cannot back up. What a foolish thing to do with one of Amin’s wives, even if she is out of favour. I did enjoy the bedroom scene with the gas and releasing of gas. Unlike some commentary I did not feel sympathetic to Amin. I guess he was always surrounded by sharks, but that’s the life that you choose when you take over power by force. A thumb’s up for me. I was impressed by the performance and feel it was justified for the Oscar. He’s a better actor than what he did on ER to be sure.
I had noted Anderson’s name in the credits and wondered when I would see her. It didn’t take long as she was right at the beginning when he arrives (that would be after he bangs the girl from the bus of course). Anyway, I had hoped that she would have a larger part, but she did not. She had done a few things outside X-files, notably the period piece House of Mirth which was pretty dark itself. Anyway I enjoyed the film.
Mondays With Robbie 