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Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Big Movie Weekend

It is hardly surprising to those who know me that I should post a blog about movies. These past two weekends had been quite amazing though for the depth of talent. First, there was Amal, the story of a very honest (if somewhat simple) rickshaw driver and his unlikely change in fortune. All set the bustling streets of New Delhi. Always delighted to see the very talented character actor Roshan Seth too. Then, The Hurt Locker which is about a bomb disposal squad in Iraq. No political messages here but a straight forward character study of soldiers at war. Imaginative direction from Kathryn Bigelow, excellent performances by the main cast and a number of great cameos from Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce. I had never been much of a fan of war films but this film has changed my mind. The Red Cliff is a John Woo production with Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Based on a very famous chapter in the historical novel, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this is a 280 minute epic detailing battle of Red Cliff. There are a slew of heroes in this tale (much akin to Homer's Iliad) and to hear John Woo tell it...a more historically appropriate tale. Stunning battle scenes, and eye dropping CGI landscapes worthy of Lord of the Rings comparisons. Having known nothing of this part of ancient Chinese history, I now may intrigued to read more after watching this film.