My RSSURBMM

[Touti]

RSSURBMM [er-sur-b'mm] = Rainy Saturday Short Unwatched Recently Bought Movies Marathon.

Children of Men
FlyBoys
The Last King  of Scotland
The Lives of Others

Marathon should start at noon.

[Tom]

"Children of Men" and "The Lives of Others" are both great movies. The other two I do not know.

[Jon]

I agree with Tom, both those movies are incredible. Flyboys, I don't know, but Last King of Scotland is very good too, although flawed. Forest Whitaker is magnificent as Idi Amin though.

[Touti]

I want to keep the best one for tonight, which would you think it is, Children of Men or The lives of others ?

I would tend to go with Children of Men for the finale because it's in English and it's always more interesting to watch a movie when you don't have to read subtitles......although I watched Downfall in German with subtitles and I enjoyed it and remember it just as if I had watched it in a language I can understand, same with Black Book which I watched in Dutch.


Jon, I'd like to read more about what you considered flawed in The Last King of Scotland......without spoilers please

[Jon]

I want to keep the best one for tonight, which would you think it is, Children of Men or The lives of others ?

I would tend to go with Children of Men for the finale because it's in English and it's always more interesting to watch a movie when you don't have to read subtitles......although I watched Downfall in German with subtitles and I enjoyed it and remember it just as if I had watched it in a language I can understand, same with Black Book which I watched in Dutch.


Jon, I'd like to read more about what you considered flawed in The Last King of Scotland......without spoilers please

I think Lives of Others is the absolute best, but I know what you mean. Children of Men is probably an easier watch anyway and more suitable for a wind-down finale that still has a kick!

Without spoilers(!), you probably know already that The Last King of Scotland follows McAvoy's character and his relationship with Amin. Some reviews have said it focuses on him too much, but I like that approach; an outsiders perspective, while the events unfold around him. However, I do think his influence is felt a little contrived sometimes and though I'm not one for subtexts usually, I felt there might have been an underlying message (unintended?) I wasn't sure I liked, especially as the Doctor seems rather spoiled. It can only lessen the impact of Idi Amin for me, that he would give so much as the time of day to this strange, pasty-faced Scotsman. But it's a powerful film overall and nothing I say should make you think otherwise.

[Touti]

I didn't know it was about some guy's relation ship with Idi Amin but that's no spoilers as I expect this would be established quite early in the movie anyway.

I heard a lot about Whitaker's performance in this movie and to be honest I don't know anything about Idi Amin Dada's life, until I bought the movie and ran a quick google search I didn't even know he called himself the last king of Scotland.

I like watching (more or less) biographical movies when I don't know anything about the person because the movie isn't spoiled if the story is far from reality (like you being unable to really enjoy any King Arthur movie because they're all too far from what you know of it).  Most of the time when I do that it turns out to be a great discovery about a very interesting figure in history (Veronica Guerin was an absolute delight in that regard) and I'm usually compelled after watching to check google and wikipedia to learn more and/or whether the movie was accurate.

I was just getting ready to start my my RSSURBMM with that movie so I'll tell you what I think in about 2 hours.

[Jimmy]

Eric I'm sure that I've already suggest this one in the past, but if you really want to see who is Idi Amin Dada you must watch this documentary.



General Idi Amin Dada, A Self Portrait

Since this is a Criterion dvd the price is over your 10$ limit (anyway you don't seem to follow it anymore ), but the marketplace price is better and the lowest price seller actually is perfectly reliable (in fact it's my favourite one).

[Jon]

I like watching (more or less) biographical movies when I don't know anything about the person because the movie isn't spoiled if the story is far from reality (like you being unable to really enjoy any King Arthur movie because they're all too far from what you know of it).  Most of the time when I do that it turns out to be a great discovery about a very interesting figure in history (Veronica Guerin was an absolute delight in that regard) and I'm usually compelled after watching to check google and wikipedia to learn more and/or whether the movie was accurate.

That was my basic defence of Braveheart. To my shame, I had never heard of William Wallace and that film made me listen. Ok, it takes a few liberties, but the core story is correct and if it wasn't for Mel Gibson, I'd still be none the wiser. I knew very little about Amin and appreciate the film for the same thing.

Just a quick note on Arthur! I actually enjoy several versions of the story and most are complete fantasy. I just felt that King Arthur deviates too much from the story everyone knows. It's a shame because it deserves and could stand a realistic portrayal without changing the legend. So there!