The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Writers: Peter Morgan (screenplay), Jeremy Brock (screenplay)

Stars: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker and Gillian Anderson

My Review:

                The last king of Scotland is a film based on a novel written on the same name as that of the film by Giles Foden. This film stars Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin and James McAvoy as Dr. Nicholas Garrigan respectively. This film interweaves fiction with the historic past. This film depicts the brutality of Idi Amin, President of Uganda 1971-79 with the help of a fictional Character Dr. Nicholas Garrigan. Nicholas Garrigan who has just been qualified to practice medicine travels to Uganda to perform clinical duty and for adventure. There he befriends Idi Amin, a military commander who overthrows the president of Uganda and brings the country under his dictatorship.

                As the story moves on, the true face of Idi Amin is revealed to Dr. Garrigan. What does Dr. Garrigan confront is the rest of the film. Whitaker portrayed the role of Idi Amin, brainless brute as a Humorous person with pumped adrenaline which I liked very much. Both Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy have delivered their best performances. Their performances were praised by the critics all over the world. Whitaker for his role of Idi Amin claimed all the prestigious awards for acting- The Academy award, The Golden Globes, BAFTA and the SAG award. Kerry Washington’s performance was also good in the film.

                Kevin MacDonald made his directorial debut at the big screen in this film. He has taken a number of documentaries but this one took him to the next level of direction. The screenplay adapted in the film was good.  

My Review: 7.6/10

Crank (2006)

Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writers: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Stars: Jason Statham, Amy Smart and Carlos Sanz

My Review:

                Crank is a cent percent pure action film. This film stars Jason Statham as Chev Chelios who is a professional assassin. Chelios is injected with a poison by the villain Verona which is going to kill him in hours. Chelios comes to know of this and urges the issue to his doc friend Miles. Miles asks Chelios to keep his adrenaline in an upper level to survive. Chelios with the help of his girlfriend Eve tries to stay alive and seeks Verona at the same time to kill him.

                Action in this film takes the vantage point. Every minute you can hope for a fight scene to come out of nowhere. Jason Statham who is known for his performances in Lock Stock and Two Smokin Barrels, Transporter series and The Bank Job has given action pumped performance in this film. The stunts and the climax of the film were the best parts of the film. The MPAA has given the rating R for the film for Sexuality, Nudity and Drug use. The film was a blockbuster hit in America and is rated above 7/10 in IMDB which is quite a feat for an action film.

My Rating: 7.2/10

Invincible (2006)

Director: Ericson Core

Writer: Brad Gann

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear and Elizabeth Banks

My Review:

                Invincible is a drama in the sport genre which narrates the life incidents of Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) superstar Vincent Papale. This biography starring Mark Wahlberg in the lead, portrayed how Papale got into the Eagles team and how did he perform. In 1976, due to budget cuts,a 30 year-old supply teacher Papale loses his job in the school.  His wife gives up on him and divorces him.  Then he works as a bartender and occasionally plays football with his friends in a parking lot. The then newly appointed coach for Eagles Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) announces that he will conduct open tryouts for the team. Papale reluctantly appears for the tryouts and hence the legendary career of Vince Papale begins and it marked the golden period for the Eagles.

                The story was excellently narrated in the film. The football scenes were the best. During those scenes it feels as if we are watching a live match. Elizabeth Banks who performed the role of Janet Cantrell, was the perfect match for the role. The chemistry between Wahlberg and Banks were good. This biography was a plot driven film rather than a performance driven film. The Plot and the screenplay were the things that would keep you on the edge of the seat. Ericson core gave us a nice film, so do look at the life of the football star Papale who appeared for Eagles in 3 consecutive seasons.

My Rating: 7.3/10

Click (2006)

Director: Frank Coraci

Writers: Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe

Stars: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken

My Review:

                Click is a comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale in the lead. Michael Newman (Sandler) is a workaholic and he tries to satisfy the needs of his work, giving it the priority above the family. Under stress, the tired Newman goes to a departmental store and buys a Universal remote. The remote turns out to be a one that could change his universe. Newman gets addicted to the remote, revising all the mistakes of his life and learns what parts of his life were missed by him.

                The entire movie is filled with comedies. Rather than the typical Sandler film where he is the cracker of the comedies, Comedies in click were driven by the plot itself. Christopher Walken who played a short role of a salesman named Morty was wasted by the director. This movie is a 2 hours of pure entertainment where you can sit back and enjoy the film rather than analysing it.

My Rating: 6.1/10

Pulse (2006)

Director: Jim Sonzero

Writers: Wes Craven (screenplay), Ray Wright (screenplay)

Stars: Kristen Bell, Rick Gonzalez and Christina Milian

My Review:

            I watched pulse along with my friend on one fine afternoon when he visited my house to enjoy the day with a movie. But it turned out to be a disaster as the movie really sucked. The plot of the film is that Josh (Tucker) tries to hack Zeigler’s (O’neill) computer and accidentally releases a computer virus. This mysterious force survives and expands by taking the desire to live off the Human being and pushes them to suicide. Mattie (Bell), a psychological student who witnesses the deaths of her friends, teams up with the survivors to stop the virus.

            The screenplay in the film was horrible. Acting was very moderate. The run-time of the film was only 90 min, but it felt as if we were there for 3 hours. I was totally off when the movie finished. A day planned for a great entertainment was completely ruined by this film.

My Rating: 4.1/10