Saturday, September 17, 2005
Notes on Lord of War
Here's the IMDB "what the critics" said on Lord of War
They also noted that Just Like Heaven got better reviews.
So when we were watching it today, and I was immediately captivated, I kept waiting for the movie to take its big turn and start sucking. That never happened, it was great to the very last moment. Walking out of the movie, Claire and I were shocked at the reviews. Did we see the same movie? What the hell are they talking about it being only surface-level and dull? This could be the best movie so far this year.
The critics have entered another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A wonderous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. They've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Critics are warring over the Nicolas Cage satire Lord of War about the international gun market. Manohla Dargis in the New York Times calls it "a misfire" even though Cage's performance, she remarks, is "watchable." The problem, she writes, is that writer-director Andrew Niccol "never resolves the disconnect between this star's function (to entertain) and that of his character (to repel)." Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune remarks: "The film is morally unsettling on its surface, and then you realize the surface is all you're going to get." Bob Longino in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes it as an "often heavy-handed and terminally dull depiction of the violent world of unscrupulous international arms deals." On the other hand, Phillip Wuntch in the Dallas Morning News finds the film compelling. "Lord of War definitely aims to be something more profound than brain candy. It gives moviegoers something to think about," he writes. "If that recommendation sounds too dutiful, let it be known that it's exciting as well as thought-provoking."
They also noted that Just Like Heaven got better reviews.
So when we were watching it today, and I was immediately captivated, I kept waiting for the movie to take its big turn and start sucking. That never happened, it was great to the very last moment. Walking out of the movie, Claire and I were shocked at the reviews. Did we see the same movie? What the hell are they talking about it being only surface-level and dull? This could be the best movie so far this year.
The critics have entered another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A wonderous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. They've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
