In theater review: "Hotel Rwanda"
A
Of all the films I saw that were released in 2004, "Hotel Rwanda" is without a doubt the most intense emotional experience.
In an updated version of my top 10 list, it would fall in the top three.
The film is based on a true story that took place in 1994 in the
Rwandan capital of Kigali. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), a member of the Hutu ethnic group, is the house manager of the Hotel Mille Collines. Life is pretty good for him, his ethnic Tutsi wife and their children until armies of Hutus begin slaughtering the Tutsis, trying to wipe out the next generation.
Initially Rusesabagina tries only to save his family and neighbors but destiny has other plans. Rusesabagina ends up transforming his hotel into a makeshift refugee camp as Tutsis try to survive the massacres.
Rusesabagina does what he can to bribe various Hutu leaders and beg support from the U.N. peacekeepers.
Within 100 days, a million Tutsis would be dead; 1,268 who would have been killed managed to survive because of Rusesabagina's courage, intelligence and compassion.
Cheadle's steady performance is the hinge on which the film turns.
Without his precise, potent performance, the film would have failed.
Those of us who have kept our eyes on Cheadle over the years have waited for a real breakout role like this one. Usually he's been relegated to memorable supporting characters. His two best roles have
been as porn star Buck Swope in "Boogie Nights" and a federal agent in
"Traffic."
It's an impressive performance that warrants an Oscar nomination.
The film's tension and pacing are dead-on. It moves gracefully without misstep, continually locking the viewer in, utterly absorbed.
Definitely make the 45 minute drive down to Castleton Arts to see
"Hotel Rwanda" on the big screen.
New DVD review: "The Manchurian Candidate"
Film: A-
DVD: B
It's ironic that Jonathan Demme rebounds back from his last film, a critically-panned remake of the classic "Charade," with another remake --- this time of "The Manchurian Candidate."
The film really works best the less you know about its twisting plot.
Denzel Washington plays an elite army major who has suffered from post traumatic stress disorder during the last decade due to his experiences in the Gulf War. Early on in the film, he discovers that he and others in his squad are having the same bizarre nightmares.
Meanwhile, the soldier from his platoon who earned a congressional medal of honor by saving them is picked up on the vice presidential ticket.
Conspiracy and paranoia ensue in a gripping thriller with an
intriguing political twist.
Meryl Streep steals the show as the senator who pushes her son into the vice presidency. Early on it's made clear just how great a performance Streep will deliver when she convinces the party leadership to nominate her son.
The DVD is solid, though not incredible: two featurettes, some
humorous outtakes, a commentary with Demme and a screenwriter, and a few other goodies.
"You Must Buy This DVD Right Now" DVD review: "Bill Hicks live:
Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian"
The late, great Bill Hicks was one of the great comedians of the 20th century whose reputation has grown in the years since his death in 1994. This DVD collects three of his best performances from the early '90s with a documentary about him.
While other comedians threw softball jokes with little meaning, Hicks railed against the government, hypocrisy and religion as he pushed his own compelling philosophy.
His signature bit says it all: "Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we're the imagination of our selves. Here's Tom with the weather."
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