"Apocalypto"and "Blood Diamond" are two big hint this week that have attracted many view.
December 5, 2006 (Press Release) --
Capsule reviews of films opening this week:
"Apocalypto" Mel Gibson hinted at it with Jesus' agonizing death in "The Passion of the Christ." Now he proves it: He's master of the epic snuff film. This saga of the ancient Mayans of Central America has an immeasurable body count and mutilation factor. Director Gibson applies the same breathtaking production values and attention to detail as he did in "Braveheart" and "The Passion." But he amplifies the violence beyond the brutal of "Braveheart" and the excruciating of "The Passion" to something approaching abhorrent at the height of the carnage here.
Told in an obscure Mayan language with subtitles, the film follows the frantic journey of a kidnapped hunter (Rudy Youngblood) battling savage warriors to return home and save his pregnant wife and their young son. Early on, Gibson presents great warmth, fraternity, compassion and sly humor in his hero's little jungle community. But after invaders from the big city arrive much of the action turns revolting. Gibson really ! didn't need to repeatedly show us lopped-off heads bouncing like coconuts down the towering stairs of a pyramid. Once was enough. R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images. 137 min. Two stars out of four.
_ David Germain, AP Movie Writer
"Blood Diamond" Director Edward Zwick ("Glory," "The Last Samurai") takes an unflinching look at the brutality of the African diamond trade in this powerfully acted, vividly shot drama. Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly star as three disparate figures who start out using each other and end up wanting to help each other. DiCaprio plays a smuggler and former soldier constantly on the hunt for the biggest stone out there. Hounsou has found one and hidden it, having been stripped from his family and forced to work in the Sierra Leone diamond fields. And Connelly plays an American journalist investigating the widespread violence and corruption that pervade the diamond industry. "Blood Diamond" runs too long and the script from Charles Leavitt ("K-PAX") tends to get a bit preachy and didactic.
But the intensity of this film is just spellbinding, with surprises around every corner some of them horrifying. The methodology of taking young boys from their home! s, putting automatic rifles in the ir tiny hands and turning them into remorseless killers is especially chilling. R for strong violence and language. 134 min. Three stars out of four.
_ Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
Source: http://www.yahoo.com
"Apocalypto" Mel Gibson hinted at it with Jesus' agonizing death in "The Passion of the Christ." Now he proves it: He's master of the epic snuff film. This saga of the ancient Mayans of Central America has an immeasurable body count and mutilation factor. Director Gibson applies the same breathtaking production values and attention to detail as he did in "Braveheart" and "The Passion." But he amplifies the violence beyond the brutal of "Braveheart" and the excruciating of "The Passion" to something approaching abhorrent at the height of the carnage here.
Told in an obscure Mayan language with subtitles, the film follows the frantic journey of a kidnapped hunter (Rudy Youngblood) battling savage warriors to return home and save his pregnant wife and their young son. Early on, Gibson presents great warmth, fraternity, compassion and sly humor in his hero's little jungle community. But after invaders from the big city arrive much of the action turns revolting. Gibson really ! didn't need to repeatedly show us lopped-off heads bouncing like coconuts down the towering stairs of a pyramid. Once was enough. R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images. 137 min. Two stars out of four.
_ David Germain, AP Movie Writer
"Blood Diamond" Director Edward Zwick ("Glory," "The Last Samurai") takes an unflinching look at the brutality of the African diamond trade in this powerfully acted, vividly shot drama. Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly star as three disparate figures who start out using each other and end up wanting to help each other. DiCaprio plays a smuggler and former soldier constantly on the hunt for the biggest stone out there. Hounsou has found one and hidden it, having been stripped from his family and forced to work in the Sierra Leone diamond fields. And Connelly plays an American journalist investigating the widespread violence and corruption that pervade the diamond industry. "Blood Diamond" runs too long and the script from Charles Leavitt ("K-PAX") tends to get a bit preachy and didactic.
But the intensity of this film is just spellbinding, with surprises around every corner some of them horrifying. The methodology of taking young boys from their home! s, putting automatic rifles in the ir tiny hands and turning them into remorseless killers is especially chilling. R for strong violence and language. 134 min. Three stars out of four.
_ Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
Source: http://www.yahoo.com
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