Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Kindgom

The Kingdom. I was intrigued by this movie when it came out. Never made it to the theaters to see it, but I avoided learning more about it because I like to be surprised by movies. It came from Netflix this week, and on my third attempt to watch, it finally happened.

Janie Foxx can be annoying, but I really liked him in Jarhead, so I was ready to see him portray another military type. I wasn't disappointed, he really does the tightly-disciplined guy well. Chris Cooper is good in another 'that guy' role. Jennifer Garner is surprisingly whimpery for a tough girl, and Jason Bateman seems a bit out of place, but makes up for it by being himself. Ashraf Barhom is terrific as our Saudi protagonist. Delivering intensity and some comic relief.

The movie has some real excitement in the beginning, then starts building and building towards a 30 minutes or so of nearly non stop action near the end. I think all of those things are really well done. Peter Berg might not be a terrific actor, but I like his directing style. I can't really talk about the cultural things in the film, that would take a book or so, but I'd be happy to talk to you in person about it.

Good acting, beautiful shots, genuine action and excitement. I am going to buy this DVD when I get a chance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Comment for the blog in general. Burt and I love it, although he's a little sad that you like Tom Hanks:) Can't wait for you to see Lars and the Real Girl. We loved it! One of the few movies we've gone out to see since the baby was born, so that was good!