THEIR FILMS
Hotel Rwanda
Cast: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo
Direction: Terry George
Harrowing is the word. A heart-rending recreation of a shameful chapter in Rwandan history, this docudrama focuses on the actions of a real-life hero who put his life on the line to save more than a thousand refugees during the 1994 genocide.
Adopting a low-key approach, writer-director George, who previously helmed the Irish political saga Some Mother's Son (1996), recognises the power inherent in the miraculous true story, and refrains from easy sensationalism.
Yet, even though the massacre is scarcely shown, the horror of the 100-day civil war in which nearly a million people perished, is almost palpable.
Right away, we are introduced to Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle), the soft-spoken manager of a luxury hotel in the capital city, Kigali. The middle-class African's workaday life turns topsy-turvy once the ethnic slaughter begins.
The hotelier's initial instinct is simply to protect his own family. But when the situation worsens, the Schindler-esque saviour uses his negotiating skills to somehow win safety for the minority ethnic group sheltered at his hotel.
Meanwhile, the international community are unwilling to intervene. The pitiless carnage continues unabated.
The two lead performances are the piece de resistance. Investing his role with understated grace and intensity, Don Cheadle is astonishing. British actress Sophie Okonedo is equally impressive as his fiercely loyal wife.
However, Joaquin Phoenix as a photojournalist, Jean Reno as the owner of the hotel and Nick Nolte as a jaded U.N. commander, are lacklustre in sketchily-written subsidiary roles.
A significant plea for humanity, Hotel Rwanda is an edifying experience. Go for it.
Here to fraternity
Four Brothers
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson
Direction: John Singleton
Get this: Four brothers -- two white and two African-American -- return to their childhood home in Detroit for the funeral of their foster mother. It seems she was mercilessly gunned down during a grocery store robbery.
The police are callously indifferent, raising the hackles of the quartet. The investigations of the reunited sons lead them to a demonic mobster (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his cohorts.
A formulaic revenge drama, Four Brothers is notable for some memorable action set pieces - a car chase in a snowstorm, shootouts on the mean streets and an extended showdown on a frozen lake.
Director Singleton (Boyz N The Hood, 1991) confirms that he's a terrific stylist. On the emotional front, unfortunately, he tends to be shallow.
The performances are an asset. Mark Wahlberg as the sadistic big brother and Andre Benjamin as the business-minded family man, are impressive. Irish veteran Fionnula Flannagan is endearing in the brief role of their slain mother.
A western of sorts, peppered with a thumping music score, this family plot is fairly inviting.
Something Wilde
A Good Woman
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Helen Hunt
Direction: Mike Barker
Here's a polite, formally dressed and visually handsome adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. In director Mike Barker's A Good Woman, which uses Wilde's original title, the attitude is genteel and politically correct - nice but bland.
If there is any criticism of the hypocrisy of the landed aristocracy, it is implied rather than stated in clear and bold terms.
Anyway, so meet a conniving Mrs Erlynne (Hunt) who disrupts the made-in-heaven marriage of the Windermeres (Mark Umbers-Scarlett Johansson). The husband is a prosperous banker while his wife is, well, pretty as a picture. An English lord, as cartoon-like as they come, fancies Lady Windermere while the sly Mrs Erlynne makes a play for the banker.
Ensues a comedy of manners that is occasionally amusing and is remarkable particularly for its sumptuous costumes. In addition, the script does give several opportunities for the ladies to demonstrate their acting skills. Not surprisingly, Scarlett Johansson and Helen Hunt leave the male actors far behind in the histrionics department. Just for the two ladies, this Anglo-Italian co-production makes it to the see-grade.
Sea-grade
Into the Blue
Cast: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba
Direction: John Stockwell
The chemistry has been programmed. She is a gorgeous blonde who works at the local aquarium. And he's a muscle-rippling treasure hunter. The bikini-flaunting Jennifer Alba (Sin City, Fantastic Four) and the shirtless Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) go deep-sea diving off the coast of Bahamas.
The duo stumble upon a crashed cargo plane stashed with cocaine. But before they can vamoose with the sunken booty, the photogenic lovers must avoid lethal sharks, besides contending with ruthless druglords (Josh Brolin and mohawked Tyson Beckford) whose dirty paws are also itching to pick up the fortune in coke.
This mindless underwater adventure is for an undemanding audience. Check it out for Ms Alba and aqua thrills.
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