I developed an intense dislike for Leonardo Dicaprio after I saw Titanic. I couldn't watch him in any other role without picturing him yelling "I am the king of the world!" (This isn't his fault in any way, of course, and I recently read that the Titanic frenzy made him a little nauseous, too.) So it wasn't my idea to go see Blood Diamond. I sighed and rolled my eyes and then told my friend that I'd go but only because no one else would go with her. It turns out that she was doing me a favour by allowing me to discover an amazing film.
Danny Archer, played by Dicaprio, is a Rhodesian mercenary who is looking to make enough money to get out of Africa. While spending a night in jail Archer encounters Solomon Vandy, played by Djimon Honsou, a man who was forced to work in a rebel run diamond mine after his village was attacked. He gets free of the rebels during a government raid, but has been separated from his wife and children. He desperately wants to find them and Archer desperately wants a rare pink diamond that he believes Vandy can lead him to. Jennifer Connelly rounds out the trio of main characters as Maddy Bowen, an American journalist who wants to blow the illegal diamond trade wide open. She has the contacts and resources to find Vandy's family and Vandy will not help Archer unless he knows his family is safe.
The worst thing I can say about this film is that it was a bit long for me. It had some beautiful scenes and a lot of excitement, but two and a half hours is just too much.
Djimon Honsou was absolutely amazing. His Oscar nomination is well deserved and I hope he wins. Leonardo Dicaprio was good, partially because Honsou's intensity was a match for his own, and partially because he excels at playing characters who are morally ambiguous. Both men turned in great performances, but Jennifer Connelly didn't really add anything to the film. Her character seemed more like a plot device than anything else.
The relationship between Archer and Vandy is what really makes this movie worth watching. The two men are looking for the same thing, but for reasons on opposite ends of the moral scale. Somehow they manage to work together, but the results aren't what either one of them was expecting. *cue dramatic music*
Michelle
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
U2 By U2
Compiled from years of interviews, U2 By U2 follows the band from their early days playing in school gymnasiums to the release of their last full album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Bono, The Edge, Larry and Adam, along with manager Paul McGuinness, reminisce about thirty years of music with wit, humour and a whole lot of humility.
Album by album, song by song, each chapter deals with a different phase in the evolution of the band, and includes dozens of great photographs. And although the personal lives of the band are touched upon, it's the band itself that is the focus of this book. It becomes clear very quickly that U2 isn't about five different personalities, it's about an entity that has a power all its own.
The best part of reading this book for me was that it gave me the desire to relisten to each and every album as I was reading about it. I've been a U2 fan for almost twenty years, yet I found I still had a lot to learn about them. I came away with a better understanding of Bono's lyrics and Edge's guitar riffs, Larry's drum loops and Adam's bass lines. And beneath all the discussion of how their music has been created, I began see the ties that bind the band together. Each one of them had different reasons for joining the band, but in the end they all remained together because they knew they could become something special. They all believe that Atomic Bomb was their best album so far, but they also believe that they can still do better. Hopefully that means that I'll have another decade or two of music to listen to!
Michelle
Album by album, song by song, each chapter deals with a different phase in the evolution of the band, and includes dozens of great photographs. And although the personal lives of the band are touched upon, it's the band itself that is the focus of this book. It becomes clear very quickly that U2 isn't about five different personalities, it's about an entity that has a power all its own.
The best part of reading this book for me was that it gave me the desire to relisten to each and every album as I was reading about it. I've been a U2 fan for almost twenty years, yet I found I still had a lot to learn about them. I came away with a better understanding of Bono's lyrics and Edge's guitar riffs, Larry's drum loops and Adam's bass lines. And beneath all the discussion of how their music has been created, I began see the ties that bind the band together. Each one of them had different reasons for joining the band, but in the end they all remained together because they knew they could become something special. They all believe that Atomic Bomb was their best album so far, but they also believe that they can still do better. Hopefully that means that I'll have another decade or two of music to listen to!
Michelle
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
I know it's pretty sad to start this blog with CHICK LIT of all things, but that's what I just finished reading. And even though I'm usually pretty dismissive of this genre, I have to say, this was one of the better examples.
Rachel's a successful attorney in New York City, but she hates her job and wishes she were more like her best friend, Darcy. Darcy's got everything - an exciting PR job, a six figure salary, a gorgeous fiancee and to make matters worse, she looks like a supermodel. But on the night of her 30th birthday party, Rachel discovers that maybe Darcy doesn't have everything after all...
This book poses a bit of moral dilemma for most women, because the heroine ends up having an affair with her best friend's fiancee. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but for any woman I know, your best friend's man is untouchable. Despite her betrayal, though, Rachel is intensely likeable, a feeling that is enhanced by the fact that Darcy is detestable.
This novel is remarkable because it doesn't stick to conventional ideas of right and wrong. For me, chick lit has always seemed very formulaic. Something Borrowed breaks out of that formula a little bit and dares to be more interesting. I'd definitely recommend this novel to my girlfriends!
Michelle
Rachel's a successful attorney in New York City, but she hates her job and wishes she were more like her best friend, Darcy. Darcy's got everything - an exciting PR job, a six figure salary, a gorgeous fiancee and to make matters worse, she looks like a supermodel. But on the night of her 30th birthday party, Rachel discovers that maybe Darcy doesn't have everything after all...
This book poses a bit of moral dilemma for most women, because the heroine ends up having an affair with her best friend's fiancee. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but for any woman I know, your best friend's man is untouchable. Despite her betrayal, though, Rachel is intensely likeable, a feeling that is enhanced by the fact that Darcy is detestable.
This novel is remarkable because it doesn't stick to conventional ideas of right and wrong. For me, chick lit has always seemed very formulaic. Something Borrowed breaks out of that formula a little bit and dares to be more interesting. I'd definitely recommend this novel to my girlfriends!
Michelle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
