Feeling bored at home on CNY weekend, I watched a Shrek 2 rerun with my wee little cousins the other day. I don't know about you but I was completely turned off by the movie. Its like watching a torturous cross between Beauty and The Beast and Coyote Ugly.
Call me old fashioned but if you have an enchanted fairy tale to tell, then for pete's sake tell an enchanted fairy tale. Why pollute it with things that completely throw it out of place, out of time and out of character? You've framed the story around medieval times when flushing the toilet meant flinging one's bucket of excreta out the window onto the streets so wtf was disco music from the 70's doing in it, Grammy hits-singing fairy godmothers and other modern Hollywood trash? It might be lost on the little twerps but not on me. I tell ya, it was bloody irritating.
But if there was one recent movie that impressed me, it is Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
His South African accent is way cool, the storyline hung superbly, the African lead actor Djimen Hounsou's acting was very convincing and even Arnold Vosloo, the guy who played evil Imhotep in the Mummy, played his role of saviour-cum-villain well.
Set in Sierra Leone, the question behind the movie is simply this - would you buy something if you knew someone was tortured and killed making it? Now being a cheapskate, I've never bought a diamond before, not even for my gf, and after watching the movie, I'm glad I didn't.
Despite the nomination for 5 Oscars, this sort of movie will not be a box office hit. Let's face it, people generally pay to be entertained and get away from reality, not get deeper into it. However in no way does this diminish the value of the story. The movie is a damning message to the masters of child labourers, sweatshops and export countries well known for human rights abuses, woven around a heart wrenching tale of human barbarism and tragedy.
Yes its just a movie and a work of fiction no doubt but it must have hit close to home. Soon after the first screenings, some African diamond exporting countries actually came forward to deny that their diamonds are mined by slave labour. Even DeBeers, the world's largest diamond company had a response. But if you see the conditions of these countries on BBC and CNN, you might wonder if there is some truth to the movie's portrayals.
I like movies that instil awareness, especially if they come with kick-ass action scenes like this one. People - watch the movie if you can and think very hard before buying that shiny rock for your girlfriend. Be like me and buy her a teddy bear instead.
I give Blood Diamond a 4 thumbs up out of 5.
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