Lord of War

Released: 9/16/05

Viewed: 1:00pm 9/23/05

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto, Ian Holm, Ethan Hawk

Directed by: Andrew Niccol

Lord of War sure did sneak up on me. And I'm not even sure how. The cast is outstanding. It's about guns, which I'm always up for. But it surprised the hell out of me. I can remember seeing the poster for the first time and thinking "What the hell is this!?" There was Nick Cage's head made completely out of bullets. All I knew was I wanted to see the movie, and I didn't even care what it was about.

The movie opens in the same glory. Tens of thousands of bullets everywhere. Like a Geoff Darrow drawing or a scene out of the Matrix, they were really putting the money spent on casings, to it's fullest effect. It's war as art in its finest sense. This opening monologue is the most visually pleasing moment of the film. Closing in on Cage standing in a war torn area. Everything about it is beautiful. Beautiful in it's way.

From there we get "the life of a bullet" during the credit sequence, where we see the stages a bullet goes through. It's produced, inspected, shipped, inspected, shipped some more, inspected, loaded. Now before I go on, think about where this bullet might end up. What is its ultimate purpose? Well that's what happens, and it looks cool as hell. Unfortunately the rest of the movie is as predictable as the final resting place of that bullet. It's not to say that the movie is not well done or entertaining. It's great. It's a real story about a subject few of us encounter or think about. And you get all aspect of that life and what it brings.

There are some clich?s that are dropped in with a heavy hand. A man in a high level illegal profession gets stuck on the cocaine pretty damn quick. A man is haunted by the ghosts of his past. Literally. One last job! And during a wild out of control plane crash something is in the path of the plane! Oh my god it's the cutest little baby you've ever seen!! If there were a high school football team in this movie, I'm sure they would have won the big game.

A baby in danger was the ultimate eye roll. But it's ok. The movie is smart and interesting. The acting is top notch all around, and the people they cast are perfect in their roles. I would have liked to have seen more of Ethan Hawk. The scenes where Cage and his crew were finding ways to hide from him or make it look like everything was ok, were the most interesting. You could almost here Hawk say "Next time Gadget." under his breath.

I love the movies Cage is picking these days. From the crowd pleasers like National Treasure to the masterpieces of Adaptation he's picking the roles that not only show how good he is as an actor, but also as a survivor. This guy will have a career forever.

Where the movie really kicks ass is in its storytelling style. Cage narrates the movie, and throughout you'll get different montages with Cage explaining how a gun works, or how you get through customs. These moments are the most pleasing bits in terms of filmmaking. Quick cuts, shocking clips, funny gags. It's cool. My favorite is the "This is what's going to happen" montage at the end. Visually just because of the hidden character (non-spoilers people) it just looks awesome.

I'm giving Lord a 6 out of 10. There's a lot going on which I think is what really hurts it. The movie goes on forever. At the same time it's very satisfying because it's just a really good story. It goes on forever because there's a lot of story to tell. Nothing wrong with that. And I loved how the story ended. It wasn't nearly as predictable as the rest of the movie. In other words - not safe. You've got to respect that.

DVD worthy?: It's pretty well done, but I would never rewatch it. It's thick and long, and anything but casual. Worth seeing, not worth owning.

If you liked this movie check out: No idea

I'm not sure what to recommend. The movie is not so original that I can't think of comparisons, but it's a genre we don't encounter too often. Any suggestions?

Trailer Hitch: Saw II

Seriously, there were like seven previews before this movie. It was insane. The most promising is Tony Scott's Domino starring Mickey Rourke, and Keira Knightly shooting people. Awesome. But Saw II definitely stood out.

Also note worthy is Clooney's new film Good night, and Good luck. It's a historical movie about the McCarthy trials from the newscaster's perspective. Looks fascinating. I loved Clooney's first film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind This seems to be an smart follow up, we'll see if it pays off.

Saw was a low budget hit that had all kinds of good buzz around it. I rented it, and liked it, even with all its flaws. I could go on forever question certain decisions, but ultimately, it's an entertaining movie. It's scary, and interesting, and shocking. If you like horror and puzzles, check it out. I'm glad it did well enough to give birth to a sequel. From the looks of the trailer it seems like there is a larger group of people stuck in a house. And there's poison gas! Upping the game could be interesting, but the skeptic in me is nervous that getting too complicated will ruin what was so enjoyable about the first movie. Two men trapped in a room chained to the walls. What do you do? It's simple and really interesting. Let's hope they didn't screw up with big Hollywood backing them up.

Please cast your vote to see me in my antique furniture rage. And don't forget that all month long, the Secret Tales of Super Hero Virginity rolls on, telling you the secret shame of your favorite heroes. Yesterday I promised that Superman would be going up for Friday. But since the Lord of War review is going up I had to do an incentive for that. Still, I'm a man of my word, and if you would like to see the Superman image check out this thread on the Pimp boards. Remember, there's a new one of the images every weekday. Voting has been so great; I feel like you guys already know what's going on, so forgive my being a broken record. And thanks for the support. :)