"THREE KINGS"
"Three Kings" has been advertised as a wacky war comedy, but it really isn't. Don't get me wrong, it DOES have some funny moments, but as a whole, it's a very serious, depressing movie. And it really makes you think. Never before has violence been handled so well in a movie. Like with "Saving Private Ryan," you walk out wishing there was no more war in the world, but the point is made by hitting you over the head with violence (that's not a criticism, it's just a fact). With "Three Kings," the violence is... well, I'd rather you see it for yourself. The violent moments aren't blood and guts galore, but they're certainly memorable.
I never saw "Flirting with Disaster," so I can't comment on that, but David O. Russel has DEFINITELY grown up since "Spanking the Monkey" (strange sentence, huh?). "Three Kings" is a very intelligent movie made by a director with tremendous skill. He also wrote the screenplay, but the original story was written by John Ridley, who wrote the screenplay for "U Turn" (as well as the novel it was based on, "Stray Dogs"). I liked "U Turn," and I liked "Three Kings," so I think this John Ridley guy is pretty good.
The cast is an odd combination of actors. The main guy is George Clooney, an actor who earned my respect with "Out of Sight." He has a great presence in the movie, he plays leaders well. Mark Wahlberg is in it, and he's good, too. I remember when he was Markie Mark. I hated him back then, but it's really hard to hate him now. Ice Cube does his thang, and he does it well. Finally, there's Spike Jonze. He had bit parts in "The Game" and "Mi Vida Loca," but what he's REALLY known for is his work as a director of music videos. We can look forward to his feature film directorial debut in the soon-to-be-released "Being John Malkovich." As an actor, he's great. It's a shame that he's not getting top billing like the other actors, but that's okay. I'm sure he'll do fine with his directing gigs.
I'm hoping that "Three Kings" won't disappoint those who expect
a screwball comedy (which was what I expected when I rented
"Spanking the Monkey"... wouldn't you?). This movie is a
very thoughtful movie that isn't what most people will expect
it to be, but maybe that's a plus. And realistically, enough
funny stuff happens throughout the movie. As a matter of fact,
you may walk outta the theater not knowing if the tears in your
eyes are from the depressing stuff, or from laughing so hard.
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