Watched

Went through 2 depressing movies over the weekend.



1. Hotel Rwanda

On the genocide in Rwanda involving the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic conflict. An understated Nick Nolte and an unrecognizable Joachin Phoenix with a strong cast of African actors complement Don Cheadle's Academy Award nominated performance. I don't want to pretend that I understand the conflict enough as all I remembered was during the Hutu's ethnic cleansing of the Tutsis was covered substantially in the press. I remembered wondering to what level humanity had sunk to. Over a million people lost their lives. Only downside is the movie sanitized the violence part. Though very disturbing - the primary weapon used was the machete - I feel that the directors should not glean over the grisly part. Excellent soundtrack. 4/5

2. The Mist

Not as depressing as Hotel Rwanda but contains an ending that's tragic. I'm a fan of Frank Darabont, Stephen King's favourite director. Having enjoyed Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Majestic, I was looking forward to another adaptation of the horror master's novella collection. With themes of organized religion, military experiments gone awry, I was surprised at the amount of blood and gore this movie has. Certainly a different path taken by Darabont this round. Containing some deadpan humour, the director thankfully also retained his trademark character driven storyline. All the performances were strong and you're drawn into the plight of the townsfolk which was undersieged by some unseen creatures. When the creatures are revealed, wow, what a revelation. I'll only reveal the following clues - Alien, The Thing, Half-Life. I've to credit the director for bravely sticking to the tragic ending and not sugarcoating the cataclysmic event Hollywood style. 4/5