Três Reis

With the exception of 'Magnolia'and 'The Green Mile', I don't believe that there was a movie as great as 'Three Kings' last year. It was a brilliant look at the Gulf War and stretched beyond the boundaries of all war movies before it. David O. Russell did an excellent job writing and directing this movie and George Clooney gave one of the best performances of the year. Mark Wahlberg proved that his work can go beyond that of Dirk Diggler. Spike Jonze was hilarious as Wahlberg's lacky. Watching the movie is a memorable experience. It's way out there with it's comedic sense of timing, awesome action sequences, and morals to match. It dealt with the political issues of the Gulf War which was seen as a pretty harmless war from an American's standpoint. Russell showed us the plight of the freedom fighters in Iraq and told a very serious story, but did it with a sense of humor that was neither tasteless nor melodramatic. Russell kept an even tone throughout the entire movie and perfectly blended the action,black comedy,and war genres into what was one of the year's best. An entertaining movie that never ceases to amaze me. I still am trying to figure out why it didn't get nominated for any Oscars. I hope that one day people will see this move for what it is...a masterpiece.

I spend most of my time bitching at just how mindless and cliched most movies released by Hollywood are, so it's always a pleasant surprise when a 'Pulp Fiction' or a 'Boogie Nights' or an 'American Beauty' gets released and makes me eat my words. 'Three Kings' deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those very fine movies, but what a left field surprise this one was! As much as I enjoyed David O. Russell's previous movies 'Spanking The Monkey' and 'Flirting With Disaster', I never would have expected him to be capable of making a movie as fresh and original as this! Easily overlooked, it very cleverly manages to work simultaneously as an action/adventure, and a comedy, and a wonderfully subversive lesson in recent political history. Who would have thought? The other surprise is just how fine the motley cast is. TV heart throb Clooney, rappers turned actors Wahlberg and Ice Cube, and video director Jonze. All are much better than anyone would have the right to expect, and are supported by some strong performances from the likes of Cliff Curtis ('Once Were Warriors'), Nora Dunn ('The Last Supper'), Jamie Kennedy ('Scream') and especially Said Taghmaoui ('La Haine'), the latter in a role that should have made him an international star. 'Three Kings' is in my opinion a modern classic and one of the very best movies of the last ten years. I can't recommend this one highly enough!

In 1994 and then 1996, David O. Russell proved himself to be one of the few original voices in American comedy with his films SPANKING THE MONKEY and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, respectively. He could have continued in that vein, but instead he seemed to be going mainstream with a studio film, starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube, which seemed to be an action/adventure set in the Gulf War, at least if you only saw the trailer(which left me going "Huh?"). After seeing the film, it's clear to me that Russell is now one of the major talents to emerge from the 90's, as this is a masterpiece.

As I mentioned before, the trailer was confusing, but while the movie is clear, Russell(who re-wrote a script by John Ridley, though there's a lot of contention over who exactly did what) makes clear from the beginning his intention to throw curves at us whenever he can, starting with Wahlberg asking as he draws his sights on an Iraqi soldier, "Are we still shooting at people?" He shoots the soldier anyway, and is immediately remorseful when he sees the soldier was holding a white flag. The movie goes from there to soldiers who, although in a celebratory mood, are still somewhat puzzled as to why they're there, a reporter(played well by the underused Nora Dunn) who can't help but talk in cliches, a tanker which, when shot, turns out to be holding milk, and Iraqi refugees who thought Americans were going to liberate them from Saddam Hussein and now are suffering because of it. It's this attitude which makes the otherwise normal-sounding plot - Clooney, Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze play soldiers turned thieves who end up with a conscience - play as anything but normal-sounding.

Another thing which helps is the photography(I forget the guy's name, but he also did THE USUAL SUSPECTS). Far from the clear-looking photography we got in the telecasts, this is rough, dangerous, and, just like the plot, constantly putting us off our guard.

Finally, the performances. Clooney I think has long been underappreciated not, as most people assume, because he's a sex symbol, but because he, like Harrison Ford and others of his type, make it look easy. There's nothing easy about his character here, and Clooney doesn't take the easy way out here. He doesn't coast on his charm and try to make the character likeable, but goes through the journey his character does, and even without a lot of dialogue(at the end, his face when he signals to Wahlberg and Ice Cube says all we need to know, as does their nods back). Wahlberg is fast becoming one of our better actors, and this proves it. He even finds comic potential where you wouldn't expect any. Ice Cube has had a mixed career since BOYZ IN THE HOOD, but this ranks up with that performance. Finally, Jonze has been criticized for playing a hillbilly stereotype, but the key is how he's more like a lapdog hungry for affection rather than just plain white trash, and he plays it as such. This is the best film I've seen so far this year.

I've just watched this film two years after umming and arring about going to see it at the flicks when it was released. Two years ago I stayed in with a pizza thinking that George Clooney looking gritty with a load of gold wouldn't be up to much. Then friends started to talk about it quite positively without really saying much about the content. Then I saw it in a buy 2 get 1 free sale at HMV, and now I know that I needn't have to gone through all the bother of digesting a pizza.

I should also add that I'm seeing this after 11/9/2001 and that even with the new perspective world events have cast over films with themes involving the US and the middle East, this film stands up very well. A positive portrayal of Islam, a positive portrayal of the people of Iraq, a sort-of-positive portrayal of the US army abroad, hell even a sympathetic portrayal of a lapdog of Saddam (I'm kind of reminded of Happiness for the sheer taboo-bustingness of this portrayal).

The plot is easy on the mind, the acting is satisfactory, the ending is purest Hollywood and the cinematography is sub-Lawrence of Arabia despite having access to a perfectly adequate desert. What makes this movie stand out is how at ease it is with its subject matter; letting comedy mix with the sort of serious politics that make a lot of people pick their words with great care.

The misleading trailer for this film fits in perfectly with what it's trying to achieve. Pretending to a be a gung-ho, guns and gold, go gettum boys film, it gets those into the cinema who need to hear its message not just those who want to hear. It attempts to slip complex issues through just about all the unthinking jingoism that lingers outside movie theatres on a regular basis and for that I salute it.

Go see.

If there is one thing you can't accuse the makers of this movie of, than it must be that they weren't original. I don't think I've ever seen a 'war movie' that is sometimes shocking, but also funny, one that criticizes the politicians for what they did during the war, but also offers a big adventure at the same time...

The story goes like this: A few days after the first Gulf War has ended, a group of American soldiers come across a secret Iraqi map. This map reveals where the bunker can be found in which the Iraqi's have stored the gold and the treasure that they had stolen from Kuwait. But they aren't thinking of giving it back to the Kuwaiti's. They want to keep it for themselves and get as rich as kings and so they go on a trip full of adventure. Even though they are very egoistic at first, they aren't blind for what is happening around them. They soon learn that the Iraqi's have been encouraged by the U.S. government to rebel against the regime and fight Sadam Hussein. But the U.S. military refuses to help them with their uprising, which means that the rebels are facing certain death. What should they do? Take the money and run, not caring about the fate of the civilians or helping them across the border into Iran and risking to loose all their wealth...

Calling this a war movie isn't exactly right. It's true that its story is told during the first Gulf war, but the war isn't the most important thing in this movie. Personally I think you better call this an adventure movie, because that's what it really is. They go on an adventure to find a lot of gold.

The acting and the story in this movie are really good and more than just worth a watch. It's an original movie that blends drama, comedy, politics and war together into a fine mixture, but I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. Nevertheless this is a good movie that is certainly worth a watch. I give it a 7.5/10