Skipped-Over Flicks

View from my window...note: this ain't Hollywood

I spent more-than-a-little time this weekend cleaning the Spacestation, lounging with the nuggets, and watching the boob tube.

Doing so, I stumbled across two flicks in the loveable jungle that is Time Warner Cable On Demand. Sometimes good films don't get the publicity they deserve, but they always end up somewhere in the viewing landscape.

So, thanks to Hollywood's inability to properly market these easily enjoyed gems, here are my Skipped-Over recommendations, thanks to a lazy weekend:


Duma
Having travelled to Africa, I was intrigued by the byline of this movie, which follows a young boy as he takes his adopted cheetah back to its wild home, and along the way, gets lost in the desert. The cinematography is beautiful; the shots wide, empty, and colorful.

The story is mostly about the boy's journey, and his coming to terms with the death of his father, and the loss of his one true friend, his cheetah. This is a great film, for film-lovers, not popcorn-poppers.


Lord of War
This plays more like a "Blow" for the arms race. Cage coolly delivers a voice-over narrative about his rise as a gun-runner in post-Cold War Ukraine and Africa.



The film shows how guns, especially AK-47s, are able to make it into the hands of children, yet the characters never struggle with this issue. Cage himself is more physical comedy han earnest serious. I enjoyed the movie, but found it lacked in substance. Better to watch and just chuckle at some of the dry jokes. No heavy lifting.

After that, this weekend's dose of popcorn butter was provided by Bourne Ultimatum....and it was action-movie-fast, roof-jumpin', window-smashin' good fun, I must say.