Reviews

I stupidly watched this movie as someone interested in Cuban history, rather than dancing. And while the dancing and the music (I actually really love the soundtrack - I even own it and listen to it quite a lot) was good to my untrained eyes, the Cuban history, however, was laughably bad.

The directors made a mistake in treating the Cuban Revolution subplot so lightly (i.e. "Batista, that guy's sorta mean; he doesn't let us dance but there's a revolution being led by Fidel Something-or-another! Yay!). I understand perfectly clear that the Cuban Revolution is a tough subject to tackle, especially with a movie marketed toward a predominantly American audience, but again, it was the director's choice to make the movie set during this time and place.

Besides the obvious mistreatment of Cuban history, the 180 that the parents do in regard to their daughter dating the Cuban boy is just extremely unbelievable for people of their status and time. I understand that this is a movie and that I should attempt to suspend my disbelief, but this is just obvious to me. Wealthy white 1950s adults would never let their daughter spend nights away with Cubans.

Like I said, this movie is mildly entertaining and I was able to somewhat enjoy it for what it was - mindless entertainment. Along with the bad history, the lack of character development was stunning as well - I wanted to hear more about the other snobby American expatriate kids (particularly Jonathan Jackson and January Jones' characters) and the parents. And hearing more about other characters would have made for a longer (I thought the film was too short as well) and better movie.

And the voice-overs at the beginning and end? Awful. You don't use voice-over unless it's absolutely necessary. And it wasn't in this case.

"House of Saddam" is a simply splendid miniseries. I have a cursory knowledge of Iraq and Saddam but this series confirmed what I knew and also illustrated new facts. The acting was amazing from everyone, particularly the actors who played Saddam and Uday - very scary and extremely convincing.

The only complaint I would have is that the last two episodes, particularly the very last one, dragged a little bit (I honestly became uninterested in Saddam after he was removed from power), though I appreciated that the series wanted to be timely and show the American invasion of Iraq. Also, I felt that each of the four parts jumped around a little bit too much and that I was more interested in the story of Saddam's immediate family rather than the story of Saddam's sons-in-law (though I'm sure their story was important).

All in all, this was an amazingly well-done mini-series on a fascinating topic. I will definitely be watching these actors and seeing where all they go in the future.

This is a gorgeous movie - a real treat to the eyes. The lush valley's of Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountains where Che and Castro fought are splendidly showcased - absolutely breathtaking. But a movie is more than just pretty camera-work, and 'Che' unfortunately doesn't deliver.

The subject matter - the life of Che Guevara - is extremely interesting (which is why I watched this movie - not as an admirer, but as someone very interested in Latin American history) and I hate how this movie didn't delve deep into his fascinating persona, rather opting for battle scene after battle scene and cutting to an interview that revealed very little about this complex man. I understand that battles and fighting were an important part of Che's life and experience in Cuba but I know there is more to the Revolution than a never-ending sequence of battles.

"Che" doesn't dig deep - it rarely examines the thought process of Che, why and how he got involved in Fidel Castro's guerrilla movement, why he has such a passion for revolution - why he's willing to die for a country not his own (Cuba)? Even in the interview parts, they're just typical interviews that don't provide the answers to these questions.

"Che" is a movie with a promising premise and a movie I was genuinely exited about seeing. Unfortunately, it falls way below my expectations - or at least this first part did. I hope the second part is better, but if it continues on the same course as the first, I doubt it will.