BOBBY
Where was I when Kennedy was shot? Not even born yet, much as I wish I could
have indulged in the free love of the time. That is not the subject of this
film though, but don’t be too upset. Written and directed by Young
Gun Emilio Estevez, the drama follows a number of characters staying in the
Ambassador Hotel when Senator Bobby Kennedy was shot in 1968. Conspiracy
theories and heavy politics are avoided as we follow the disparate lives
of 22 hotel guests united by their anticipation of Bobby’s arrival
for the election night party. The top-notch cast includes Lindsay Lohan,
Demi Moore and Anthony Hopkins. It is by no means a perfect film - it suffers
with an uneven narrative - yet Estevez has crafted some wonderful characters
that more than make up for the film’s flaws.
Verdict: Sharply shot stuff
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
At 76 you’d expect the, still prolific, director Clint Eastwood to be
loosing his touch along with his cowboy swagger. You’d be wrong. Following
on from the success of the darkly disturbing Mystic River, Eastwood returns
to the director’s chair in this harrowing World War II drama about the
six Marines who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. The film focuses on the
sad old stories of the men after the legendary photo was taken - three were
killed during the battle of Iwo Jima, the three others flown home and made
reluctant heroes. It sensitively examines the true meaning of being a hero,
as well as, the brutal combat and human experience of being at war with a tone
that lands somewhere between Saving Private Ryan and the propaganda fest that
is Pearl Harbour, yet feels schmaltzy a fair few times and labours its moral
points towards the end.
Verdict: It’ll make grown men cry
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Susie Wild fumbles in the dark for her seat
