Comments on: Review: Lord of War

By: M. Straw

M. Straw — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 05:44:29 +0000

“Roger Ebert classifies the title sequence as innovative but frankly it seemed very fake to me. It’s obvious the bullet is a fake because there’s simply no way for it to be in focus without any barrel distortion from the wide-angle lens.”
You’re a geek. Sometimes it’s OK to let emotional impact supplant technical veracity.

All in all, it’s an interesting film (though a bit glossy), especially if Bryan Mealer’s recent Harper’s (Congo’s Daily Blood, April 2006) article is read directly before or after (not exaclty related, but relevant enough to grease the mental wheels).

By: Jack Yan

Jack Yan — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 15:00:40 +0000

How very true—thank you for responding.

I finally saw an advertisement for Lord of War—in Australia. I hope that means it’s coming here and that Andrew gets some recognition. Gattaca and The Truman Show did OK but he deserves a lot more publicity for even being a visionary.

I liked King Kong but Naomi Watts, not the ape, made it for me. I just don’t go in for SFX and monster films, which are Jackson’s fortés. I’ve a lot of friends working on the SFX so I have a natural bias there, but when they are such a strong element of the film, I still have a slight aversion.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 20:53:56 +0000

I know it’s probably beside the point but I recently saw Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Frankly, I think I liked Lord of War better. Even the title sequence which seemed a bit artifical is not as intrusive as the Trex trio in King Kong. They scream SFX…

I think Andrew Niccol is doing an excellent job and should definitely get more recognition in New Zealand. Peter Jackson is a big star now but that doesn’t mean there are no other notable filmmakers.

By: Jack Yan

Jack Yan — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 05:41:29 +0000

I see this movie is already out on DVD, and I hope it makes its money back. In Andrew Niccol’s home country, his movies get so little publicity that it makes New Zealanders seem like total hypocrites. I didn’t know it was released, though I did hear from Andrew’s father that he was working on it. No mention was made of the Kiwi connection to Zorro, and Simone got a release in one cinema on one day. Meanwhile, Peter Jackson gets fêted (mind you, even he was ignored for years by the New Zealand film establishment) and Lee Tamahori can’t escape attention thanks to his Maori name. Kiwis call themselves cinemagoers who are proud of their own, yet the distributors act to uphold Hollywood studio egos the best they can, and bugger patriotism.