I've been on a historical kick here lately and in the last three days i've seen three good ones.

The Other Boleyn Girl:

Of course i stormed through the book in about 48 hours a few months ago and the book is always better. They chopped a lot out of the movie (mainly the relationship between mary and the man she ends up marrying and some of the main court backstabbing) but that dang natalie portman sure does play "crazy" well. anne wasn't crazy, just ambitious and that's what gets her killed in the end (uh, hey, it's history, so i'm not giving anything away here)

however, if you're into the historical flicks, well worth the watch.

3 and a half paws up

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford:

woooo, baby...had to have me some brad pitt. i didn't realize that was mary louise parker who played his wife in it, nor casey affleck who played robert ford.

however, it was a really good movie. jesse james, i reckon, suffered from a variety of illnesses in the end. paranoia, probably some sort of systemic infection which affected his mental health.

again, you know the story, but it was nice to see an in depth version of it. and in the end, it's eluded to that he let robert ford "put him out of his misery like a lame horse" and even after the shooting, it delves into the lives of both the brothers responsible (what happened to them)

i like brad pitt and i think when given a script with some teeth, the man can act...like johnny depp, he ain't just a pretty face.

four paw up (and a half a tail wag)

The Last King of Scotland:

I believe Forrest Whittaker won an oscar for this role, didn't he? he did an outstanding job!

it's a look at the madness that was Idi Amin. a scottish boy (basically) newly graduated from medical school, can't bear the thought of going into to practice with his demanding, stuffy father. wanting an adventure, he spins the globe and lands on uguanda.

also couldn't believe that was gillian anderson who plays the wife of the doctor that nickolas (James McAvoy) works with when first arriving.

quite by mistake, he meets amin as he first takes over the country. the dictator takes a liking to him, especially because of his deep love of scotland, and offers him a job as his personal physician.

the naive young man soon realizes what a nut job the man is (like any infamous, brutal dictator worth his salt, paranoia takes hold.) going to the british for help to get out (because amin refuses to let him leave) they tell him he must first assassinate amin.

it's an edge of your seat, nail biter and a really good movie worth watching.

four paws up.