Scarcely a few weeks have passed from seeing Syriana when I get to watch another movie on evil corporations. In Lord of War it’s the military and the arms industry, the so-called military-industrial complex. Nicholas Cage is Yuri Orlov, a big if not the biggest player in the arms trade industry. As usual, Cage is great though at times I forget that this is a rather serious movie. I think he has played one too many comedies :P

In the movie, Orlov narrates how he got started on the industry, starting with a few Israeli Uzi to truckloads of Russian AK-47s and even to tanks and helicopters. He tells how work has affected him: how he lost his wife, son, brother, his humanity… But this is not just about the story of a lost soul, it is also an expose on the industry. Throughout his story, the movie shows the ugly side of the industry (is there a pretty side?): people killing, people dying. And not just ordinary people but children. The movie also showed the drugs and the conflict diamonds which are frequently used as payments for arms are shown to complete the picture of how evil the trade is.

Unexpectedly a pretty interesting movie.

Rating: 4/5

Most of us had at one time or the other become cynical enough to suspect of the great evil of the mega-corporations and their lap dog, the government. Syriana gives those suspicions visual and aural life. A more watchable Farenheit 911, it is the story of an oil company intent on taking control of an oil field at all costs, a progressive Arab prince intent on doing right, standing on their way, a CIA agent manipulated into something he had no idea of. The stories of these men and more are spun and weaved together into a thought-provoking oil business/political thriller. If you don’t believe the mega-corporations (or at least the oil companies) are evil, this will at least make you think twice. An absolutely great watch!

Rating: 5/5

If you are familiar with the killing of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at Munich during the 1972 Olympics, you would think Munich is a movie about that event. You will partly be right as this movie uses that event as a backdrop. But mainly, it focuses on the Israeli reprisal operation against the brains behind the attack. The story has almost the same storyline as Sword of Gideon, an HBO movie. This is understandable since they are based on the same book, Vengeance. Of course, there are some differences with Munich. A notable one being the extra effort taken by Spielberg to show Palestinians airing their side of the issue. Of course, you really shouldn’t expect a movie to make things clearer on this complicated issue. Also, they did not explain either why they prefer attacking innocent civilians. Another notable difference is that Munich delves on the experience of killing, how it changes people, what kind of person you need to be. It also delves on the moral question of assassination as a tool: Are such reprisals immoral? Doesn’t it bring you down to the same level as your enemies? I think not, but it’s up to you to judge for yourself.

Rating: 5/5