Doctor Zhivago review

 Number 316 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Lean's epic historical-romance 'Doctor Zhivago.'

Doctor Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a physician during the Russian revolution. Although he is married to Tonya ( Geraldine Chaplin,) he soon falls in love with Lara (Julie Christie.) When the civil war tears them apart, fate throws them back together again.

We have returned to my favourite genre of film: period/historical dramas. That was sarcasm. As you know well by now, I hate period dramas. They're just so boring.

Doctor Zhivago wasn't quite in the top ten films to put you to sleep - that honour goes to Gone with the Wind or even David Lean's other historical epic 'Lawrence of Arabia - but it was still pretty close. Biopics or character dramas like Doctor Zhivago tend to be vague and unfocussed. They tell far too much story in far too much time.

Doctor Zhivago was no exception tot his. It introduces Doctor Zhivago and we follow him through his life until *spoilers* his death. Surely, some of this could have been edited out. Then the film wouldn't have been over three hours long. It had no business being that long. Never mind bloated, this film was so pregnant, it was about to give birth.

Having said that, Omar Sharif was very good as our titular protagonist especially when the Communist protestors are massacred by the mounted Cossacks. He can only watch in horror, as his people are mown down.

Doctor Zhivago also won five Oscars including best cinematography, art direction and costume design. These were well-earned as the cinematography was brilliant especially all the desolate, Russian landscapes. The costumes were also brilliant. You can see how hard they tried to get everything right.

That notwithstanding, I didn't enjoy Doctor Zhivago. It was a bloated, over-long affair.

The Last King of Scotland review

 Number 557 on the top 1000 films of all time is the historical drama 'The Last King of Scotland.'

Nicholas Garrigan (James Mcavoy) is a young Scottish doctor. Looking to make a difference, he travels to Uganda to work in a missionary clinic ran by David Merrit (Adam Katz) and his wife Sarah (Gillian Anderson.) But after a chance encounter, he becomes the personal physician of the Ugandan despot Idi Amin (Forrest Whitaker.)

In terms of dictators, Idi Amin is up there among the rest. He expelled all South Asians from his country, wiped out all political opposition and was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Despite all this, Forrest Whitaker showed a remarkably human side of the tyrant. Without never romanticising his actions, Whitaker made Idi Amin into a watchable character. He had a fascinating arc as we saw him spiral into paranoia and meglomania while remaining incredibly charismatic.

James Mcavoy was equally good as the naive, starry-eyed doctor initially a disciple of Amin, until his tyrannical actions become too much for Garrigan to ignore. The character of Nicholas Garrigan was a nice dismantling of the white saviour archetype. Rather than your average white colonist aiming to pacify, sedate and civilise the savage negro, Garrigan is a destructive force, albert unintentionally. Instead of saving the black characters, he gets many of them killed. *Spoilers*

One of these characters is Amin's third wife Kay (Kerry Washington) whom Nicholas impregnates while the pair are having a secret tryst. He is criticised for being a white man who couldn't resist the mystical trophy of a black woman.

The Last King of Scotland was penned by Peter Morgan who wrote other biopics like the Queen and the Crown. He wrote well knowing the most important sections to focus on. There isn't any spare fat anywhere in this film. I also want to give dues to Gillian Anderson. She was great in the supporting role of Sarah Merrit. Having seen countless dictators come and go, she fails to share Nicholas' wide-eyed optimism for Idi Amin's regime.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Last King of the Scotland. It was a great look into the life of Uganda's ruthless dictator.