The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago at Jun 14 11:00

I moved around a lot as a child, and something I learned along the way was to be wary of people who wanted to become friends quickly. Obviously the main character in this movie never learned that lesson, and quickly became trapped as confidant to a capricious despot. If someone likes you that quickly, they will probably hate you that quickly as well. Although the acting is great, and the locations are fascinating, I really never found the characters to be interesting and found myself watching the clock, never really wrapped up in the story. A good movie for the historical and cultural aspects, but missing something in the all-around.

Rating : 5/10

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago at May 26 6:15

"If you're afraid of dying it shows you have a life worth living." The Last King of Scotland is an intense, embracing thriller inspired by the true historical events of a horrible dictatorship that grappled Uganda throughout the 1970s. In the contemporary period of filmmaking it's an arduous undertaking to discover a film that truly stands out. With this film director Kevin Macdonald has outstandingly crafted a compelling drama abundant with tremendous power. Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) is a flourishing young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor with an aspiration to escape from his conservative father. Nicholas moves to Uganda hoping to lend a hand and have some fun in the process. But he arrives in Uganda during a complicated time as the country is under the new leadership of President ...Read more

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago at Sep 24 8:24

There's no doubting that this is a fantastic movie. I can only echo previous comments about the quality of acting throughout the film, particularly from Whitaker. His portrayal of Amin was great, to see how he transformed into a brutal and extremely scary person was very convincing. I always felt nervous for James McAvoy's character whenever he went into a room with Amin towards the end. You could almost feel how frightened he was yourself. However, I found it very difficult to sympathise with Garrigan at all other times. He was a complete bastard in my opinion. There may be spoilers ahead here, but first he sleeps with an African woman before up and leaving her, then he tried to make Gillian Anderson's character cheat on her husband with him, despite the continued hospitality he has gi...Read more

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago at Sep 12 5:35

I just recently saw a preview for this movie, and I knew I had to see it. Now that I have, I definitely wasn't disappointed. This was a well-told story that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this movie, despite some brutal scenes, which were not overly drawn out. Well written, excellently acted.

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago at Jul 11 21:09

Dr Garrigan (James McAvoy) expects to find exotism in Uganda. He certainly will find it, especially after meeting the country's President, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) and becoming his personal physician. A chain of events will change Garrigan's life, forever.

Absolutely wonderful, brilliant cast. I especially approve of Whitaker's "African" accent in English. Excellent portrayal of those people. McAvoy's character is extremely naive and he does a great acting job.

The ending may be quite shocking to some, I myself couldn't bear to watch a few minutes of very gruesome (but necessary and justified) violence (after 1h45 minutes of watching).

Certainly not a disappointment.
A well directed film, I highly recommend it.


Rating : 8/10

Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago at Jun 24 23:49

Sometimes when there is a movie you are looking forward to seeing and have certain expectations for you can end up being disappointed. I was far from disappointed with this film, I was absolutely riveted. Forest Whitaker put in a marvellous performance and did a fantastic job portraying a very scary man. I highly recommend this film and I think it's by far one of the best I've seen this year.

Rating : 10/10