Movie Log 2006 #38-40

Breaker Morant - I'm sure it's no coincidence that the two big Australian movies in 1980-81 (around the 50th anniversary of Australian independence) were about how Aussie soldiers generally got dicked around when fighting the British Empire's wars in the early 20th century. This one is about a courtmartial during the Boer War. Edward "The Equalizer" Herrmann is the title character, and it's his and Bryan Brown's picture. Adapted from a stage play, it does feel quite stagy at times. Of course it's set in South Africa in 1902, and there are maybe two black faces in the whole film.

The title Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia has worked its way into the vernacular like Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo and Snakes on a Plane, but I think few have actually seen it. Noted hack Michael Medved put it in his 50 Worst Films of All Time, but he's an idiot. It's slowish at first, brutal at times, and laced with misogyny, but still surprisingly tender and well worth a look.

Finally, Hostel - you can tell Kirsti's out of town when I netflix all the irredeemable horror movies, and, well, I certainly didn't grow as a person. This one shook me like Audition did. As a bonus, it had moments of wit without the nudge-wink of the Scream movies, and lacked the b.s. preachiness of the Saw films.