Les Rois du désert

This film made me nausious. It is the tale of American ignorance and greed at its most disgusting. Against a backdrop of stereotyped Arabia and Arabs, pathetic attempts are made at humour (in the style of Kelly's Heroes) and action. Both fail and the ignorance powering this failiure is enough to make you weep. What a sick nation it is that produces this garbage as entertainment. The 'message' is morally disfigured, the 'action' is voyourism at its worst, the 'acting' gives cardboard a bad name and the script was written by one of those infamous monkeys and their typewriters. The makers of the non-sense should be ashamed.

I didn't expect this movie to be as good as it was. Then again, I wasn't sure what it was going to be about as all I remember from the reviews of it were that it was good, that many critics thought it should have been an Oscar contender, and to expect to hear about the Bullet Wound Scene. Well I didn't hear any other word of mouth besides that so I rented the movie and watched it not knowing what to expect, which I've found tends to be the best way to enjoy a movie anyway. If I may endulge in slang from around the period of the movie, I have to heartily exclaim that this movie was radical! There is a great deal of dark comedy in it that I hope I'm not the only person to appreciate. And it all builds to an exciting finale (I won't say how, because this was the part of the movie I had no idea about). Please don't overlook this one! Just one last thing, in case "Boogie Nights" didn't convince you: as a rapper, Mark Walburg is a great actor.

I liked the approach, black and critical humor about wars, their usefulness and futility, caricatures and scenes full of xenophobia ... Good criticism...

According to this movie, here's what I learned: 1) The U.S. is inherently evil and Saddam Hussein and his raping, pillaging, and torturing Iraqi soldiers are just misunderstood; 2) It's all about the oil, and has nothing to do with the fact that Saddam wanted Kuwait; 3) American soldiers are cowardly back-shooters who shoots unarmed people because they wanna get a picture to show the folks back home; 4) American soldiers will throw away their career and life at the drop of a hat if it means they can make a few easy bucks; 5) No one despises America more than Hollywood. 'Nuff said.

Three Kings: 7.5/10 The trailers made this 1999 look like one of those "Americana 4 ever, Arabs suck!" type propaganda movies, but it was actually a lot more. The cast seemed a bit so/so, but this was actually a really good movie. Set in Iraq after the Gulf War, a band of men go looking for hidden gold in some bunkers. Naturally, it's not that easy, and so the gunfire, hostilities, civilian connection, and so on, begins. Clooney is really good as the hard-up leader of the squad, and the movie tells a story and isn't the clutter that so many of these sorts are. The ending is very good too, without giving anything away.

What was the director thinking? He tried to combine the styles of Oliver Stone, Baz Luhrman, Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee but failed miserably. The whole film is far too contrasty without producing the desired desert-heat effect. Not to mention the content. The film advertises itself as a comedy (especially with it starring George Clooney) and tries to be funny but at the same time deals with subjects far too serious to be made light of. It comes off as making fun of the innocent deaths. He combines realism with fantasy in the flashbacks and close ups of wounds. This movie just doesn't work.

Best serious yet comical movie about war I've seen. It's not slapstick silly funny nor is it an extremely serious graphic depiction of war. It's one of a kind leaning more towards a realistic movie but plenty of humor for levity. Excellent cast (even Ice Cube) with an excellent script and director. Side note: Spike Jonze known mainly as a director and producer ("Her" the "Jackass" franchise) of a couple of great films and dozens of the most inventive music videos ever steals every scene he's in with his comedic acting chops. Skilled behind and in front of the camera.

I had heard so many good things about Three Kings before I saw it, and I was terribly disappointed with the result of the film. David O. Russell has created a film that makes heroe's look more like barbie dolls because of the way he has used the film, it looks absolutely terrible. Discluding the great and realisitic performance by Mark Wahlberg, all the cast are almost unwatchable. The screenplay is terrible, and I hope the writer does something better next time. Three Kings is maybe not the worst film of 1999, but it is certainly incredibly overrated garbage. Rating: 4