The Kingdom

[saurabh]

This is another one of those fast paced action thriller which keeps you wondering and you want to know the answers. :T

Based on terrorism in the Saudi Arabia, when a terrorist bomb detonates inside a Western housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an international incident is ignited.

While diplomats slowly debate equations of territorialism, FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury quickly assembles an elite team and negotiates a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia to locate the madman behind the bombing.

Upon landing in the desert kingdom, however, Fleury and his team discover Saudi authorities suspicious and unwelcoming of American interlopers into what they consider a local matter. Hamstrung by protocol-and with the clock ticking on their five days-the FBI agents find their expertise worthless without the trust of their Saudi counterparts, who want to locate the terrorist in their homeland on their own terms.

Fleury's crew finds a like-minded partner in Saudi Colonel Al-Ghazi, who helps them navigate royal politics and unlock the secrets of the crime scene and the workings of an extremist cell bent on further destruction. With these unlikely allies sharing a propulsive commitment to crack the case, the team is led to the killer's front door in a blistering do-or-die confrontation.

The IMDB link is here

[audioqueso]

So did you like the movie???

[Race Car Driver]

I bought this movie for my brother for christmas (we do small gifts) and not have seen the movie yet myself... I was kid of jealous to give it away :lol:

Looks good, and its on the list.

[George Bellefontaine]

An excellent movie. Well worth owning.

[Hdale85]

Agree with all the previous statements one of the better movies I've seen for sure.

[Ovation]

An excellent movie. Well worth owning.

No qualms at all? If so, perhaps I'll pick up the HD DVD.

[littlesaint]

I watched the HD-DVD this weekend. Very good. Be sure to check out some of the extras.

[Bmac]

I loved it, the last 30min were great.

[George Bellefontaine]

No qualms at all? If so, perhaps I'll pick up the HD DVD.

I bought it on standard dvd and have already watched it twice, so that pretty much says it all. If it were available on Blu rather than HD DVD, I would buy it again, now that I have a Blu player.

[John Holmes]

I was given "The Kingdom" in HD-DVD for Christmas. I have yet to view it because, I can hear and feel the disc sliding within the case. I'll have to exchange it.

[Ovation]

I bought it on standard dvd and have already watched it twice, so that pretty much says it all. If it were available on Blu rather than HD DVD, I would buy it again, now that I have a Blu player.

Well, if I can find it reasonably priced (a blind buy at 40$ plus tax is a bit much for my tastes), I'll pick it up in HD DVD.

[littlesaint]

Well, if I can find it reasonably priced (a blind buy at 40$ plus tax is a bit much for my tastes), I'll pick it up in HD DVD.

$40!

I thought things in Canada were getting cheaper of late with the weak US dollar?

[blk100rr]

great movie. Even the wife liked it. watched it about five times already.

[Ovation]

$40!

I thought things in Canada were getting cheaper of late with the weak US dollar?

Many things are, but not all. It will take a bit of time for everything to adjust. In the meantime, I've rented it on a 7 day rental.

[George Bellefontaine]

$40!

I thought things in Canada were getting cheaper of late with the weak US dollar?

It's call greedy retailers. :x

[Nolan B]

It's call greedy retailers. :x

amazon.com is your friend,

I live in canada and have bought at least 100 HD DVDs/BDs from amazon and each tittle was 5-10 less then going to Best Buy.

[saurabh]

Sorry, should have posted earlier, I did like it.

So did you like the movie???

[David Meek]

One of my two favorites of 2007. Highly recommended.

[Jack Gilvey]

Pretty good, this one, if preachy at the end. Worth a Netflix spot, but doesn't warrant repeated viewing.

[George Bellefontaine]

Worth a Netflix spot, but doesn't warrant repeated viewing.

I think that depends on whether or not you like this kind of material. I expect to watch it several times. It's amazing the little things I've picked up on in second or third viewings of various movies.

[Jack Gilvey]

I think that depends on whether or not you like this kind of material.

I love shootin' and stuff blowin' up! But for me, repeated viewing needs acting...something I don't really get from Jaime Foxx. I do always enjoy Chris Cooper, though, and I thought Ashraf Barhom was very believable. Not a bad movie by any stretch.

It's amazing the little things I've picked up on in second or third viewings of various movies.

Agreed, but very much depends on the movie and how much nuance/depth there is to pick up.

[George Bellefontaine]

I do always enjoy Chris Cooper, though, and I thought Ashraf Barhom was very believable.

We defintely agree there.

[John Holmes]

Well, I did my exchange and watched it.

I thought it was a good film. And am also looking forward to a second screening.

[Ovation]

Any movie with Chris Cooper is automatically better than it otherwise would have been. Hope I can watch it tonight (probably not until later this week, though).

[Jack Gilvey]

Any movie with Chris Cooper is automatically better than it otherwise would have been.

I like the way you put that. :T "American Beauty" comes to mind as my favorite Cooper performance.

[Ovation]

My favourite is Lone Star from 1996. A great movie.

[Jack Gilvey]

My favourite is Lone Star from 1996. A great movie.

Added to queue...thanks.

[Ovation]

As for The Kingdom, it's loaded in the A2 and awaiting my presence for screening. I'll comment on it later.

[George Bellefontaine]

My favourite is Lone Star from 1996. A great movie.

Oh, yeah, I have watched this several times. Kris Kristofferson is also good in this film.

[David Meek]

Not to take this further off-topic. . . . Not only is Chris Cooper excellent in The Kingdom and Lone Star, I really enjoyed his role as July Johnson in the original Lonesome Dove. Oh yeah, I read something somewhere about an Oscar for Adaptation, too.

[Jack Gilvey]

My favourite is Lone Star from 1996. A great movie.

Just watched it...agreed! Thanks.

[Ovation]

Glad you liked it.

[wkhanna]

Just watched my Netflix rental of this film last night.
As an Arab-American, I have to say I am a bit sensitive to this genre of Hollywood films.
Obviously, the volatility of this topic precludes any in-depth discussion here, but I will say that while IMHO it was intended as an action-type film, the subject was treated with less bias than is typical. It was a good action film that displayed more depth than most, and I liked it. Definitely worth a rental.

[Foxman]

My wife and I watched it last night and personally I thought it was a great movie. I felt the character's were believable and the film overall seemed believable.

[Chris D]

Rented it HD-DVD last night from Netflix.

WHOA. I mean..... WHOA! Was totally blown away by this movie. Not just a "shoot 'em up" action film, this one has a lot of substance. At first, I thought it was slanting towards a bias favoring the western, anti-terrorism "side". However, this film doesn't hesitate to explore big issues impacting the global stage today, such as religious inputs, international diplomacy, politics, and culture, and in some form or another touches all sides. It doesn't pull any punches, either, with a few topics, such as showing the degree of cowardice, indoctrination, and brutality involved with extremist suicide bombing organizations.

The world today has no choice but to deal with topics like terrorism, deciding how to define it, discuss it, and act with/upon it. And then any of us taking a second look at our thoughts will likely find new material--this is not a face-value issue by any means, with an extremely involved background. I found myself shouting at the screen at points, immersed in the subject. And I'm haunted by the end to the climax scene, where Jamie Fox and the terrorist leader both tell their associates, "Don't worry, we'll kill them all", and the camera focuses on the eyes of the terrorist's young grandson--intentionally or not, the next generation of terrorists has now been produced.

For me, this was a :5: out of :5:, and the best movie I've seen in a long time. Probably the movie of the year for me... I guess it came out last year. Will be buying it for sure when it's re-released on BD.

[George Bellefontaine]

I had a feeling you would get what this one is all about, Chris. I agree 100% with everything you said. That ending is just gut-churning.

[Chris D]

Reading some other viewer reviews, like at Netflix, I can see how others may feel like it was politically biased, and the end makes a political statement. Thus, the viewer may be turned off by the movie. (I can't say too much more than that without this discussion really getting political) But I took it to be more of a "let's just point something out, and get your mind thinking about what it may mean".

I don't think the movie's perfect--there's a bit where you have to suspend belief, such as a couple scenes mentioning that Jennifer Garner should cover up her face and body to comply with Saudi laws and customs, but then for the rest of the movie she walks around in a tight T-shirt.

As mentioned, it's a brutal movie, too, and should be watched with caution. I always judge a war movie based on (1) how accurately it depicts the violence of war, but (2) whether it uses that violence to glorify, condemn, or just show the brutality of war. I personally do not like it when movies make war look like something it's not, and am saddened when I watch a movie with a pretty accurate violent combat act, and hear a 14 year old kid a couple seats over say, "wow, cool!"

[Ovation]

Of course, the 14 year old probably shouldn't be there alone and if he isn't, his guardian is not doing his job. My dad brought me to R-rated movies when I was well short of being able to go alone, but he also made sure what I saw was within some sort of context--without that, 14 year olds have no business watching a film like this.

Digression over.

I enjoyed it but found it a bit too accented on the action aspect to make it worth showing in class in its entirety. However, I can see a few scenes being useful excerpts.