The Spy who dumped me (5 Stars)

You shouldn't keep secrets in a relationship. Audrey has been dating Drew for a year, and he didn't tell her that he works for the CIA. Maybe that's a secret that his bosses told him to keep, but it's still not good for a relationship.

One day he finishes with her. Worst of all, he finishes with her by sending her a text message. That's the coward's way out. Or is it? He's actually in Lithuania fighting for his life. He's finished with her because he's worried that their relationship would put her in danger. That's a good excuse, but it still doesn't explain why he couldn't dump her face to face.

While Audrey and her best friend Morgan are gleefully destroying whatever things Drew left behind, Drew unexpectedly turns up. He tells Audrey that she has to deliver a small trophy, second place in a fantasy football tournament, to a man in a restaurant in Vienna. So now he's changed his mind about putting Audrey in danger? I dislike Drew already.

Audrey's apartment is raided by a SWAT force. Drew flees, and the women think he's dead. They decide to carry out Drew's last wish. Off to Vienna they go.

Over the following 90 minutes the film turns into an international spy thriller. Audrey and Morgan don't just go to Vienna, they visit Berlin, Paris, Prague, Budapest and Amsterdam. Wherever they go people are trying to kill them. They figure out that a flash drive has been hidden in the base of the trophy, but they have no idea what's on it.

Critics have mixed opinions about the film. Some like it as much as me, while others say the pacing is uneven. I can see what they mean. The first hour of the film is fast-paced action, with non-stop car chases and gun fights. After the girls are captured for the first time, the film slows down. The second half of the film is slower paced, though just as funny.

The film is hilarious. It's full of ridiculous encounters, parodies of typical spy films. Kate McKinnon is one of the funniest women I know. Mila Kunis is the straight guy in the comedy relationship, which makes Kate seem even funnier.

Maybe I should go back and watch a few of the old James Bond movies. Watching "The Spy who dumped me" has given me a taste for spy films.

Success Rate:  - 0.1

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

The Spy who dumped me (5 Stars)

In Germany this film is called "Bad Spies". I fail to understand why one English language title has been picked to substitute another. Apart from that, it's not appropriate to the film, because the two girls are very good spies. They're naturals! The only advantage of the alternate title is that it's shorter, which would make it easier to use in my blog. Hmmm... I have to admit that's tempting.

I saw the film's trailer in the cinema a few weeks ago. It was good enough to persuade me to watch the film. But today, in the cinema, I was blown away. I knew it would be a good film, but it exceeded my expectations. The action was fast and hard from the beginning. The comedy started a few minutes later. Both ran side by side at a breathtaking pace. It wasn't until the middle of the film that the action slowed down. The audience was given a few minutes breather. Then it started again. Wonderful!

"The spy who dumped me" is about Audrey, a 30-year-old woman in Los Angeles, who has just been dumped by her boyfriend. Worse still, she's been dumped in a text message. That's a remarkable feat of cowardice. No girl wants to be dumped like that. What Audrey doesn't know is that her boyfriend Drew is a CIA agent who sent the text from Lithuania, where he's fighting for his life.

A few days later Drew returns and tells Audrey that he only broke up with her to keep her out of danger. Obviously he's no longer serious about keeping her out of danger because he now asks her to deliver a valuable trophy to a cafe in Vienna. Drew dies in a shootout in front of her eyes, but she's determined to fulfil his last wish. She jumps on a plane to Austria with her best friend Morgan.

I don't know who appeals to me most: Morgan (Kate McKinnon), on the left, or Audrey (Mila Kunis), on the right. They're both very good actresses, but Kate McKinnon makes me laugh more. The chemistry between them is nothing less than perfect.

"The spy who dumped me" is one of the best films of the year, so far. It qualifies as a surprise summer hit. Check it out while it's still in the cinemas. It's worth it.

Boogie Woogie (3 Stars)

This is a film with a world class cast that fails to live up to its promise. It's about the intrigues in the art world in London. (The film was originally meant to be set in New York, but it was relocated to London to save costs).

Alfred Rhinegold (Christopher Lee) is an aged art collector who is facing bankruptcy. He only has one thing of value, a painting by Piet Mondrian valued at £15 million, but he refuses to part with it for sentimental reasons. He bought it from Mondrian personally 50 years ago for £500 cash. His wife Alfreda (Joanna Lumley) conspires with her butler to encourage offers from art collectors to tempt him to sell. In the course of the film the bids rise to £30 million, but he still refuses to sell.

The intrigues aren't just about the art business, they're also sexual. Bob Macclestone (Stellan Skarsgard) and his wife Jean (Gillian Anderson) are happily married, as far as outward appearances go. Bob likes to have sex with younger women, but it's nothing serious. He always goes home to his wife. Jean has always been faithful, but after being seduced by a young artist she decides to get a divorce and move in with him. That was a bad choice. For her it was love, for the artist it was a one-night stand, because he's already having an affair with the art gallery owner Beth Freemantle (Heather Graham).

Bob admires the paintings with his wife.

Paige (Amanda Seyfried) also admires the paintings.

So Bob and Paige go to dinner to talk about what they have in common. He doesn't even suspect his wife wants to leave him.

I haven't even begun to describe all the intrigues in the film. Everyone is involved with everyone else, whether it's business or pleasure.

I would have enjoyed the film more if it had contained more comedy. There are several satirical scenes, especially at the end of the film, but they're all played with deadpan seriousness. Despite featuring several of my favourite actors the film failed to enthral me.

Another problem for me is that I have no understanding for art. I know what I like and what I don't, but I can't put a value on a painting.

This is the Mondrian painting hanging proudly on the wall. I admit that it looks good, and I might pay five pounds for a print, but is it really worth £15 million? Not to me. I wouldn't pay such a large sum even if I were rich enough.

I'd rather look at a beautiful girl. Wouldn't you? That's something I can appreciate.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

The Last King of Scotland (4½ Stars)

This could be considered the greatest film of Forest Whitaker's career. He won the Academy Award for best actor in 2007, rightfully so. Why was it that a few years later people were wailing about the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations and awards? Black actors will win awards when they're the best, and in this case Forest Whitaker really was the best.

It's an amazing film, a perfect mix of fact and fiction. What I mean is that the film portrays real events, from Idi Amin's rise to power to the hostage crisis at Entebbe, in which Palestinian and German terrorists united to kill Jews on Ugandan soil. It writes a fictional character, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, into the events, portraying him as Idi Amin's closest personal adviser.

Idi Amin was a complicated man. In my opinion he wasn't a bad man, unlike Robert Mugabe, who merely wanted to become the leader in order to exploit his people and make himself rich. Idi Amin had honest intentions to help his people and make Uganda a great nation. He failed because of his paranoia. He saw potential enemies everywhere and reacted immediately, executing them without attempting to find out whether they really were against him. He was also a hypochondriac. He claimed to have been told the day of his death, but whenever he suffered the slightest ailment he screamed that he was about to die. Forest Whitaker skilfully puts us into the mindset of this troubled dictator.

The film wasn't as popular with the public as it was with critics. It made a profit at the box office, but only because the film's budget was so low. It didn't even make it into the year's top 100 films. I just noticed that even though the film is still available in England, it's now out of print in America. Maybe it's too political for American audiences? Or maybe Americans just don't know and don't care where Uganda is.

The Last King of Scotland (4½ Stars)

This is the story of a fictional doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, who worked in Uganda as the personal physician of President Idi Amin. The film doesn't specify the dates, but it's easy to work them out by comparing it with the historical events that are referenced. Dr. Nicholas Garrigan entered Uganda on January 24th, 1971, and he left the country on July 2nd, 1976.

Nicholas is a young Scotsman who graduates as a doctor in 1970. Unwilling to live the dull life of a village doctor like his father, he says he will go anywhere in the world to get away from him. Anywhere except Canada. So he ends up in Uganda, on the day before Idi Amin comes to power by a military coup. At first he works in a village hospital. Then, after being overwhelmed by Idi Amin's charisma at a public rally, he accepts a position as the president's personal doctor.

At first things go well. Then he begins to see that Idi Amin is far from a benevolent leader. Evidence mounts up that Idi Amin has been murdering his political opponents. Dr. Garrigan wants to leave Uganda, but when he expresses his wish his passport is stolen to keep him in the country.

This is a very good film. Forest Whitaker's performance as Idi Amin won him an Oscar in 2007. James McAvoy's performance as the naive young doctor shouldn't be underestimated either. It's a fascinating film that accurately captures the atmosphere in Uganda in the early 1970's.