Saturday Night Premiere: Alexander

Saturday, December 31, 2005

Tonight's final Saturday Night Premiere of 2005 comes to us from HBO i the form of Oliver Stone's Alexander. HBO decided to go out with a bang for the last movie of the year by airing the director's cut of the film. I wasn't sure what to expect of this film starring Colin Farrell in the title role of Alexander. I'd heard a lot of bad press and reviews when it came to this movie. Some had called it boring and not worth the time wasted to watch it, but in my mind this movie was excellent. Yes, the movie had its slow moments, but the intensity of this film more than made up for those slow moments.

I loved Angelina Jolie in this movie. Colin Farrell was also excellent. This movie tells the story of the life and fall of Alexander the Great. Angelina plays his mother, a bit odd, but somehow it worked. Angelina made it work. I honestly love her as actress, and no matter what role she is given, Jolie succeeds in making it hers. Oliver made this movie honest and unapologetic. The fight scenes were brutal. The emotions felt real. I only wished they had shown more of the love story between Alexander and his lover, but they showed enough to make me want more.

I don't usually compare movies to another, but I also watched Troy last night. Between the two, it is hard to judge which is the better movie. Both are long, and both tell stories of men that fall to death. However, both were excellent movies. They were both visually amazing. The scene in Troy when the ships are coming towards the shore was just awe inspiring. Acting was also superb in both movies. For the best actor of the two movies, I'm leaning towards Brad Pitt just a bit because he has always won me over with all that he does, but Colin Farrell also did well in the role of Alexander. I'd recommend seeing either film.

To pick up a copy of Alexander, hop on over to Amazon.

I want to take a moment to wish all of my regular readers and those that happen to stop by in the days to come a very Happy New Year. I'll be back on Monday with my first review of the New Year as Surface returns to NBC's line-up.