February 12, 2009
 By Diane de Beer
Rescue Dawn
****
Extreme actor Christian Bale and extreme director Herzog Werner are a movie match made in heaven.
Bale is one of those thespians who becomes the character demanded from him for each role by losing the required amount of weight if he needs to play a deranged victim or, as in this instance, eats the worms that were fed to the prisoners of war.
German director Herzog himself takes the tough road with films like Fitzcarraldo, which was shot in the rainforests of the Amazon and tells the story of a man who wanted to build an opera house in the middle of the jungle. With that particular film the director had to fulfil his character's dreams in order to film them.
This DVD tells a fascinating tale and, while it seems strange that a German director tells this particular story about a US prisoner of war, there is a link.
Dieter Dengler (Bale) first decided to become a fighter pilot as a child during World War 2 after he made eye contact with a US pilot who was shelling his German town.
But, this story is about Dengler's experiences in the Vietnam War when as a US navy pilot, he was one of only seven Americans to escape from a Viet Cong POW camp and live.
It is a thrilling story that illuminates the survival instincts of individuals and why some are driven much harder than others. The cast is strong and the story of heroism is told in Herzog's realistic fashion where the actors live and breathe the real jungle.
Special Features:
Director's comment: It's as interesting as the film to find out how a director like Herzog works and what he asks from both his crew and his actors.
Featurettes: Hearing from the actors and people who work on the film about the process adds insight. .
Swop!
***
This straight-to-DVD film follows the classic life-swop plot which introduces the whole fish-out-of- water storyline, but what manages to elevate it slightly above most of the clichéd stock we get out of Hollywood are the local references.
Set in Joburg, the film sees two bored businessmen make a bet. They swop around the life fortunes of a black diamond with an amakwerekwere. This begs the question whether Brian (Aubrey Poo) will turn to crime now that he has no job and no identification documents. Also, will the street-smart Tendai (Kabelo Ngakane) actually manage to make it out of the lift?
The production is okay (read better than Nollywood) and it is fun to watch out for cameos - such as Sylvaine Strike portraying the giggling prosecutor.
The storyline is not really that farfetched in this time of weird business practices to get around BEE compliancy and, while this isn't exactly slapstick humour, it should appeal to a fairly broad spectrum, because all of the characters are identifiable to most South Africans.
Features: None. - Theresa Smith
The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2
***
The sequel may be by a different director, but the pull of close-knit friendship between Tibby (Amber Tamblyn), Lena (Alexis Bledel), Carmen (America Ferrera) and Bridget (Blake Lively) is just as effective. Think along the lines of a PG version of Sex and the City.
Summer has arrived and the four friends, having completed year one at college, are ready to explore the adult world. But, first, they must conclude the ritual with their travelling pants.
This time around, Bridget, upset with her father for keeping letters from her grandmother from her, goes to work on an archeological dig in Turkey.
Lena, heartbroken over Kostas, finds herself attracted to the nude model in her class, while Tibby has a pregnancy scare and Carmen finds the confidence to take the lead in a play and bags her co-star's heart in the process.
The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants 2 is an infectiously warm tale of friendship that goes through the loops, but has an endurance that is inspiring. You will laugh, cry and be consumed by the emotions.
Features: Making-of-the-climax, additional scenes as well as on-set bloopers. - Debashine Thangevelo
  
 
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