Just kidding. It seems most of those history movies nowadays that show the evils of the West (Mississippi Burning, Schindler's List, etc...), but very little on the brutalities of the non-Western world. I've read a little bit about Idi Amin from a book I read called "The Most Evil Dictators" or something like that. (It's been 3 years since I read the book and I misplaced it)

Forest Whitaker ... General Idi Amin Dada
James McAvoy ... Dr. Nicholas Garrigan
Kerry Washington ... Kay Amin

Forest Whitaker does a good job, but he, for some reason isn't 100% Idi Amin. Maybe it's because he's not as chubby or tall as the real one was. However, Whitaker has a good African accent and plays the 1970s-era Ugandan dictator well. Idi Amin was a mysterious man. You can't tell if he's being nice and joking or being ruthless and out-of-control. It was also interesting that Amin and the Scottish doctor were equally racist/prejudice against the British part just as the British were prejudice against him because he was Scottish.

The movie starts with a young Scottish doctor who, as fate would have, becomes a personal doctor for Idi Amin and lives in house. I like this part because it shows human nature. The scottish doctor refuses to heed warning that Idi Amin is cruel, as he passes those concerns out of the British's racist attitudes about a black country being independent of British help. (Uganda was a British colony up until just sometime after WWII) He learns that this "president" is in fact a dictator, but he's too busy enjoying the status and privileges he gets working and living with Idi Amin.

I also liked the outtakes and special features on the DVD. Whitaker pretty much has the same quotes that Amin said during his time correctly, but, like I said....a small little part of Whitaker doesn't quite look and seem the real dictator. What's ironic is that on the special features, there still are Ugandans who think highly of him, even though he was a mass murdered (kill 300 thousand people) and was a racist (kicking out the Asian businessmen). Then again, there are still people in Russia who worship Stalin or people who still worship Hitler or Mao Tze Sung (did I spell that right?) and countless other dictators.

Anyway, I liked the movie, it's a good portrayal of history. Check it out sometime. I need to do a review of Apocolyptco about the Mayan Indians






Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older