Let's Watch "The Kite Runner" and "Lions for Lambs"

On consecutive nights I watched two films about Afghanistan: The Kite Runner which was a story of friendship and loyalty set just before the start of the war with the Russians, and also Lions for Lambs a sorta assessment of the war on terror told from 3 connected storylines.

The Kite Runner is the story of two friends, who live mostly happy lives flying kites in Kabul. The rich friend witnesses a horrible attack on his poor, servant friend but lacks the courage to do or say anything to help him. Unable to live with the fact he is a coward, the rich boy sabotages his servant friend, making his father believe the servant boy is a thief. The servant boy and his father are forced to leave the estate of his friend, and as the Taliban move to control Afghanistan the boys are separated by even more distance as the rich boy and his father flee to America. Years later upon the publishing of his first novel, the rich friend learns that his friend has been murdered by the Taliban and must return to Afghanistan to retrieve the man's son.

I enjoyed this movie because it's just a great human story. There are secrets and lies and imperfections in the characters. It appeals to baser emotions and while offering a setting that you don't often see in Hollywood films, creates a great new take on Friendship movies.

For a film starring Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise(who I actually like as an actor), Lions for Lambs was a huge disappointment. Redford plays a political science professor talking to a cynical student with lots of potential, about these two other students who enlisted in the Army and are now in Afghanistan carrying out this plan devised by a senator(played by Cruise) who is being interviewed by a once respected journalist(played by Streep). That's pretty much all of it in a nut shell. No new bits of information about the war on terror or anything controversial at all. Just an uncompelling story and characters that you could care less about.

Also watched:
Diner - 7 of 10
The Indian Runner - 8 of 10
The Ice Storm - 7 of 10

and re-watched:
The Cider House Rules - 7 of 10
Mystic River - 8 of 10
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - 8 of 10