This is turning out to be quite a movie weekend for me - finally catching up since I haven’t watched a single one of my DVDs in weeks.
Last King of Scotland (2006)
The Last King of Scotland is a gripping movie about Idi Amin’s dictator rule in Uganda, told from the perspective of a young Scottish who was ‘recruited’ into service as his personal physician and advisor. Forest Whitaker was intense and utterly deserving of the Oscar for Best Actor and other accolades awarded to him for his role. In fact he was so good, he was downright unpredictably scary to behold on the screen. Keep in mind that this is a character film and one shouldn’t expect a war/genocide drama (ala Hotel Rwanda). It focuses instead on why we should never judge a person from his appearance, as under all the friendliness, jovialness and sense of ‘normalcy’ in the entire film, lies one of history’s most brutal dictators. One definitely worth watching - if only to see Forest Whitaker’s monstrous transformation.
I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006)
I’m a big fan of Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy (Old Boy ranks as one of my all time favorite movies), and was pleasantly surprised to hear that he was directing a romance movie. As with many top Korean directors, boundaries are again pushed with this love story taking place in an asylum between two mental patients - a girl who thinks she’s a cyborg (Lim Su-jeong from Tale of Two Sisters), and a guy who is capable of stealing people’s souls (played by Rain). It is a well acted and visually beautiful movie - but the weirdness, unconventionality and downright outlandish characters is double edged. On one hand, you have a huge dose of originality. On the other, you have difficulty relating to all of it. The pacing leaves a lot to be desired too. One could even describe it as being both sweet yet confusing. I didn’t quite manage to reach out and feel for the characters though.. 
Go for this only if you’re looking for something truly different (or if you’re a die hard fan of Rain). Otherwise, stay away.
