Reviews: DVD

The Last King of Scotland

Directed by Kevin McDonald, starring Forest Whittaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington

"And the Oscar for best actor is boy these envelopes are hard to open we all knew it, Forest Whittaker." This is what we will be hearing in two weeks time and will see Whittaker stroll to the podium to collect his first Academy Award thanks to his powerful performance as Idi Amin Dada.

He is captivating as the brutal Ugandan dictator who was responsible for killing 300,000 of his people during his seven-year murderous reign. What shoots the 46-year-old actor in front of the field is the stark contrast from his other touchy feely roles.

Whittaker makes Amin equally likable and loathsome in one foul swoop and carries the movie based on the award winning Giles Foden fictional historical drama on his big frame. He's won every best actor award for this role so far and if he can push past Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happiness), it's Oscar time.

Patrick Whiteley

(China Daily 02/16/2007 page20)