Let me start by saying this: if you’re not a Gerard Butler fan,I understand. Neither am I. Or should I say, neither was I. But all that’s changed now. Because his movie, Machine Gun Preacher, was amazing. Completely and utterly incredible.
This was one of those “you can’t make this shit up” tales: Ex-con, druggie biker gets clean, finds god, and saves the world one Sudanese orphan at a time. Pretty farfetched, right? But the real deal, Sam Childers, was in the green room as the audience went completely nuts for the story of his life on the big screen. So much more than Rambo in Africa, this is an unforgettable, completely awe-inspiring story. Not mere hero-worship, we’re privvy to this guy’s demons and downfalls as he devotes his entire life to maintaining and protecting the orphanage he built with his own hands in war-torn Sudan.
(Aside: Chris Cornell wrote a song for it. And is very very tall.)
Far less compelling was Albert Nobbs. The one where Glenn Close plays a woman dressed as a man in 19th century Dublin. I don’t know if it’s because it came hot on the heels of the first flick or if it really was a snore, but for me, it was “ish” at best. I felt like Albert was played more like a savant of some kind than a woman trying to live her life as best she can. She/he remained an enigma not just to the other characters but to the audience as well which was disapointing. Janet McTeer, on the other hand, was fabulous. Her character was so much more interesting, keeping me much more interested.
And, seeing as this was a film set in Dublin, what better way to ring in the film that to have in the green room a shining example of Irish charm.
I.Have.Never. Here’s a man who speaks like a poet (seriously), makes you feel like there’s no one else in the room, and gets a blush rising out of everyone – regardless of gender, sexual preference or age. By the time he cleared out we were all convinced we’d slept with the guy. Yep, he’s that smooooth.