The Last Samurai?

[stiltman]

Has anyone seen it? I thought it was a great movie!!!
I think it was Cruise's best movie to date. I can't wait till it comes out on DVD, cause I'll be first inline to get it...

[sterno]

I didn't really care too much for it. I didn't think it was a bad movie, it was just too much of a standard Hollywood formula. I might have liked it better if it had been about an hour shorter, a generic formula movie shouldn't run that long.

[mrbass]

Just got back from seeing it a second time...it was that good. I never wanted to see it in the first place cuz I kinda don't paticularly like Tom Cruise but was very impressed.

[stiltman]

I thought it was better than the first movie called "The last Samurai"
Way better in fact...

[rallynavvie]

I didn't think it dragged on too long. American audiences are known for short attention spans so if at any point the movie slows for too long it gets boring to us. If we had more patience to be able to sit back and realize that every minute spent watching a good movie is better than a minute spent out on the road in all that traffic

I had some very high aspirations for this movie being a huge Kurosawa fan and a Japanese cinema fan in general. The cinematography looked great in the trailers and indeed the lensing was spectacular. Cruise was good but I think he was totally upstaged by Watanabe. The choreography was similarly stunning. I've only been learning kendo for a couple years but a lot of what I saw was things I've been tought or have seen before so I like that it was properly used on screen.

What I didn't like was Hans Zimmer's score. It sounded like a Gladiator remix and the Japanese cues seemed a corny attempt to recover it. I think much more traditional Japanese music would have helped immerse me into the movie's place and time. Also the last battle scene seemed a lot like one of the battles in Braveheart, didn't it?

Overall it'll definitely be in my top 10 list of favorite movies. It's in hard contention with Return of the King for my favorite film of the year. Last Samurai is far more moving than Lord of the Rings was for me though.

[stiltman]

Overall it'll definitely be in my top 10 list of favorite movies. It's in hard contention with Return of the King for my favorite film of the year. Last Samurai is far more moving than Lord of the Rings was for me though.

Moving? YES!

Cruise was upstaged by many But for being a drama, I think this was his best performance...by far

OK, I hate to admit it, but if you looked close at me during the movie, you'd of seen a few tears....Don't slam me for being honest!!

[sterno]

Yeah, I'd say that Tom Cruise is really not a good drama actor. The movie might have been a little better with somebody who could really show emotions instead - I had no problem with the cinematography, and the other actors did just fine. But the story was what I really didn't like.

broad, general spoilers follow

Partway through the movie I started asking myself if I'd seen it before. How many times have I seen TV shows and movies that involved a westerner learning about and coming to respect/love/adopt various aspects of Japanese culture? How many times have I read it in stories? Ditto the white guy saving the Japanese from themselves by reminding them of their own rich cultural history, according to Hollywood stuff like that happens all over the world. Oh yeah, and he's apparently indestructible because all the Japanese around him die and he keeps going. I kept hoping he wouldn't get up, but no such luck.

If they'd shown a little more independent thought it might have held my interest, or if there had been a little more historical accuracy. Instead, it struck me as just another pretty movie that was made specifically to try to win an Oscar. Take a kettle of Dances with Wolves, throw in a handful of samurai movies, mix in a healthy dose of Braveheart, garnish with some Hollywood cliches, and dish yourself up a nice, big bowl of The Last Samurai.

[g_shocker182]

Though I know it's a great movie, I personally didn't like it.

[zzyzzx]

I just saw this and I liked it. Battle scenes were good.

[SLICK RICK]

I thought it was a great movie. I purchased it on dvd.

[Hardcoreruss]

Someone at work was saying this was there favourite movie, I will have to give it a whirl.

[SLICK RICK]

Someone at work was saying this was there favourite movie, I will have to give it a whirl.

You won't be dissappointed russ.

[stiltman]

year old?

BTW, I still liked the movie

[Doramius]

It was pretty good. I'd like it on DVD, but I don't feel like buying it. Time to wear the tranchcoat to Hollywood.

[stiltman]

It was pretty good. I'd like it on DVD, but I don't feel like buying it. Time to wear the tranchcoat to Hollywood.

HUH?
Like it
Want it on DVD
Don't want to BUY it
Strenchcoat to video rental store

Hmmmmm

[Doramius]

What, you've never visited a Las vegas Hollywood Video in a trenchcoat? :P

[Devanshu]

On a related note...anyone seen collateral? Saw it today...wasnt too impressed.

[zzyzzx]

year old?

BTW, I still liked the movie

I didn't see it in the theater, a co-worker let me borrow his DVD.

[Doramius]

On a related note...anyone seen collateral? Saw it today...wasnt too impressed.

I think TC looks like Richard Gere in that movie. Didn't want to go see it. It looks really dumb. Sounds like a movie that should've casted Richard Gere.

[zzyzzx]

Anyone see Alexander? Any good?

[rallynavvie]

Alexander was not good. It was apiring to be somewhere near a quarter of the epic that Gladiator was. I didn't feel for anyone in the movie. There were good parts to the movie, like Val Kilmer's performance was pretty good, and having Sir Anthony Hopkins narrate was very helpful when trying to keep track of all of the names. It was interesting to see the portrayal of homosexuality of the time, most "blockbusters" probably wouldn't have gone into that at all.

[Capmaster]

Not to continue the jack ...well, yes, to continue the jack .......I understand Alexander had the Greeks pretty irritated. We need to get SatStorm to sound off about it

[Devanshu]

I think TC looks like Richard Gere in that movie. Didn't want to go see it. It looks really dumb. Sounds like a movie that should've casted Richard Gere.

Its not that bad...it's one of those movies that could get the point across in an hour but takes two hours to do it. Other than that, it's a pretty good rental.