20-12-2009, 22:36 | #1431 |
Do you want to hide in my box?
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 14,941
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Ohh yeah he is
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Halycopter |
23-12-2009, 08:39 | #1432 |
Preparing more tumbleweed
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 6,038
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The Last Samurai
8.5/10 Tom Cruise (so automatic -0.5 points) stars as Captain Algren, a US Army Captain contracted out to train the Japanese army in the use of rifles and modern military warfare, in the 1870s. After being captured he falls in love with the Samurai culture. I love this film, unashamedly. Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise unfortunately, and I never quite feel like he's actually the character he's portraying, just feels like any other of the many roles he's played, but even he can't ruin it for me. Ken Watanabe plays Katsumoto the Samurai warrior desperate to see his people keep their hold on their past, and Shichinosuke Nakamura is the little lost boy of an Emperor who is losing his way amidst the glamor of Western Culture, and the greed of his advisor Omura (played by Masato Harada.) It's an interesting look into a slice of Japanese history and a good look at how much was sacrificed in the name of progress, how much of Japanese culture was being thrown away and forgotten possibly to their detriment. The other -1 point comes due to the ending.Spoiler Alert! - Highlight below to read! It never sits right with me that Tom Cruise survives. He should have died on that hill side, and maybe have the photographer and writer Simon Graham (Timothy Spall) taking the sword to the emperor at the end. It seems utterly preposterous that every soldier in the Samurai army dies on that field except him. End Spoiler Alert!
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23-12-2009, 09:11 | #1433 |
BBx woz 'ere :P
Join Date: Jan 1970
Posts: 2,147,487,208
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It's funny I didn't think the Dark Knight was all that... got a bit bored. I'm the only one I know that wasn't particularly interested by it.
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No No! |
23-12-2009, 11:45 | #1434 |
Provider of sensible advice about homosexuals
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London
Posts: 2,615
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The Last Samurai is a pretty good film, I'd have to agree with your comments there although personally I'd go with 7/10 as is but if Tom Cruise hadn't been in it and the ending had been as you describe it would have been a solid 8/10. Masato Harada plays greedy and morally repugnant so well, I hope he isn't typecast in that role though it's all I've seen him play.
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24-12-2009, 00:47 | #1435 |
The Mouse King of Denmark
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: The Winchester
Posts: 6,476
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Gran Turino
Superb. The ending was NOT what I was expecting. Had a real indie feeling to it, and had Clint Eastwood not been involved it probably would have been. It's a credit to the man that he took it on. 9/10
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24-12-2009, 01:04 | #1436 |
Absinthe
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Cambridge
Posts: 2,539
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25-12-2009, 00:48 | #1437 |
Vodka Martini
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Exeter
Posts: 753
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Moon
Erm...didn't like it. I felt a bit like I did when I was watching Donnie Darko - feeling like the film was hinting at something I wasn't quite getting, then getting annoyed with myself for not understanding, then getting annoyed at the film for being obscure. Then it ended. I was expecting a claustrophobic, suspenseful, thoughtful drama and that's what the first third was. After that it just seemed to get a bit directionless. Despite having read a number of reviews and websites about it since, I'm still not entirely sure what its point was. Disappointed, but I seem to be very much in the minority.
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25-12-2009, 03:33 | #1438 |
The Night Worker
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 5,228
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District 13.
Just watched this on 444. Awesome film with Superb fight & free running scenes, truly Superb. |
25-12-2009, 06:04 | #1439 |
Long Island Iced Tea
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Kirkcaldy, Fife.
Posts: 278
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District 13 is ace! Parkour is the coolest sport ever!
Watched District 9. It was really good, more action packed than I thought it would be. It was so sad though! It's totally what would happen if aliens visited and it makes me angry at the human race! 8/10. |
25-12-2009, 06:04 | #1440 |
Long Island Iced Tea
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Kirkcaldy, Fife.
Posts: 278
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District 13 is ace! Parkour is the coolest sport ever!
Watched District 9. It was really good, more action packed than I thought it would be. It was so sad though! It's totally what would happen if aliens visited and it makes me angry at the human race! 8/10. |