Showing posts with label 2003. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2003. Show all posts

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

The Last Samurai (2003)

Genre


Director


Country


Cast

Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shin Koyamada, Tony Goldwyn, Masato Harada, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Timothy Spall, Seizo Fukumoto, Koyuki, Billy Connolly, Shun Sugata, Sosuke Ikematsu, Scott Wilson, Togo Igawa

Plot

Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a veteran of the U.S. Civil War, is hired by the Emperor Meiji (Shichinosuke Nakamura) to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside

Opinion

I wasn't expecting much from this film, I thought it would be just another high-budget film starring Tom Cruise, without any depth. I've never been more wrong in my life. I absolutely loved it and I regret not watching it before.
The Last Samurai is a brilliant story of honour, tradition and courage, and glorifies the Samurai lifestyle in a sublime way.
The film, masterfully directed by Edward Zwick, manages to capture Japanese men living in a transition world: the fall of the Bushido and the rise of a modern empire.
The action/fighting scenes are spectacular. The sublime music, provided by Hans Zimmer, contributes in making the film even more fantastic.
Tom Cruise - actor I don't particularly like, and the reason why I watched this film only now - gives his best performance ever. However, Ken Watanabe, who plays Samurai leader Katsumoto, steals the show with his intense and mesmerising performance, and the Oscar is definitely worthy, but the Academy rarely fails to disappoint.

Buy on Amazon.com

Quotes

Katsumoto: You believe a man can change his destiny?
Algren: I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed.

Emperor Meiji: Tell me how he died.
Algren: I will tell you how he lived.

Katsumoto: The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.

Katsumoto: Perfect... They are all... perfect...

Simon Graham: [narrating] And so the days of the Samurai had ended. Nations, like men, it is sometimes said, have their own destiny. As for the American Captain, no one knows what became of him. Some say that he died of his wounds. Others, that he returned to his own country. But I like to think he may have at last found some small measure of peace, that we all seek, and few of us ever find.

Rating

10/10

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Genre


Director


Country


Cast

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Julie Dreyfus, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Michael Bowen, Jun Kunimura, Kenji Ohba, James Parks, Jonathan Loughran, Yuki Kazamatsuri, Sakichi Sato, Ambrosia Kelley

Plot

The Bride (Uma Thurman) wakens from a four-year coma and seeks revenge on an assassination squad led by Bill (David Carradine) after they try to kill her and her unborn child. 

Opinion

Like all of Tarantino's film, you  love it or you hate it. Presented as a bizarre action film, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is fascinating, unforgettable and definitely not a movie for children.
In this film comes to attentions Tarantino's love for Oriental culture: martial arts, katanas and tributes to Japanese directors - the Bride's costume reminds Bruce Lee's in Game of Death.
The score, by The RZA, is overwhelming. The fighting sequences are spectacular, loved the last one.
The performance from Uma Thurman is brilliant. Lucy Liu manages to give a decent performance, and probably Tarantino has the merit for it. 

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Hattori Hanzo: Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest, And like a forest it's easy to lose your way... To get lost... To forget where you came in.

Title Card: "Revenge is a dish best served cold" - Old Klingon proverb

Rating

8.2/10