December 21, 2003
The Last Samurai (No Spoilers)
Yes, I've been going to the movies lately, why you ask? ;)
Saw this last night, and it's your standard heroic movie, really. Some nice moments, but nothing that makes you go "OHMYGOD!" in fangirl fashion.
The cinematography is fantastic, as well as the score -- when merged, the screen sizzled with epic grandeur. As far as the acting goes...well. I've always thought Tom Cruise to be over the top, and though he takes it down a notch here, his most dramatic scenes make me cringe a bit, so I don't identify myself with his character so much. But he does have a few nice moments there, especially when he doesn't say anything and his emotions are portyayed through his eyes or his body language. Those are more powerful than anything. Oh, he also gets points for his lines in Japanese.
Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto, on the other hand, was simply AMAZING. Every damn scene this man was on was superb -- he gave his character the humanity needed to be loved, and the strength to be respected. His last scene is the best minute from the whole movie. I also enjoyed Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall greatly.
Of course, the battle scenes are fantastic, and the whole dark atmosphere of the movie contrasts with the last confrontation in broad daylight, where we can see the beauty and horror of a final fight. Also, samurai swords! You can't go wrong with those.
Something else: the editing was fantastic. It's a 2+ hours movie and it doesn't feel like there's anything innecessary thrown in there. Of course, I've also seen RoTK twice this week, so everything less than 3 hours long doesn't feel long at all. ;)
My main complain is that I just wish they have taught the audience a bit more about the samurai culture and that the actor portraying the Emperor hadn't come out like such a sissy. ;p
Saw this last night, and it's your standard heroic movie, really. Some nice moments, but nothing that makes you go "OHMYGOD!" in fangirl fashion.
The cinematography is fantastic, as well as the score -- when merged, the screen sizzled with epic grandeur. As far as the acting goes...well. I've always thought Tom Cruise to be over the top, and though he takes it down a notch here, his most dramatic scenes make me cringe a bit, so I don't identify myself with his character so much. But he does have a few nice moments there, especially when he doesn't say anything and his emotions are portyayed through his eyes or his body language. Those are more powerful than anything. Oh, he also gets points for his lines in Japanese.
Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto, on the other hand, was simply AMAZING. Every damn scene this man was on was superb -- he gave his character the humanity needed to be loved, and the strength to be respected. His last scene is the best minute from the whole movie. I also enjoyed Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall greatly.
Of course, the battle scenes are fantastic, and the whole dark atmosphere of the movie contrasts with the last confrontation in broad daylight, where we can see the beauty and horror of a final fight. Also, samurai swords! You can't go wrong with those.
Something else: the editing was fantastic. It's a 2+ hours movie and it doesn't feel like there's anything innecessary thrown in there. Of course, I've also seen RoTK twice this week, so everything less than 3 hours long doesn't feel long at all. ;)
My main complain is that I just wish they have taught the audience a bit more about the samurai culture and that the actor portraying the Emperor hadn't come out like such a sissy. ;p