Things were dead at the Reference Desk earlier, so I had a chance to write up the following review. As per usual, I'll be reprinting this in my Capa-Alpha zine, but since only one or two folks in that apa have mentioned reading the blog I don't think I'll spoil anything.

I've tried not to give anything away, just in case folks might be interested in catching it over the weekend.
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THE LAST SAMURAI Well, if you've ever seen SHOGUN, the mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain years ago, you'll have an idea of what you're in for with film. As a fan of that particular made-for-TV epic, I'm not slighting this new feature at all. I'm simply warning you that if you were expecting anything different or new then you would probably be better off saving your money.

Tom Cruise plays former Army captain Nathan Algren, a bitter veteran of the western campaign, including a number of massacres of innocent Native Americans. Algren suffers from nightmares about his past exploits and tries to keep them under control by drinking heavily. After violently ending his career as spokesmen for a firearms manufacturer, Algren is approached by his former Sergeant (portrayed by Billy Connolly) who has found a possible way for both of them to make some money. The Japanese emperor faces a rebellion by former allies and desires both arms and training for his fledgling army. Algren's military record seems to make him the ideal candidate. Hoping to escapes his current situation, and possibly his haunting memories, Algren agrees to travel to Japan and take up his position as advisor.

Of course, if everything ran smoothly you wouldn't have much of a movie here, so incidents occur which brings Algren face to face with the emperor's former teacher, the rebellious samurai, Katsumoto (with Ken Watanbe, the best thing about this movie, in the title role). Captured after a disastrous military misadventure, created by Algren's former superior officer (played by Tony Goldwyn) Colonel Bagley, Algren is the prisoner of Katsumoto and finds that he will be a generally unwelcome guest for the next several months. The two leads eventually learn to respect each other and, as was the case with Richard Chamberlain's John Blackstone in SHOGUN, Algren comes to embrace the samurai code and joins Katsumoto in his ill-destined quest.

If I were the type to give "star" ratings I'd probably give this film a solid three out of four. Sadly, both Cruise's low key acting style (except in a few notable scenes) doesn't really bring to the movie the sort of emotional impact that it needs. Also (and I'm not going to give away anything here), the ending is a bit too "Hollywood" for me and I have to wonder if there was another ending which will be made available on the inevitable DVD release. For what it's worth, the battle scenes and individual fights were nicely handled by everyone involved, including Cruise, who has already proven himself to be a decent action star.

Two final things before I end this review. Sadly, Billy Connolly doesn't have nearly as much screen time as I'd have liked. It would have been very interesting to see why there was such a bond between his character and Cruise's. Again, something that might have ended up on the editing room floor, but we'll see in the DVD edition. Lastly, I was surprised and actually pleased that a romantic sub-plot in the film was handled so nicely
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Caught the trailer for RETURN OF THE KING again, which I'm really looking forward to seeing in the first week of release. Donna bought me the 4-DVD edition of TWO TOWERS for our anniversary and I've been slowing going through all the documentaries and assorted goodies. My plan it to try and re-watch both FELLOWSHIP (which I have in the 2-DVD set) and TWO TOWERS prior to seeing the new film. Yeah, I know that I'm not going to be surprised by anything in the third film, but I do expect to be as amazed by Peter Jackson's vision as I was the first two times.

They had the trailer for TROY, which I'd already seen on ET, but it's pretty cool up on the big screen. The image of the Trojan fleet is pretty nice and Brad Pitt is damn buff in his Achilles armor. :-)

Also, saw a promo for MIRACLE, which features Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Based on the actual events, it looks to be one of those 'feel good' movies that might bring in some boxoffice, depending on what premieres the same weekend. I remember vividly sitting in a bar with my college roommate, Brian, cheering along with everybody else watching the game. Drape me in a flag and call me sentimental, but I might actually be tempted to check this out with it comes to the local cineplex.