Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: The Last Samurai ::
by Forrest Grump
A stand against the tide, fighting to
save a way of life that cannot be saved. A group of people following a code of
honor and enlightenment, realizing there is no way they can win, but knowing no
other way to live.
Interject into this one broken man with nothing to live for, on a quest of self
discovery.
This movie was epic, if predictable. Nothing happened in this tale that the
audience did not see coming. There were much welcomed moments of humor, and
battle scenes that were bloody but tasteful. The movie reveled in doing many
things right.
The story follows the exploits of Tom Cruise's character, a Captain in The US
Army. He is not a happy man, having survived many horrific engagements, and
taking part in some of the infamous mistreatment of the "savages" which cleared
the US for western expansion. He is hired by the Japanese government to help
them with a similar problem. He is to train an army to fight the rogue Samurai.
Things don't go well, and he is taken prisoner. He learns a little about their
way of life, and then has to decide what side he is on.
I've never been to Japan, if the country is anywhere near as beautiful as it is
in this movie, I'll have to sometime. The landscapes and sets were awe
inspiring. Tom Cruise actually wasn't part of the landscape in this movie, and
managed to present this classic arc-type without trying to modernize it and make
it his own.
That is one thing I really liked about this flick. It could have been made 10,
20, 50 years ago, Cruise could have been DeNiro, Bronson, or Ford.
This is not to say it did not have its shortcomings. There was an action scene
in the middle that was hokey and too formula. Another thing I didn't like was
that we knew how the man was going to react every time he was presented with a
dilemma. Like a Samurai, there was no middle ground. His inner demons he
wrestled with never led the audience to believe he would do anything but right.
We don't get the YAHOO when he saves the day, just the OH OK.
Overall, I cant say I have any real complaints. This was a moody and very
Japanese movie, should be enjoyed by those of you who like that stuff.
It gets a solid B. Although I would have liked to have seen some car chases and Zombie samurai, but they didn't ask my input.
