The Last Samurai
Directed by Edward Zwick
By Ian Mackenzie

The Last Samurai is the third excellent film about Japan to come out of Hollywood this year. But where both Kill Bill and Lost in Translation used Japan’s strangeness as a springboard for parody and ridicule, The Last Samurai finds beauty, grace and contradiction. In order to suppress an old-world Samurai uprising, the 1876 Japanese government recruits U.S. Army Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), who has earned his bars killing natives on the North American frontier. After leading his ill-prepared troops into battle, Algren is captured by the charismatic Samurai leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and taken to a remote mountain village. At about the halfway mark of this 144-minute epic, the story begins to take the shape of a detailed historical drama. There’s a lot to look at here and director Edward Zwick (Glory) gives his characters plenty of room to observe the more understated elements of Japanese culture. But just as the story begins to fall into a sleepy domestic rhythm, a band of bloodthirsty Ninjas spring from the woods and all hell breaks loose. The ensuing battle sequences are as beautiful as they are ferocious. By building his style around the Samurais’ focused fighting techniques, Zwick is able to give even the film’s larger battles a tight visual framework. The cast is suburb, especially Japanese A-list actors Koyuki (as the love interest) and Watanabe as the last Samurai (if you choose to read Samurai in the singular). And Cruise brings his best post-Magnolia chops to the table as a gifted soldier haunted by a lifetime of warfare. While Hans Zimmer’s overdramatic score is distracting in places and the idea of equating honour with violence is a pushed a little too far, The Last Samurai succeeds in all the right places. (Warner)
Big Fish - Dir. by Tim Burton
At first, Big Fish seems like an odd choice for a Tim Burton movie. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, it begins as a family drama about a man named Will (Billy Crudup) trying to deal with his estranged father, the larger-than-life Edward Bloom (Albert Finney). Edward has spent his life weaving tall tales for his son, creating a mythology surrounding himself that Will suspects is largely false and only serves to keep him at a distance. ...Read More
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed - Dir. by Brett Sullivan
Although not as clever and fresh as its forebear, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed does share enough of the original’s wit and style to make for a pretty fun teen horror flick. Picking up a short time after the end of the first film, the sequel begins with a very squirrelly Brigitte (Emily Perkins) mainlining monkshood in a cheap motel in order to stave of her inevitable transformation into a werewolf. ...Read More
21 Grams - Dir. by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu
Along Came Polly - Dir. by John Hamburg
American Splendor - Dir. by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Chasing Liberty - Dir. by Andy Cadiff
Cheaper by the Dozen - Dir. by Shawn Levy
Cold Mountain - Dir. by Anthony Minghella
Honey - Dir. by Bille Woodruff
House of Sand and Fog - Dir. by Vadim Perelman
In America [DS] - Dir. by Jim Sheridan
Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Dir. by Quentin Tarantino
One From the Heart - Dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
Peter Pan - Dir. by P.J. Hogan
Shattered Glass [DS] - Dir. by Billy Ray
Something's Gotta Give - Dir. by Nancy Meyers
Stuck On You - Dir. by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly
The Eye - Dir. by Danny and Oxide Pang
The Housekeeper - Dir. by Claude Berri
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Dir. by Peter Jackson
The Missing [DS] - Dir. by Ron Howard
The Perfect Score - Dir. by Brian Robbins
Hostage Life - Centre Of The Universe
It's unfortunate the words "maturity" and "growth" are stigmas in the world of punk rock. They would be the perfect descriptors for Toronto, ON-based Hostage Life's tertiary release. Maintaining the adage that a band never realize their true potential until their third album, the quintet prove thems... Full Review
The Brütal Legend of Tim Schafer
Game designer Tim Schafer is not a well-known man, at least not to the mainstream. But like Buffy creator Joss Whedon, Schafer's a full-blown hero amongst the geek-pop set, his name synonymous with creative vision, critical acclaim, fervent fans and, alas, sub-par sales.... Read More
Örjan Sandred - Cracks and Corrosion
Cracks and Corrosion is an auspicious debut recording of diverse works by Swedish modern composer Örjan Sandred. Beginning with the riveting "Amanzule Voices," for cello and electronics, Sandred creates a piece of high drama, informed with an acute sense of passing time on the rhythmical and ... Full Review
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
• Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the December 2003 Issue: • Contents Page • News • Click Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Points  •  Blab  •  Comics  •  Year In Review  •  Point of View  •  Questionnaire  •  Timeline • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Frequencies  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews • Music School --> N/A • Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio • Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue • Browse Issues