Just got back from seeing this film..

Amazing.. completely and totally a fantastic film
As good as, if not better than Braveheart.
Better than Gladiator..

A complete triumph in movie making. Instant Classic.

I went and saw Timelines.

All I have to say is, it's become obvious that the only way th French can ever win a battle is with American help, even if they have to go back in time 600 years to do it.

I thought it came out Dec. 5th or so.

Timeline was ok. The book was a lot better, because it didn't have Paul Walker in it talking like a god damn surfer to the leader of the English.

Ive seen so many movies from Tom Cruize that sucked that im scared to waste my time on this. Better than Braveheart and Gladiator? Thats like almost impossible :)



Xregg

Not sure if I liked it more then Braveheart (will have to see it again) but it was definitely very very good.

Ive seen so many movies from Tom Cruize that sucked that im scared to waste my time on this.

Tom Cruise does art pictures as well as action pictures. His range as an actor is amazing (see: Interview With a Vampire)

Tom has never ruined a movie with horrible acting (at least not that I can remember). Not many movies he has done would have been way better with a different lead. He has just been in movies you didnt like.

Tom Cruise does not write or direct movies. Im going to bet you hated Eyes Wide Shut? Was it Tom Cruise that made it bad or was it the unconventional storytelling of the writer/director Kubrick that you didnt like. I personally thought he and Nicole did an amazing job acting wise in that film.

p.s. - I think I just doomed this thread to NAG

I mostly agree with you Bowler, although saying Tom has "amazing range as an actor" is pushing it some I think. He gets the job done, I think its safe to say that I never forget Im watching Tom Cruise when Im watching a Tom Cruise movie. Hes no Johnny Depp or Gary Oldman.

Master Damoiel Mindbend
Retired Enchanter of the 60th Season

Tom has never ruined a movie with horrible acting (at least not that I can remember). Not many movies he has done would have been way better with a different lead. He has just been in movies you didnt like.

Your right Bowler you ruined it. Thats completely subjective. To me he sucks donky nuts. To you hes great stuff. Who's right? Who's to say really?

I never forget Im watching Tom Cruise when Im watching a Tom Cruise movie. Hes no Johnny Depp
That's so true. I was just talking to someone a little while ago about that. You always remember the character with Depp, not the actor.

Except for Lestat.

Your right Bowler you ruined it. Thats completely subjective. To me he sucks donky nuts. To you hes great stuff. Who's right? Who's to say really?

Honestly I dont get this statement at all. How the hell do I ruin Tom Cruise movies?

So your saying he sucked Donkey nuts as Lestat and that being able to jump into that role didnt expand his range? You must have hated Far and Away. Considering he did "Days of Thunder" then jumped to "Interview" I would call that range. If you thought he sucked in "Interview" you will be the first Ive spoken to.

Your right you never forget your watching a Tom Cruise movie. Just like I never forget Im watching Keanu Reeves in the Matrix (lol and you cant say Tom Cruise sucks and like this moron). Just like I never forget Im watching Sean Astin in the Lord of the Rings or Ian Mckellan as Magneto OR Gandalf.

p.s. - We made so much fun of Johnny Depp in High School he is a frigging hack.

Some people tend to forget a little movie called Born on the Fourth of July, which sucked. This movie has me excited though, AzN PryDe n shit.

bad santa owns you anyhow

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I never forget Im watching Tom Cruise when Im watching a Tom Cruise movie. Hes no Johnny Depp
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That's so true. I was just talking to someone a little while ago about that. You always remember the character with Depp, not the actor. <hr></blockquote>

Indeed, Mr. Depp does an amazing job getting in character. When someone said "his range as an actor is amazing" Johnny Depp was the first person I thought of. (although, most guys seem to hate him, I suppose that's because so many women adore him...)

Tom Cruise is not a bad actor though, and The Last Samurai is a film I'd like to see. It looks like it has a good story and might have good music so I'm willing to give it a chance.

(although, most guys seem to hate him, I suppose that's because so many women adore him...)

Actually, its because we remember him from 21 Jump Street....:rollin

Actually, its because we remember him from 21 Jump Street....

well....up until now i had forgotten that :|

I loved Vanilla Sky, although I'm not sure how many people shared that opinion. I can't wait to see The Last Samurai though, looks simply amazing.

You could substitute Mel Gibson into just about any of his movies and it would have worked just as well. Tell me a young Gibson (i.e. Mad Max) could not have pulled off Risky Business? Not that im some Gibson fanboy but I just don't think Mr C. is the actor you all portray....IMHO

Mel Gibson IMHO is no better or worse an actor. He has been in some amazing movies. Some were his acting, others were just cause they were good movies.

I cant see Mel Gibson playing Lestat. I cant see Mel Gibson doing Vanilla Sky. I cant see Mel Gibson doing Top Gun or Eyes Wide Shut. Maybe its the age difference. Risky Business is not a movie I would see Tom Cruise bragging about.

My point wasnt that TC is the BEST actor alive. My point was that saying "Tom Cruise is in Last Samurai so it will probably be a waste" is an uninformed statement IMHO. That would be like saying "The Matrix" sucks because Keanu is in it.

p.s. - I liked Vanilla Sky and Eyes Wide Shut. Which pretty much ruins my future as a movie critic.

bowler, there were alot of people who enjoyed those movies, they just didn't care for the direction the director used in them

And my point is that he is your run of the mill actor able to be substituted for another actor of the same genre..


At least you like good music though Bowler....

Gary Oldman totally pwns.

bowler, there were alot of people who enjoyed those movies, they just didn't care for the direction the director used in them

Notice I said specifically "Critic".

And my point is that he is your run of the mill actor able to be substituted for another actor of the same genre

Name one actor that is totally irreplaceable. So far I have only seen comparisons to Mel Gibson who is NOTHING like TC and could not replace him movie for movie and Johnny Depp who is BELOW average in 90% of his movies.

TC fills a niche and frankly you would need different actors to replace ALL of his roles. Thats called range. You can tell its TC in movies cause thats called style.

I think of Tom Cruise as more of a movie star than an actor, but I agree that he doesn't ruin films (like, say, Keanu Reeves does in most of his work).

I'd like to learn more of the Samurai flick, though. I don't see a lot of movies (mutants and hobbits excepted, of course), so if it's going to earn my dollar I need incentive.

Tom Cruise ruins a movie with his overwhelming status.
He is simply, as someone said above, a movie STAR.
The bad thing about that, is that the story/characters are shadowed by the actor, which is not a good thing.
Mel Gibson.. hmm. Well.. he does a lot of eye rolling and gasps a lot. Not the best actor. Was very good in Signs, though.
Depp.. now he rocks.

I watched that XMA special on Discovery over the weekend, and while that wasn't so good, they did interview Cruise regarding the training he did for the Samurai flick.

Watching the interview, it suddenly dawned on me that the thing about Tom Cruise I've never liked is that he takes himself far, far too seriously.

He went on and on about the 8 months of training he did for the movie. Great! Glad you got into shape and worked hard to get into character, but stop talking it up like you just won an Olympic event.

you ever wonder that maybe its not the actors that decide but agents and such that preassure them into it.

Vision is a funny thing because its so hard to see anything other than what comes through our own eyes.


Not that i think cruise does or does not but still something to think about.

Anyone recall the Mini Series "Shogun"?

Was many moons ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This movie of Tom Cruises seems to share many plot points.

L2??

Fandros

Shogun was terribly improbable on some levels, but as a book it was a good read, and as a mini-series it was an event. That's the comparison I'm looking for.

Shogun the television drama had Richard Chamberlain (whose 'coming out' this year came as no surprise to anyone ;) ) as Angin-San (Pilot), yes?

My gosh yes, that mini-series was the 'event' of the year, (and Chamberlain was the king of the mini-series in those days), although those of us who remember seeing it are dating ourselves ;) ...

I'd rate Tom Cruise as eye candy who 'doesn't ruin movies he's in' as Thor put it, but not a terribly gifted actor. Btw, he was on Jay Leno this week blabbing about that training regimen as well...

Johnny Depp is a talented niche actor, but the actor that probably impresses me the most at the moment is Edward Norton. He's done about every genre imaginable, and produces as well... did anyone see 25th Hour btw? Needless to say, it didn't make it to Laredo...

Regards,
Nydia Ywalmoriel
Autonomous Collective

Edward Norton owns.

That is all.

Want to know the group of actors I enjoy?

Tommy Lee Jones
Steve Martin
Robin Williams
Ed Norton
Sean Penn ( hate the guy but he can act)

Fandros

No.. its not like Shogon at all. Well except in the fact that its Japan.

Cruises character can be seen as a tormented individual. In the original screenplay he was thought for dead after his troops were massacred and thrown into a ditch with all the dead bodies, so he compounded with the atrocities he has commited against the indians, He thinks of himself as the walking dead. His quest in the movie is one for redemption.

The Samuari lord is a Tragic Hero. He has devoted his life and what he is to a code of morality. Japan changing to a modern nation renders who and what he is obsolete as, like the Native Americans, it is incompatible with the new world. But he cant betray who he and what he is.. and much like Sitting Bull (http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sittingbull.htm) he wages a war he knows is hopeless, yet the only way to preserve who he and his people are.
The final scene will bring tears to your eyes.. like William Wallace screaming "Freedom!"

Plus.. there are Ninjas.. and who doesnt love ninjas.

Well I fully plan on seeing the flick L2.

Thanks for the review old friend....

OoOO and yeah I'm old enough to have seen Shogun during it's original run..;(

Christopher...

'Want to know the group of actors I enjoy?

Tommy Lee Jones
Steve Martin
Robin Williams
Ed Norton
Sean Penn ( hate the guy but he can act)'

- Steve Martin? Oh Fandros, you silly tart.
I think I'd go for..

Kevin Spacey
Daniel Day-Lewis
Anthony Hopkins
Ewan Mcgregor
Sean Penn

Uh oh.. I can smell a mass-hijack.

- Jason Statham (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0005458/)
- Ewan McGregor (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000191/)
- Delroy Lindo (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0005148/)
- Jet Li (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001472/)
- Zhang Ziyi (Ziyi Zhang) (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0955471/)


EDIT: Oh and I totally agree with the Cruise statement that he takes himself way way way too far seriously. He's a decent actor, but he's not all that.

And Fanny, you may be old enough to see it first time around, but I just downloaded every episode of it ^^

It always was my favorite show.

Ohaio gouzaimas anjin san, ikaga desuka? ^^

LoL may be old enough?? Kiv my brother I just turned 38, not only did I see it in it's original airing, but I also seen roots. ;P

Was karra masta?

Fandros

Jeez it's from 1980, not like it's completely ancient. Most people around here remembers the eighties I hope?

man, i was born in 82 and i remember the 80's

Hrmn...how old is your Sister Gokuu? 8)

shes too old for you

Tom cruise as a samurai ? Rofl this has to be a comedy...

Tom cruise as a samurai ? Rofl this has to be a comedy...

He doesn't play a samurai, he plays an American soldier

Who becomes.. umm samurai like?

Good movie, i wouldnt compare it to gladiator or braveheart because each movie has its own appeal yet this movie does have a nice draw in itself and i sugest seeing it, i didn't walk away like OMG this Pwned Gladiator or anything but it was a great story of a warrior, depressing towards the end but will be buying this Dvd its a good movie weather ur a tom cruise fan or not its not about him its about the story..

Who becomes.. umm samurai like?

Not from what Ive read.

Was very good.

The fight scenes were better than I expected at all, in quantity and quality.

All I can say is this movie was awesome...I plan on going to see it again and buying the dvd...I Love Braveheart...but I think this movie surpasses it in everyway. Tom did an excellent job in this movie, but it doesnt really focus on him as much as it does the human psyche and what not...

-Mag

The statement about him "becoming samurai-like" or "a samurai" is way off-base.

The title of movie refers to Katsumoto, not Tom Cruise's character.

He doesn't play a samurai, he plays an American soldier

Ahh,though still seems very cheesy to me.But i`ll prolly watch it anyway


Btw in no particular order here are some actors i like.

Tom Hanks:
Think of the diversity of roles he`s playing,from BIG to the one where he was the hermit :b

Ed Norton:
Brilliant in fight club and many other movies that i can`t remember the names of.

Halle Berry:
Gorgeous and a great actress,though sometimes doesn`t get the best roles to show her acting prowess.James bond was a good example of ones that she didn`t.

Jack Nicolson:[can`t fucking spell]
All time great who has also prooven his on screen diversity.Who i feel conveys alot of presence e.g. The
Shining,Wolf.

Now for some actors/actresses i hate;

Hugh Grant:
Die in hell you fucking limey bastard!!!!,...ohh wait

Rapper turned actors:
I`m embarrased for them.

Barbera thingy:
/shudder

Myself in school plays:
If i wasn`t me a would`ve been throwing fucking fruit and booing! :D

Ok,so that last one isn`t exactly 'hollywood' but it`s my review so piss off :b

Halle Berry

I too love actresses who only got so far by sucking as much producer cock as possible. Oops!

She's at best a sub-par actress who gets parts in movies that would be better suited to a dead cow, as the cow has a more convincing emotional range. Halle doesn't look convincing unless she's got a wang in some orafice while she's signing a contract.

Halle Berry

hack

I can't believe that Zehn and I agree completely on something ;) ...

A Barbie doll is much less plastic than Halle Berry imho... casting directors like her because 1) she has a completely nonthreatening (non) personality, and 2) she is a dark skinned actress with none of those 'undesirable' African features such as a broad nose, lips, coarse hair, a caboose, or too-dark skin. She's eye candy, and not even interesting eye candy at that. I will never forgive the folks who made the two 'X-men' movies for casting that bloodless wax figure as Storm, even though Storm was supposed to have some Caucasian features...

Regards,
Nydia Ywalmoriel
Autonomous Collective

I Still like her no matter what anyone says,to me she`s convincing.
I had trouble thinking of female acting talent (It`s highly sexist but i tend to judge by their looks /shrug)
Care to give me some better examples ? from movies i am likely to have seen.

I did think of J.Roberts but then i saw Oceans 11 and any respect i had for her was just destroyed,same for most of the other actors.

Ohh new addition to hate list:

George cloony:
That slimey bastard makes my skin crawl,he`s as convincing as a crack whore in a nun suit. (Ok bad analogy but i`m working with limited intellect :( i blame genetics!

Ok... here comes my retarded opinion... (which I know most people are going to read anyways for the lack of better things to do)

I took my dad to see this about 3 hours ago. Wow is all I can really say. On par with Braveheart, destroys Gladiator, that's all I'll say about that.

I'd like to critique and pick apart certain aspects of the movie that I didn't like, but quite frankly, there were none. It was just an all-around well made movie. It had its funny moments, great action sequences and well acted parts. I honestly think that good old Tom may have put himself in Oscar contention for this one. The man who played Katsumoto I think would be well deserving of Best Supporting Actor for the role he played. Granted I will probably be studying or hanging out while the Oscars are on because quite frankly I hate awards shows and think they are bullshit to begin with. The only ones I watch are the ones done by MTV to watch the host's opening performance...

I recommend this movie to anyone who... well ok, just about anyone. Especially those of you who need an deep action flick to soothe your soul in anticipation of December 17th...

Go see it, if you saw it, go see it again.

I have to agree with Shew on this one.

I just got back from taking my 11 year old son to this flick. We both left the movie theatre simply amazed.

The action , the humanity and the depth of emotion were def worth seeing and seeing again. I shall be adding this DVD to my growing movie collection.

Christopher...

was a great movie in opinion glad i saw it.

Tell me a young Gibson (i.e. Mad Max) could not have pulled off Risky Business?

Absolutely not. Cruise was perfect for this role. Of course i'm biased I think this is one of the greatest movies of all time but hey we all have our opinions. Gibson in Mad Max would have been wrong for the niave yuppie kid.

You mean Gibson in Risky Buisness.

I had trouble thinking of female acting talent


Hmmm. You can never think of these things when you need to. Meryl Streep. Cate Blanchett. Probably Diane Keaton, depending whom you ask.

Go old school and you'll come up with Hepburn.

Go old school and you'll come up with Hepburn.

Katherine or Audrey?

Audrey Hepburn was the total package when it comes to actresses. Talented and hot.

I was thinking of Katherine, but Audrey would fill the bill, too.

Both Hepburns were exceptional. Ingrid Bergman is another great actress from the old days, but you could list dozens back to Lillian Gish.

One critic characterized this movie as "Dances with Samurai," but I expect it to have more popular than critical appeal. I may check it out.

I heard Cruise really got into this role.. Studying the moves and stuff. Looked like it to me :D Was no Braveheart, but it was way better than Gladiator.

braveheart wasnt as philosophical as this movie was. Was a lot more than just the samurai fighting to preserve Japan's face in a crowd of western civilization!

Braveheart was a true story though :p

Really it was!

Every 3 hour + movie is a true story except for Titanic and LotR. Spice World was a true story too... but like it was only like 45 minutes long.

Daniel Day Lewis pwnz me. :o

Every 3 hour + movie is a true story except for Titanic and LotR

The Stand by Stephen King wasn't a true story
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets isn't a true story
Kill Bill (a 3 hour movie being shown in 2 parts) isn't a true story
Gangs of New York isn't a true story ...
Heat isn't a true story ...

Lets not make too many idiotic generalizations in the face of a film student there Shew :)

On a related note, I liked The Last Samurai

Lets not make too many idiotic generalizations in the face of a film student there Shew

Because if you do, they'll make an unflattering movie about you in 15 years.

First off Chad, it was a joke. :)
Second of all Mr. Film Student, The Stand by Stephen King was actually a 4 day, 2 hour presentation per day mini-series on ABC in the mid 1990's which was then translated into a shorter version and a DvD.
Kill Bill is two separate movies, if not, you would buy tickets to both "parts" as one ticket, but you don't. That would be like saying the LotR trilogy is one movie in three parts.

Bite my weiner, skank.