BY LOIS WADSWORTH
West Meets East
T HE L AS T S A M U RA I : Directed by
Edward Zwick. Written by John Logan, Marshall
Herskovitz and Edward Zwick. Produced by Edward
Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Tom Cruise, Paula
Wagner, Scott Kroopf, Tom Engelman. Executive
producers, Ted Field, Richard Solomon, Vincent
Ward, Charles Mulvehill. Cinematography, John Toll.
Production design, Lilly Kilvert. Editors, Steven
Rosenblum, Victor du Bois. Music by Hans Zimmer.
Starring Tom Cruise, with Timothy Spall, Ken
Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki
Sanada and Koyuki. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2003. R.
144 minutes.
T
om Cruise hardly seems a likely
hero for a late 19th century battle-
field epic such as Edward Zwick’s
The Last Samurai, because we are so
accustomed to seeing him in various 20th
and 21st century action flicks. But Cruise
made a good career choice here, because
following the long buildup to the mean-
ingful last half of the film, he gets to show
a more reflective, sensitive side of his
character, Nathan Algren. An embittered
alcoholic veteran of the American Civil
War and the brutal Indian Wars under
Custer, Algren needs some time off from
war’s demands.
Algren is badly wounded and captured
by the enemy he was hired to fight, a band
of highly trained expert Samurai warriors
under the leadership of the legendary
Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). Over the long
months of Algren’s recovery in an isolated
mountain village, he is nursed to health by
a lovely, quiet widow, Taka (Koyuki), and
her children. Taka is Katsumoto’s sister and
was married to the warrior Algren killed in
OPENING OR RETURNING:
Brother (Russian New Wave, 1997): Alexi
Balabanov directs film. Danila comes back
from the army to join his brother on St.
Petersburg’s dark streets and struggles to
maintain a sense of integrity. At 8:15 pm
on 01/26 in 115 Pacific Hall, UO. Free.
Butterfly Effect: The trailer is about a
young man (Ashton Kutcher) who time
travels back to the past to fix the broken
lives of a childhood girlfriend (Amy Smart)
and his friends, Lenny (Eldoen Henson)
and Tommy (William Lee Scott). R. Cinema
World. Cinemark.
Missing, The: Ron Howard directs Cate
Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones as an
estranged daughter and father in this
Western set in 1885 New Mexico.
Blanchett, seeking to avenge her daugh-
ter’s (Evan Rachel Wood) kidnapping,
reluctantly joins forces with her despised
old man. R. Movies 12.
Mystic River: Directed by Clint Eastwood;
written by Brian Helgeland, based on the
novel by Dennis Lehane, this dramatic
tragedy stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins,
Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia
Gay Harden, Laura Linney and Emmy
Rossum. Very highest recommendations.
R. Cinemark. Online archives.
Timeline: Richard Donner directs screen
adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel
about archaeologists on a dig who time
travel back 600 years to rescue their
teacher, trapped in 14th century France.
Stars Paul Walker, Frances O’Connor, Billy
Connolly, David Thewlis. PG-13. Movies 12..
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton: Kate
Bosworth, Topher Grace and Josh
Duhamel star in this teen romance com-
edy directed by Robert Luketic. PG-13.
Cinemark. Cinema World.
Films open the Friday following EW
publication date unless otherwise
noted. See archived reviews at
www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING:
Along Came Polly: Ben Stiller plays
Reuben, a hapless husband whose bride
dumps him. Then he meets up with a
childhood friend, Polly (Jennifer
Aniston). Also stars Philip Seymour
Hoffman, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown and
Alec Baldwin. John Hamburg directs. PG-
13. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Big Fish: Tim Burton’s film about a son
(Billy Crudup) who tries to figure out his
father’s (Albert Finney) life through the
wild stories he’s told. Also stars Ewan
McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny
DeVito, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman
and Steve Buscemi. Truly wonderful film;
highest recommendations. PG-13. Cinema
18 JANUARY 22, 2004
combat. When Algren learns
that, he begins to understand
how different the way of the
Japanese are from the Western
military that has been his
model since he was 17.
Algren looks around the
village and sees people pursue
excellence in whatever they
do, even in small tasks, or
maybe especially in small
matters. From Katsumoto,
Algren learns of the code of
honor and respect that gov-
Japanese Samurai ride in for the attack.
erns their lives. The two men
achieve mutual respect after
battle springs from that psychic darkness
Algren saves the warrior’s life when the
of those who believe they are unforgiv-
village is invaded by a small group of
able.
masked killers.
Other notable characters include
So we’re really in a Japanese Western
Zebulon Gant (Billy Connolly), a cynical
here. The shoot-first, ask questions later
old warrior and friend who brings Algren
code of the Old West and Bushido, the
the Japanese commission; the slender
way of the warrior, work on different prin-
young emperor (S. Nakaumra), who is led
ciples. Algren is a burnt-out case. Still
astray by bad advisors and American
troubled by nightmares of the killing of
Gatling guns and cannons; and the British
innocents and the loathsome behavior of
photographer and translator, Simon
his commanding officer, Col. Bagley
(Timothy Spall).
(Tony Goldwyn), Algren’s allegiance
Samurai appeals to men and women
gradually switches to Katsumoto.
who enjoy war movies, in part because the
Algren and Katsumoto share in com-
battle scenes are realistic and cunningly
mon a great love for the fight. Algren
filmed. In the first battle, Algren’s untest-
comes into his own on the battlefield, and
ed Japanese conscripts are attacked by
Cruise is remarkably credible in the face
Katsumoto’s seasoned warriors. Using
of carnage. “Do you sometimes long for
film conventions of Japanese ghost stories
death?” Katsumoto asks him, and we
and borrowing from Kurosawa, the film
know the answer. Algren’s fearlessness in
World. Cinemark. Online archives.
Brother Bear: Disney tale of young man
who is transformed into a bear and his
adventures in the great Northwest. He
picks up a bear cub and runs into a pair
of misguided moose, or is that meese?
Six new songs from Phil Collins, including
one with Tina Turner. G. Movies 12.
Calendar Girls: Spunky members of a
woman’s club in Yorkshire, England
poses naked to raise money for medical
research after one’s husband gets
leukemia. Stars Helen Mirren, Julie
Walters and John Alderton. Based on a
true story. Nigel Cole directs. PG-13
Cinemark. Online archives.
Cat in the Hat, The: Mike Meyers stars
as the outrageous feline who visits a cou-
ple of kids and wreaks havoc in the house
while mom’s away. With Alec Baldwin,
Kelly Preston. Reviewers don’t recom-
mend. PG-13. Movies 12.
Chasing Liberty: In this young adult
romantic comedy, Mandy Moore plays the
only child of the US Prez, and Matthew
Goode is the Brit she meets in Europe who
helps her escape from her Secret Service
agents. PG-13. Cinemark.
Cheaper by the Dozen: Steve Martin
and Bonnie Hunt play the parents of 12
children, including Piper Perabo, Hilary
Duff and Tom Welling. Directed by Shawn
Levy. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Cold Mountain: Anthony Minghella’s
adaptation of Charles Frazier’s Civil War
best-seller stars Jude Law as a wounded
Southern soldier walking home across
the mountains, Nicole Kidman as his pre-
war sweetheart, and Renee Zellweger as
a young drifter who teaches her to farm
and survive. Elegaic. Excellent perform-
ances, beautiful film. Very highest rec-
ommendations. R. Cinema World.
Cinemark. Online archives.
Creature from the Black Lagoon: In 3-
D! The 1954 classic monster film mixes sci-
entific discovery with legend. New print,
complete with 3-D glasses tuned to bring
out its best. Shows with Hentai (Japanese
erotic anime). Jan. 16-18. only. Bijou.
Elf: Jon Favreau directs and Will Farrell
stars as an elf who doesn’t look like the
other kids, er, elves. The big elf searches
for his biological father (James Caan) in
New York. PG. Movies 12.
I n Am e ri c a : Jim Sheridan’s memoir of liv-
ing in New York in 1981 with his wife and
two daughters is a heartfelt film that
stars Samantha Morton, Paddy
Considine, Sarah Bolger and Emma
Bolger. Highest recommendations. PG-13.
Bijou. Online archives.
Last Samurai: Edward Zwick directs. In
Japan, US Civil War hero Nathan Algren
(Tom Cruise) trains the Emperor’s troops in
the way of the gun as they take on the last
samurais.
Algren is captured by
Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and falls under
samurai traditions and codes of honor. R.
Cinemark. See review this issue.
Looney Tunes: Mixed animation/ live
action directed by Joe Dante, stars Bugs
Bunny, Daffy Duck, Brendan Fraser,
Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Timothy
Dalton, Joan Cusack, Heather Locklear.
PG. Movies 12.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King:
Peter Jackson completes Tolkien’s trilogy
on film, and the result is stunning. Stars
Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin,
Ian McKellen, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom,
Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett. In parallel stories
Frodo and Sam make it to Mount Doom as
the warriors of Middle Earth under the
leadership of Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen)
fight the final battle against the forces of
the evil Sauron. Very highest recommen-
dations. Brilliant! Cinema World.
Cinemark. Online archives.
Love Actually: Written and directed by
Richard Curtis (Bridget Jones’s Diary),
this romantic comedy stars Hugh Grant,
Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney,
Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Keira
Knightley, Martine McCuthcheon, Bill
Nighy. Good fun. Highly recommended.
R. Movies 12. See review this issue.
Master and Commander The Far side
of the World: Peter Weir brings the late
Patrick O’Brian’s best-selling nautical
adventures to the screen with Russell
Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul
Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, ship sur-
geon and naturalist. Set during the
Napoleonic Wars. Highest recommenda-
tions. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives.
Matrix Revolutions: Keanu Reeves,
Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne
Moss are back for the third (and final?)
Matrix episode. Written and directed by
the Wachowski Brothers. Produced by
Joel Silver. R. Movies 12.
Mona Lisa Smile: Julia Roberts is an ide-
alistic teacher and nonconformist at
Wellesley in the 1950s. Julia Stiles, Kirsten
Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal are her stu-
dents. Mike Newell directs. PG-13. Cinemark.
Peter Pan: Directed by P.J. Hogan,
movie stars Jason Isaacs, Jeremy
Sumpter, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams,
Lyn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagnier and
Rachel Hurd-Wood. PG. Cinemark.
Radio: High school football coach (Ed
Harris) shocks a Southern town by taking
on a mentally challenged youth (Cuba
Gooding Jr.) and developing a decades-
long friendship with him. Also stars Alfre
Woddard and Debra Winger; directed by
Mike Tollin. PG. Movies 12.
DAVID JAMES. WARNER BROS., 2003.
Culture dash
allows the Samurai to slowly become vis-
ible through the mist, their elaborate head-
gear silhouetted against the growing light,
their armor and swords clinking, their
horses’ hooves shaking the ground.
Likewise, the penultimate battle
sequence pits the outnumbered Samurai
against a well-trained Japanese army with
automatic weapons. But Algren and
Katsumoto outsmart the attackers, and the
strategy the Greeks employed at the Battle
of Thermopylae (480 B.C.) buys the
Samurai warriors a little time.
The Last Samurai has been in area the-
aters for some time now. If you’re going to
see it at all, catch it on the big screen. It
gets high marks for its depiction of men in
battle as well as its lovely scenes of 19th
century Japanese village life. Now playing
at Cinemark.
ew
Scary Movie 3: Horror spoof satirizes
movies such as The Ring, Signs, The
Matrix Reloaded, Eight Mile. Stars Anna
Faris, Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards,
Eddie Griffin and Queen Latifah. Directed
by David Zucker. R. Movies 12.
School of Rock: Faking it as a substitute
teacher, wild guitarist Jack Black turns
elementary musical prodigies into a
high-voltage rock band. Directed by
Richard Linklater, it also stars Joan
Cusack, Mike White and Sarah Silverman.
PG-13. Movies 12.
Something’s Gotta Give: Directed by
Nancy Meyers. Harry Sanborn (Jack
Nicholson) is a New York music mogul
with a libido much younger than his
years. Also stars Diane Keaton, Amanda
Peet and Keanu Reeves. PG-13. Cinemark.
Online archives.
Stuck on You: The Farrelly Brothers
(Something About Mary) direct this story
of joined twins Bob (Mat Damon) and
Walt (Greg Kinear). Walt convinces Bob
to move to L.A. so he can become an
actor. But success threatens to drive
them apart. Also stars Cher, Eva Mendes
and Seymour Cassel plus big name
cameos. PG-13. Movies 12.
Teacher’s Pet: Talking dog Spot wants
to become a “real boy,” and mad scien-
tist Ivan Krank, tries to make it possible.
Nathan Lane is Spot’s voice, Kesey
Grammer is Krank’s. PG. Cinemark.
Torque: Biker Cary Ford (Martin
Henderson) returns to see his girlfriend,
Shane (Monet Mazur), but they get caught
up with some bad bikers. Also stars Adam
Scott, Ice Cube, Jay Hernandez. PG-13.
Cinema World. Cinemark.
Twenty-one Grams: Mexican director
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s second fea-
ture has astounded critics. Telling three
linked stories, Iñárritu again works magic
with narrative structure. Sean Penn,
Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts, star in
a film The New York Times says reaches
a “Faulknerian idea of old-fashioned
grace.” Also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg,
Clea DuVall, Danny Huston and Melissa
Leo. R. Bijou. Online archives.
Under the Tuscan Sun: Diane Lane
plays writer Frances Mayes in this screen
adaptation of her best selling book about
buying a run-down villa in Italy and cre-
ating a new life. Escape from real life —
beautiful people, gorgeous scenery,
everybody’s got money. PG-13. Movies 12.
Online archives.
Bijou Art Cinemas (686-2458)
Cinema World 8 (342-6536)
Cinemark 17 (746-5202)c
Movies 12 (741-1231)
NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO
Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of EW publication, sometimes sooner. See archived movie reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
Bang Bang You’re Dead: For Eugeneans who have seen William Mastrosimone’s gritty, disturbing play produced locally, the release of the made-for-television movie on
DVD is good news. Directed by Guy Ferland, the lead high school student is played by Thomas Cavanaugh. With Janel Moloney (“The West Wing”). R.
Capturing the Friedmans: This documentary about a Long Island family shattered by accusations that the father, a high school teacher and clown for children’s par-
ties, had molested two boys, appears on many top critic’s best-of 2003 lists. Unquestionably one of the most talked-about films of the year, it took top awards at
Sundance 2003. NR.
Comic Book, The Movie (2004): Directed by and starring Mark Hammil as a major comic book fan in Hollywood, this mockumentary treats Commander Courage
comics as if they existed. Many great comic book masters appear as themselves, including Bruce Campbell, Matt Groening, Ray Harryhausen, Stan Lee, and Kevin Smith.
PG-13.
Critic, The: Complete 23-episode television series of adult animated show on 3-disc set. Includes commentary, clips, making-of and more.
Le Divorce: James Ivory directs this contemporary comedy of manners based on the novel by Diane Johnson). Stars Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts as American sis-
ters in French society, where culture clash and scandal ensue. Jean-Marc Barr, Leslie Caron, Stockard Channing and Glenn Close co-star. PG-13. Online archives.
Secret Lives of Dentists: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis and Denis Leary star in Alan Rudolph’s wonderful, whimsical tale of a 10-year marriage that’s getting shaky, and
a houseful of little girls who reflect every tremor. One of my favorite films of 2003, it gets my very highest recommendations. R. Online archives.
Smile Like Yours, A (1997): Starring Greg Kinnear, Lauren Holly, Joan Cusack, Jay Thomas and Jill Hennessey, it’s a tale of a married couple dealing with infertility.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times begins her review: “Exhausting its creativity at the blueprint stage…”
Thirteen: Two 7th grade girls, played by Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed, become entangled in a fast world where media images dominate dress, behavior, values and
attitude. Holly Hunter plays the mom who tries to save them. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Searing, honest representation of what it’s like to be a teenager today.
Highly recommended. R. Online archives.
Next week: Allegro Non Troppo (1976), American Splendor, Diary of Anne Frank (1959), Ed Wood (1994), Fighting Temptations, Gaslight (1944), Gods
Must Be crazy I and II, Grand Hotel, Secondhand Lions.