Don't know if you are aware of this, but the Keanu Reeves 47 Ronin movie has nothing to do with the historical event involving the so-called 47 ronin, a story which has been filmed many many times.
Does this necessarily mean the Keanu Reeves movie is a bad movie . . .no. But just don't expect it to be another retelling of the traditional 47 Ronin story.
Don't know if you are aware of this, but the Keanu Reeves 47 Ronin movie has nothing to do with the historical event involving the so-called 47 ronin, a story which has been filmed many many times.
Does this necessarily mean the Keanu Reeves movie is a bad movie . . .no. But just don't expect it to be another retelling of the traditional 47 Ronin story.
Yeah, I know it's his own version of the 47 Ronin story and not really the real thing. It's just that one of my friends worked on the special effects and stuff in the film, so I thought I'd go see what it was all about. I'm not fond of Keanu Reeves at all, so I'll keep my expectations low if I do go see it.
Thanks bmwracer for the recommendation! I'll keep a lookout for that. Already thinking of getting a Kurosawa boxset... mmm...
bmwracer wrote:If you want to watch a good version of The 47 Ronin you need to check out Mizoguchi Kenji's 1941 version
That's certainly one of the more famous versions.
I'd also recommend Fukasaku Kinji's 1978 version Ako-jo Danzetsu (Fall of Ako Castle). Among other things it's got the best choreographed fight scenes of any of the Chushingura versions I've seen, courtesy of Sonny Chiba who, along with his JAC stunt group, planned and enacted the fight scenes; Chiba also had a minor role in the film as one of the ronin. In addition, despite its two-and-a-half hour running time, it doesn't seem to drag at all, unlike other versions.
Another good one is Ako Roshi, a 1961 film by Matsuda Sadatsugu. Kataoka Chiezo heads the cast, virtually the same cast that made another version with the same director only a couple of years earlier.
If you've got a lot of time on your hand, you can view the 1999 Taiga version of Chushingura, entitled Genroku Ryoran. I liked this Taiga because, among other things, it features two terrific performances by Nakamura Kankuro as Oishi Kuranosuke and Hagiwara Kenichi as Tokugawa Tsuyanoshi (the Dog Shogun).
Saw Frozen today. Wish there was more story, but the music and songs were great. The climax was quite moving. I enjoyed it and will probably watch it again at home.
xploring wrote:Saw Frozen today. Wish there was more story, but the music and songs were great. The climax was quite moving. I enjoyed it and will probably watch it again at home.
Thanks for this! It was playing when I went to see The Desolation of Smaug and was contemplating catching it later.
Thanks for this! It was playing when I went to see The Desolation of Smaug and was contemplating catching it later.
Hope you like it. :)
Saw Tangled, made by the same team, I like it but not as much as Frozen.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Not as good as I expected from reviews. I think the extent of enjoyment may depend on how much you relate to or identify with the main character. It took a while to get going but even when Walter was off on his adventure, I felt like I was watching from outside and not feeling like I was going along the ride with him. It could be exhiliarating or life affirming if you can get into it though.
xploring wrote:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Not as good as I expected from reviews. I think the extent of enjoyment may depend on how much you relate to or identify with the main character. It took a while to get going but even when Walter was off on his adventure, I felt like I was watching from outside and not feeling like I was going along the ride with him. It could be exhiliarating or life affirming if you can get into it though.
From the trailers, it doesn't appear to be anything like the Danny Kaye version (1947) which is a very enjoyable movie... I'll probably pass on this.
The Book Thief. It's about World War II, from the perspective of German children. I don't know much about the period or the history, so I didn't find it particularly moving or powerful. But it's well acted with likeable characters and kept me interested for most of the movie. The connection during conversation between Liesel and Max(sp?) was the highlight for me.
Saw Nebraska this week. A bit dull and uneventful, there's a funny sequence close to the end and it somehow came together nicely at the end, but overall, I was disappointed after reading some very positive reviews before watching.
Also saw American Hustle. Well acted and not a bad story, but not my thing. What was the film trying to say, it doesn't seem to be serious, only entertainment around a con-man story.
Big Hero 6. I was disappointed. Nowhere near as good as Frozen or Wreck it Ralph, this feels not much more than an animated action movie. It's not bad, the action sequence and animation are well done, but I felt it lacks character buildup and development. The humour is mostly for boys, not much wit or food for thought.
xploring wrote:Big Hero 6. I was disappointed. Nowhere near as good as Frozen or Wreck it Ralph, this feels not much more than an animated action movie. It's not bad, the action sequence and animation are well done, but I felt it lacks character buildup and development. The humour is mostly for boys, not much wit or food for thought.
That's too bad. Planning on checking it out on UV, but I'll keep my expectations low.
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