Dogs Bark

Tarantino Fanboy Ephemera - - Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) - - 17 March 2009

Recommended. This is a movie, like most directed by Japanese horror cult fav, Takashi Miike, that’s impossible to review. You either get it . . . or not, depending on your love of spaghetti Westerns, samurai swordplay, or demented Japanese psychotropia.  I’m obviously ‘all of the above’ so this was an easy watch. It’s all here. Tons of Yojimbo, adding to it’s extensive body of remakes. Grindhouse. Lady Snowblood. A little Josey Wales. Lone Wolf and Cub.  Even the Duke (strict sense) makes a cameo. Of course, there’s gobs of gore. And just to say he’s down with this, Q makes an acting appearance (as ‘Ringo’), recreating both Bill and the Bride and Dan Ackroyd in Nothing But Trouble. “The sound of the Gion Shoja temple bells echoes the impermanence of all things.” Utter juvenile nonsense - - but infinitely more entertaining than any Judd Aptow/Will Ferrell freak show.  

Battle Fatigue - - Miracle At St. Anna (2008) - - 12 March 2009

Recommended. It’s useful to remember that Saving Private Ryan was panned by some critics as maudlin; that Platoon was called self indulgent. Even Sam Fuller’s masterpiece, The Big Red One, was cut by the studio.  Movies about war are hard.  Death isn’t a problem, especially in an age when relaxed sensitivity allows unspeakable acts to become spattered across a screen. But how do we articulate the worst of it . . . the destruction of human kindness, sometimes irreparably?  This is the challenge that Spike Lee accepted in Miracle At St. Anna.  The critics are correct; this is a messy and over-long film, flawed throughout and the racial commentary is heavy-handed. But the acting is solid and the brutality of battle is powerfully drawn.  It’s a film to be struggled with and I barely recommend it. However, if the nature of war compels you, it’s worth the effort.    

Going Ahead In The World - - Transsiberian (2008) - - 5 March 2009

Recommended. "Never get off the boat." advises Fredrick Forrest in Apocalyse Now. The train's a bit dodgy, too. This moderately effective rail-thriller diesels across the steppes of Paranoiastan, the place Hitchcock toured so well in The Man Who Knew Too Much, i.e., American tourists way over their heads.   Woody Harrelson plays this about three IQ points above the bartender he created at 'Cheers.' Emily Mortimer is his smart, edgy spouse who unfortunately takes the ill-advised side trip. Her guide is a well-cast and sinister Eduardo Noriega (Abre Los Ojos). He and Ben Kingsley, playing a Russian cop, stink up the first two acts with intrigue.  In fact, this creeping dread is the movie's best attribute. These twitchy visuals are superb but director Brad Anderson could have done one more re-write on his script. Unfortunately, the third act jumps the track, crashing into a sloppy, improbable, Hollywood conclusion.