Just saw Zatoichi, and while a little more brutal than what I am used to, I still enjoyed it. Not time for some vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries and the double feature choice- The Legend, with Jet Li.
I guess I wiull have to pause at 11:30 to watch SNL and see how skinny Lindsay Lohan really is, too.
BTW- Star Wars ROTS is still sold out here in Motown.
syn
Hollywood:
America’s bejewelled bottom-feeders, the more we buy their crap the deeper they dredge the bottom.
djw
Zatoichi is a good time, but for true filmmaking brilliance, check out Kitano’s Sonatine and Hana Bi.
Mr.Ortiz
Do yourself a favor and watch some of the original Zatoichi movies from the 1960s. There’s like 26 of them, and some are better than others, so do a little research to figure out where to start. Or start from #1 and work your way up until you can’t stand it anymore.
Takeshi actually did a pretty good job of updating the series while sticking to classic Zatoichi conventions: Zatoichi wanders into strange town, pisses off local mob, kills everyone (in self defense, of course), then sneaks off to the next town because he’s too modest to face the villagers he just rescued (or ruined). Yes, they all have the same plot, but it’s a good plot!
Mr.Ortiz
oops. I am not on a first name basis with Takeshi Kitano, I just get confused because he’s sometimes referred to as “Beat Takeshi” (apparantly an old stage name).