Of all the movies I watched on the way to South Korea, somehow A-Teammanaged to be the best. And I say that not really liking the film. This is the Las Vegas stripper of movies. It is pretty, everything looks big and fake, and you can tell it cost a lot of money to make. It is fun, at least in small doses (again, like a stripper). The action set-pieces are top notch and exciting, and there are enough to keep you awake when the director was dead set on letting his characters speak. The tv show this movie is spawn from worked because it had three funny dudes running around and blowing stuff up with Mr. T. Lets just say it right here, "Rampage" Jackson is NOT Mr. T! He makes Mr. T look like Sidney Poitier. In fact, the only actor I did like was Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith. Bradley Cooper was fine, but Neeson was the only guy that could carry a character like Smith with both 1980's cheese and naturalistic bravado. He is fun to watch, even when he is just grunting and gnawing on a cigar.
The A-Team (2010) CastWatch it, why not? Of the blockbuster type movies this is a better one I guess, especially compared to something like Transformers and the like. Let me know what you guys thought, I am sure most people liked it more than I did.
THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS PAPER!!!! READ WITH CAUTION
The titular Ghost Dog lives by a code. He wakes everyday, ritually prays and practices swordplay, tends to his pigeons, and is in constant pursuit of refinement. His code is that of the samurai, and his induction into the world of Bushido arrived while reading the transcribed utterances of Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the book Hagakure. More than a handbook, Hagakure is manual for the samurai, filled with short anecdotes and reflections intended to serve as lessons for the aspiring warrior. When Ghost Dog is betrayed by his master and the men he works for, the urban samurai strives to honor both his lord and his code until the very end. Of all the messages to be found in Hagakure, self-improvement, striving to be a flawless warrior, and loyalty to one’s master, are at the forefront of Ghost Dog. This paper will cite passages from Tsunetomo’s book to better discuss these three elements of the code that the samurai of the film employs with perfection.Ghost Dog poster
Early into the first chapter of Hagakure, Tsunetomo speaks of a council member who guarantees a man even though he had once been a participant in a drunken brawl. The council member’s reasoning was simple; “I can guarantee him by the fact that he is a man who has erred once. A man who has never once erred is dangerous.” (34) This excerpt defines the genesis of Ghost Dog. He too was a participant (perhaps unwillingly) of a brawl, and was selflessly saved by his future master Louie. There are many stories and instructions found in Hagakure that Ghost Dog found a way to interpret, the most evident being self-improvement. Tsunetomo warns that riches and honor are the two things that will blemish a retainer, and it can be seen on screen that Ghost Dog lives less than humbly. His home is a small shack that lies atop a misshapen apartment building, painted daily with a fresh coat of bird droppings. The Buddhist priest Tsunetomo consistently cautions against projecting one’s affairs out into the open. Through expositional dialogue from a little girl, it is learned that Ghost Dog abides strictly to this suggestion. The young girl explains how her mother believes Ghost Dog has no friends, speaks to no one, and lives quietly and alone with his birds, which it seems Tsunetomo would find acceptable. When in public, Ghost Dog still follows the Way found in Hagakure, “People who have an intelligent appearance will not be outstanding even if they do something good.” (169) Ghost Dog does not come off as intelligent, or even very clever. He understands the purpose behind Tsunetomo’s words. By presenting one’s self as gentle and slow, the samurai’s actions will always be underestimated by his enemy. This illusion will give the warrior the benefit of surprise, as seen in the film when Ghost Dog happens to drive upon two bear-hunters. The film’s samurai strives for self-evolution daily, ceaselessly studying the code to find ways to become a better man, which will lead to becoming a better warrior.
It could be argued that over any other lesson on martial valor found in Hagakure, Ghost Dog best adheres to that of decisiveness. There are a handful of quotations found in the book that stress the importance of immediate action, that a samurai should never hesitate or consider his options for too long. “It is said that one is not truly a samurai if he does not make his decisions quickly and break right through to completion.” (92) Ghost Dog embodies this portion of the Bushido unconditionally. He plows into any situation presented to him, no matter the violence and pain that may wait. When Ghost Dog is resolved to killing Louie’s boss Sonny Valerio, he first attempts a stealth kill with a sniper rifle. However, after a small bird obstructs his shot, the samurai must decide between waiting for second shot and finding another course of action. Remembering the teachings of Tsunetomo, Ghost Dog intrepidly storms Valerio’s castle, expertly killing the boss and his Italian retainers. The hooded samurai adapted the lessons found in Hagakure to fit his environment and utilized Tsunetomo’s teachings while taking part in warfare.
Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog
A samurai is only a samurai if he is completely dedicated to his master. When Louie saved Ghost Dog from his would-be killers, Ghost Dog swore total loyalty to Louie. Because he was now a retainer, the film’s warrior executed every mission given to him without fail. Louie himself defends Ghost Dog to his bosses, explaining to the old Mafiosi, “For the past four years, he’s done, maybe, twelve perfect contracts. Perfect, like a ghost.” Any samurai would be proud to hear their lord speak so highly of them. Ghost Dog remains faithful to his master throughout the picture. Ghost Dog takes Tsunetomo’s advice and takes time to learn everyone and everything his master is involved with, something that both surprises and impresses Louie. Nakano Jin’emon is quoted saying, “A person who serves when treated kindly by the master is not a retainer, but one who serves when the master is being heartless and unreasonable is a retainer.” (139) Ghost Dog understands this principle well. He defies better judgment by remaining dutiful to his lord even when he is informed of the master’s betrayal. It would then seem reasonable that the samurai would willingly offer his own life to his master, if that were what is needed. Ghost Dog knows however that Sonny Valerio will have Louie killed just as soon as he is taken care of, so what at first appeared to be cowardice by not immediately committing seppuku was actually the opposite. Ghost Dog works throughout the film only surviving to protect his master, by eliminating all that would harm him. This is the true way of the samurai.
Master Ittei said, “If one were to say what it is to do good, in a single word it would be to endure suffering. Not enduring is bad without exception.”(65) And so is told the story of Ghost Dog. Although not born of the time and place of the original Japanese samurai, Ghost Dog was as dedicated to the code as any medieval warrior that came before. He took advantage of the teachings of Yamamoto Tsunetomo, and lived his life according to the wisdom found in Hagakure. Through self-improvement he evolved into a humble and unassuming man. From there he labored to become a perfect warrior, always remaining steadfast and quick-witted. It was his loyalty to his master that he lived for most, never hesitating to perform any task given to him and always willing to endure harm for his master’s sake. It is from this loyalty in life that eventually brought death, when Ghost Dog gladly and without reluctance offered his life to his master, by way of a modern day kaishaku.
On the plane ride to South Korea I had many wonderful choices of films to choose from. Toy Story 3, Cyrus, and other legitimately good films were at my fingertips. So, with so much to choose from I decide to take a chance. I completely missed Knight and Day when it was in theaters earlier this year. I am willing to out myself as a Tom Cruise fan. I still remember the days when Cruise wasn't a gamble, but a guarantee. He takes a lot of shit from the critics and the public for his personal life and his somewhat manic personality, but I don't care. I have been able to keep Tom Cruise the man seperated from Tom Cruise the actor, but its been a couple years since he has repaid my loyalty with a good film. Sadly, Knight and Day does nothing but add more strain on my already streched thin loyalty.Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise promoting Knight and Day
I am not going to waste my time with the plot. I didn't expect this film to be original, because I am sure we have seen 1000 versions of this film before, but I did expect it to at least be fresh. James Mangold is a great director (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma) so I thought this movie would at least have some great action set pieces... nope.
Two years ago man known only by the name Tarsem released his visual masterpiece of celluloid known as The Fall. Four years in the making, this imaginative acid trip works as a re-imagining of the Wizard of Oz but plays more like an artist with multiple sets of hands painting on an endless canvas. Claiming to have not used any computer graphics, the images presented in The Fall are so stunning no modern day eyes will believe it. Tarsem and his cinematographer Colin Watkinson were able to produce landscapes and colors that at times appear to be physically impossible to manufacture on film.Tarsem's The Fall poster
The story of The Fall can appear contrived but ultimately ends with satisfaction. With the main plot line taking place during World War I, the main characters are both patients trapped in their injured bodies and in a small California hospital. The main protagonist is Alexandria, a young immigrant with both a broken arm and a natural precociousness that has not been seen in a child since Shirley Temple. The second lead role is Roy Walker, a stuntman for the Hollywood “flickers” that had been disabled while on the set of his latest film. Becoming suicidal after his girlfriend had left him for the star of the picture, Roy captivates Alexandria’s imagination with a tale of five heroic men who seek revenge against the man that did them all wrong. An ex-slave looking for his old master, an Indian searching for the man that kidnapped his wife, a mustachioed Italian bomb expert scouring the world for the man that had him exiled, a fictitious Charles Darwin and his monkey sidekick that dreams of killing the man that sent him a dead exotic butterfly, and finally a dashing masked bandit wanting retribution against the man that killed his brother. Between Roy’s enthralling story telling sessions he convinces Alexandria to break into the pharmacy to bring him morphine, which he hopes to use to facilitate his own death.
By following the five fugitives, the viewer is transported on an eye-popping expedition through beautifully exotic locales. In the beginning of their story, the men are trapped on an ocean oasis at least a mile from any shore. In an act off screen, Darwin is able to conjure a large African elephant to aid the masked bandit to land, because he is the only one that cannot swim. By employing underwater, aerial and level shots, Tarsem ably captures a scene of such ocular tranquility it can almost not be considered real, but instead somehow conjured up in the director’s mind, mystically projected onto the screen. Generously the movie is filled with these panoramic spectacles. There has never been a film like this, completely dedicating itself to having random outbursts of beauty in every scene, but never so much as to make a disturbance. The critic Roger Ebert said it best in his review: “You might want to see The Fall for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it.”
Because I am leaving for Korea tomorrow, I want to at least post the movies I have watched before I leave. However, some films, like Buried, The Social Network, and IP Man require more time and thought than I can provide. So, #28-30 are going up, I promise when I get back I will right a detailed reaction to each film.
Because I am leaving for Korea tomorrow, I want to at least post the movies I have watched before I leave. However, some films, like Buried, The Social Network, and IP Man require more time and thought than I can provide. So, #28-30 are going up, I promise when I get back I will right a detailed reaction to each film.
Monday, October 18, 2010 at 6:14PM 
B.A. Baracus in The A-Team 2010
The A-Team (2010) CastWatch it, why not? Of the blockbuster type movies this is a better one I guess, especially compared to something like Transformers and the like. Let me know what you guys thought, I am sure most people liked it more than I did.
