A more complete version of this review and discussion is available here

I saw The Last Samurai Saturday night at a preview showing at the AMC Promenade in Westminster, CO. About 450 of us packed into the theater to watch the show.

Three word summary: I was impressed.

Visually, the movie did well. Mt. Fuji was included in some beautiful scenic shots, during the spring sakura trees are captured blooming, and the fight scenes show what’s important (the action).

The movie represented Japanese culture well. It hit on prevalent themes such as sakura blossoms, duty, honor, and shame. These things are demonstrated in the entirety of the plot and in one-scene chunks.

The characters are believable. Having studied Japanese history and the time of Japan’s opening to the West and the Meiji Restoration this semester, I would believe these characters could have been around back then. (Note: This movie is not drawn from history, but fits the time-period and has elements of history reflected in it.) Tom Cruise did a great job. At first, I was worried about him being in this film, but it’s one of the best acting jobs I’ve seen him do. He does a good job portraying a character who’s out of place and learning about a culture he’s had no prior interaction with.

The plot was good. (No spoilers here, don’t worry.) It starts off with Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an Army captain, getting a job invitation to come to Japan and train new conscript armies with western technology. Throw in a couple twists, and he winds up learning about the samurai way of life.

Conclusion
It’s good stuff and I’d gladly watch it again. Heck, it’s so good it’ll probably be the next DVD to join my small movie collection (I own about three American movies).

Categories: Movies

It’s the part of the semester where I stare back through the archives of time’s passing and say, “Gosh, I didn’t realize it was almost over.” As usual, it ends up being a painful realization when gazing ahead at the hill I’ve been sent to conquer. I’ve got three enemies on the hill and all I have to fight them with is a keyboard and a sharp wit. * sigh *

Due Wednesday: 4-6 page critical analysis on a book about the history of Christianity in Japan. *and* a 20-minute recorded interview of a Japanese person in Japanese accompanied by a two page summary *and* economics quiz.

Due Sometime: Revised eight page poetry book review. (It’s easy to procrastinate on rewrites when there’s no deadline.)

Other stuff this week: same old. A few scattered Bible studies, Nav Nite (on Tuesday at the Lutheran Chapel, in case you didn’t know). I met with Wiggins today and that was good.

Other News
From now on if I announce engagements or people dating on here which don’t work out, I’ll simply modify the original post instead of posting the sad information for all to see. Ok? Ok.

Categories: Life