The Last Samurai (2003)

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="06dd8c02dduajq.jpg"> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">       <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><IMG SRC="0660b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="900b80c0.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="268" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Judy & Lutz Perschon</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Judy Lutz Perschon"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >back to</FONT>  <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><B>At The Movies With Lutz</B></U></A></div> <div> The Last Samurai (2003) </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="777" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 210 WIDTH="765"><div> Once again Tom Cruise has picked a role that fits his image and the movie is a success, big time.   By all accounts this movie is great entertainment with a story that we all seem to like - redemption.   But Cruise is not the only great actor in this.  Ken Wanatabe  [Katsumoto the Samurai] and Tony Goldwyn [again stuck with the villain role], are both great, and the rest of the cast are all mentionable.  I think we like movies with honor portrayed because most of us would rather live in a world with honor, than the way things are going.   I liked the whole thing lock, stock, barrel, and swords.   Interestingly Ebert liked the movie but felt the producers caved to Hollywood endings, and the  movie should have ended otherwise.  He says <I>"</I><I><B>The Last Samurai </B></I><I>has greatness in it, but sidesteps the ending that would have given it real impact. If there's going to be an alternative ending on the DVD, I know what it would have to show -- and so, I suspect, does Edward Zwick."</I>  Judy and I thought the ending was necessary to have the conclusion it came to, but we'll let you decide.  This is a great movie.  Suggest you see it on the big screen.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 51 WIDTH="765"><div> Lutz's Rating <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Judy's Rating <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="0fb15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 131 WIDTH="765"><div> Storyline From Yahoo:  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="arial" >Set in the late 1870s, this epic film depicts the beginnings of the modernization of Japan, as the island nation evolved past a feudal society, as symbolized by the eradication of the samurai way of life. We see all this happen from the point of view of an alcoholic Civil War veteran turned Winchester guns spokesman, Captain Woodrow Algren (Cruise), who arrives in Japan to train the troops of the emperor, Meiji, as part of a break away from the long-held tradition of relying on employed samurai warriors to protect territories, as the emperor's new army prepares to wipe out the remaining samurai warriors. When Algren is injured in combat and captured by the samurai, he learns about their warrior honor code from their leader, Katsumoto, which forces him to decide which side of the conflict he actually wants to be on. </FONT></div> <div> <B>Ratings: Critics B     Users A- </B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>