By Paco McCullough
This week on dvd are two movies that I really enjoyed, as well as a critical hit that flew under the radar.
13 Assassins- 13 Assassins is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, if not the best. The shogun’s sadistic brother is going around the country, committing horrible atrocities. A gang of 12 samurai are hired to hunt him down and kill him. The first half of the film is the planning for the attack, while the second is the incredibly epic payoff. I was wary going into this film because of Takashi Miike’s reputation, but I was completely blown away. Aside from Kurosawa’s later work, this is easily the best samurai film since the golden era of the 1960s. I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
5 out of 5 stars
Hobo with a Shotgun-Hobo with a Shotgun is an entertaining movie. The homage to grindhouse revenge films embraces sleaze more heartily than a twelve year old prostitute with a coke problem. I can’t even imagine the gallons of stage blood that this movie used. Rutger Hauer chews the scenery perfectly, and some of the dialogue is hilarious. I really wanted to love this movie…. But I didn’t. It was a blast to see in a theater with friends, but there are enough minor flaws that wore away at me over the course of the film. The performances run the gamut from great to awful. A subplot involving a streetwalker that Hauer takes under his wing is boring and detracts from the sheer insanity of the rest of the film. Overall though, the film remembers that it is about a hobo with a shotgun, and maintains a extreme level of insanity.
4 out of 5 stars.
Of Gods and Men- I didn’t see this movie in theaters, and was unable to find a copy to screen for the column. Of Gods and Men tells the tale of a group of Christian monks in Algeria and their interactions and increasing conflict with the Islamic locals. The critics seem to love it, as is has a 92% on rotten tomatoes. If it’s your bag, you may wanna check it out.
© Tanner McCullough, 2011
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