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THERE'S ONLY ONE JIM JARMUSCH...words can't describe the effect his movies have on me; but i don't have to understand something to know i like it..he does more with less..for an example of even less, see THE LIMITS OF CONTROL (almost no dialog)..and MYSTERY TRAIN is like parachuting into the twilight zone.

In Jersey City, an African American hit man follows "Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai." He lives alone, in simplicity with homing pigeons for company, calling himself Ghost Dog. His master, who saved his life eight years ago, is part of the local mob...

Jim Jarmusch has always been a director fascinated by silence, and so it was perhaps inevitable that he would eventually focus on a protagonist who hardly ever speaks. Such is the case in the perplexing yet fascinating Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a film about a large African-American hit man who finds escape from the horrors of his job by convincing himself that he lives by the code of the ancient Samurai. In one of the finest performances of his career, Forest Whitaker portrays Ghost Dog (the hit-man), a man who is so distant and removed from contemporary society he is at once intriguing and frightening. When one of Ghost Dog's murders is witnessed, he becomes expendable to the mafia, and Ghost Dog must protect himself while remaining true to the code of the samurai. Jarmusch tells this strange tale in his typically low-key style...the film's slow pace is punctuated by moments of violence that range from darkly humourous to truly disturbing. One of the flaws of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is that the murders are often portrayed in a rather hip, detached fashion, and the movie is so aware of its own "coolness" that it occasionally leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Yet Whitaker is such a strong, undeniably magnetic force in the movie that we are willing to follow his character through to the film's conclusion. The best trait of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, aside from its unusual tone, is the way that Whitaker somehow succeeds in creating a character we empathize with without noticeably straining for our sympathies. While the film is often unsure of itself, Whitaker manages to summon the audience's respect at the same time he is making us somewhat afraid. We leave the film with the same dangerous fascination for Ghost Dog that we would have for a samurai, and perhaps that is what Jarmusch intended all along.

(BASIC)

The most competent and mediocre filmmaker I have experienced, judging by these three works, at least. Also the most unexciting. Night on Earth I liked more because of the actors - it's always a thrill to see Winona Ryder and Benigni cut loose (for me). Ghost Dog was pleasant enough, but very one-note. Stranger Than Paradise I turned off after 15 minutes. Perhaps the most predictable, dull, uninspired 15 minutes of my entire film-watching life. Jesus Christ was it bad. The actors were obviously amateurs, and the ONLY merit I could find was that it was competently shot. Seriously, I couldn't make it even 15 minutes through. When I turned it off, I honestly thought I had been watching it for 30 minutes, and I was surprised to find out my mistake.

It seems to me that Jarmusch has a very limited sense for the dramatic.

I'm not looking forward to Ciggarettes and Coffee (or vice-versa) really. It's either a rental or won't be watched at all.

The Brother From Another Planet is an interesting look at racism, drugs and slavery through the eyes of alien that looks like a black man except for his feet. Like I said, interesting, but the majority of the film I found boring. There were a few funny moments but not enough to save the film.

Just got back from The Day After Tomorrow. Yep, waste of time. Working 50 or so hours this week = time for movies but not for reviews.

I always enjoy this movie. I find it Fascinating . I would recomend it. I plan to read "Hagakure" which is the book used in the movie. It seems that it would be intresting.

Shitty title, I know, but I've seen a lot of stuff lately that I have yet to chronicle. So, I'll go through my viewings how I was when I viewed them. Some, I was drunk, some I was tired, some I was fine; so here are some capsule reviews for films I've seen of late.

Films Seen Under Normal Circumstances

Bubba Ho-Tep- I had been wanting to see this film since its release last year; it really sounded like a hillariously original filmgoing experience. What I got was something COMPLETELY different from what I expected. The film is very emotional, this may very well be Campbell's best performance. His Elvis is dead on; he's hillarious when he needs to be and emotional when he needs to be. The man was great. Ossie Davis also puts in a good performance as the "dyed" JFK, but he is easily eclipsed by Campbell's powerhouse performance. The film is never melodramatic and one of the more emotional films of the past year. Yeah. I'm serious. 8.5/10

Ghost Dog The Way of the Samurai- What a cool flick. Under a less competant director/actor, this film would have come off as a huge gimmick. A hitman who follows the way of the samurai? A hitman that flips his gun around like a sword after he kills? His best friend is a French ice cream seller who doesn't understand english? WTF?! But no, the film handles everything to such a perfect degree that it never comes off as a gimmick. It's a film that needs to be experienced, specifically for its coolness, hilarity, honesty, themes, and score. Yeah, its score. It's really great. The film does become a bit heavy handed towards the end and starts throwin a lot of serious shit at the viewer, but the film still maintains its coolness and composure. The other thing that got to me was the constant montages that are essentially the same. But still, this is a great, fun, funny, and downright cool film. 8/10

Films seen when I was very tired

Willy Wonka and the Chocoalte Factory- It's a film that I loved growing up, and I still love it. THough it's a flawed film, specifically the first act, it's still fun and trippy to watch. I dazed in and out of sleep during the film, but I caught most of it, and I had seen it before. It's a really fun film that I think most people here have seen. Its first act is very flawed though, thus rendering it an 8/10.

Mulan- Yeah, I liked it. A lot. It's a film about a Chinese girl who pretends to be a man so she can join the army instead of her ailing father. It's a film that has emotion, comedy, suspense, and some of the best 2-d animation I've seen in a long time. I really liked the flick a lot and I give it a 9/10.

Films Seen Under the Inluence of Alcohol

Scary Movie- A great film to watch drunk; it's really the only one in the series to actually be funny; sure, it's a throwaway flick, but watching Doofy drunk is worth the price of admission. It's still a fun parody of the horror genre and doesn't take any stops doing it. It gets a solid 7/10 from me.

50 First Dates- I was hitting my stride in the middle of the night when I watched this, and I still didn't laugh. Poor Adam, you used to be so funny. I felt nothing. 3/10.

Eyes Wide Shut- The film that I made my friends watch; this film scared the shit out of me. I hadn't seen it prior to this viewing, and I feel I owe it to the film to watch it again to absorb everything I saw. It's really thought provoking, even drunk, and the scene where Cruise goes to his sex club scared the shit out of me. It was a great film, if you want a plot synopsis, look elsewhere, but I reccomend it for the sheer weirdness and suspense that the film provokes. 9/10.

Well, I think that's a wrap. Now I think I'm gonna go rewatch Eyes Wide Shut. Adios.

GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI (1999)

a damn fine film from the great jim jarmusch. great performance from whitaker in this very interesting movie. i absolutely love the way jarmusch handles the modern day gangsters who are past their prime and watch old cartoons all of the time. everything is quirky and clever and it works well.

This is a philisophical movie about gangsters which gracefully compares the old gangster ways (italian mafia) and the new (gangster rappers and the like). In this movie we see a new breed of samurai/hitman who wields the gun as gracefully as a samurai wields a sword. Through the eyes of the samuri we learn a number of interesting lessons conveyed through metaphors seen throughout the film. One has to watch this movie more than once if they wish to catch all the lessons it conveys. In addition to the facinating metaphors you will find a great soundtrack. This movie is a real treat, especially for those who enjoy mafia movies and for those who enjoy hiphop. I originally watched this movie because it was recommended by Quentin Tarantino. If you like Kill Bill then you'll love Ghost Dog.