The Great Movies, volume 1: Seven Samurai

Choosing the first movie for my series of true excellence in entertainment was a no-brainer for me. I simply picked the movie that I consider the best ever made, or at least the best I have ever seen. Seven Samurai is an undisputed classic, arguably the greatest film made by arguably the greatest director in movie history. Akira Kurosawa's rousing epic has stood the test of time like few others. This is because the themes of the movie - honor, sacrifice, loyalty, bravery and kindness - are universal themes that have rarely been expressed as well on film. I know of no other movie that offers such a powerful glimpse of humanity at it's best and worst while also telling one hell of an adventure.

The story concerns a group of farmers in a village that are waiting for an attack by a gang marauding bandits. The farmers, who do not have the strength or the knowledge to fight back, know that the bandits will take all of their food and deal out unthinkable violence. In the past, the farmers have always endured the attacks and simply hoped that the bandits would leave them enough on which to survive. But one young villager says that he is sick of being kicked like a beaten dog and suggests they fight back. The other villagers are incredulous at this idea, some saying they would rather commit suicide then face another attack. But the idea gets approval from the village elder and it is decided that they will go to the nearest town and recruit wandering samurai warriors to help them. The problem? The villagers have nothing to offer these noble fighters except food, shelter and gratitude.

Thus begins the recruiting process, a marvelous sequence where we meet the men who will do this deed for the villagers simply out of honor. Each samurai has his own unique personality and story. There is the leader, Kambei, a war-weary veteran who is the first to accept the offer. He recruits others, including Kyuzo, a swordsman with no peer. When they head for the village there are seven of them ready to do what it takes to save the villagers. Well, actually, there are six and a half; tagging along is Kikuchiyo (the magnificent Toshiro Mifune), a peasant who has dreamed of being a real samurai. While the others do not take him seriously, he is anxious to prove his worth.

What unfolds is a terrific adventure, filled with action, humor, a little romance and humanity. Most of all humanity. Not all of the farmers are grateful that the samurai have come, fearful that they will take their women. And the farmers may not be exactly who the samurai think they are, either. In the second half of the film, when the bandits arrive, all will be tested in a battle not just for crops and sanctuary, but for honor, duty and the chance to live as real human beings.

Now for the caveats. Seven Samurai is in fact a Japanese film with Japanese language and English subtitles, so reading will be required. In addition, it is an older film, released in 1954, and it was filmed in black and white. It is also quite lengthy, clocking in at around three and a half hours. There is an intermission at about the halfway point. It is an epic story and the running time never seems excessive. It does not seem like a long movie while you are watching.

If you think you can deal with those three things, then you owe it to yourself to check out Seven Samurai. It is film making at it's absolute best, with a great director at the top of his game leading the way. Terrific performances, great storytelling and rousing action await you. I envy those those who get to see Seven Samurai for the first time.

The Great Ones, a wedding and some gaming

I am going to start an entertainment series called The Great Ones which will highlight things that I really feel are special and at a different level than the usual stuff. These may be books, movies, music, etc. I'll try to write a little bit about each selection and explain why I feel it is worthy of being called truly great. There will be no set schedule for these postings, they'll just come out whenever I get the itch to talk about something that I really love. I hope by writing about these some people may be inclined to check them out and perhaps discover something they normally wouldn't. And if anyone wants to discuss things here, all the better. Look for the first selection soon.

Not much going on lately other than getting ready for my sister's wedding, which is Sunday. We had the rehearsal dinner tonight and it was very nice; everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. But it looks like my 3 year old daughter Laurel will not be walking down the aisle. She didn't want any part of it at the rehearsal and I can't see that changing by Sunday, when there will be a bigger crowd of people. She's a bit shy, something I hope eventually fades a bit.

I'm very happy for my sister. She met a really nice guy and things worked out for them. Here's hoping they share a long lifetime of happy moments together. He's also got a great step-daughter, the same age as my daughter Jess, and they have become fast friends, which is nice. I am really looking forward to the wedding, letting loose a little bit and celebrating with my sister. And of course my wife Barb will be my designated driver. Thanks, honey!

Still enjoying my career as a closer in The Show. I just made it to the AAA level and have successfully closed out my first 2 games. I am starting to get the itch to do some hitting though, so I may go back to my shortstop career for a bit as well. I am also making slow progress in Bully. I am around the 10% completion mark, so I still have a long way to go. I'm still enjoying it, but I am finding it hard to find the time for both The Show and Bully, so it may be a while before I finish. But it has been fun watching my character evolve into a bit of a good guy. The story is good and it's pretty easy to pick up where you left off without feeling too lost. I'll keep my progress updated here and let you know what I think of the game as I get further along.

"No Country For Old Men" revisited

***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!***

I picked up No Country For Old Men on DVD today and watched it tonight with my wife. We both saw it in the theater and liked it very much. But this time, it just seemed like, I don't know, more than it had on my original viewing. Like many people, I was a bit taken aback by the ending. Let me clarify that; while I was taken aback by the ending, a lot of people flat out HATED the ending. But as I watched the movie this time, it occurred to me that what the Coen brothers are showing us is not simply a story that unfolds, they are showing us the bigger picture of the nature of violence. I had wrongly assumed that the main story was about Llewelyn Moss, who finds 2 million dollars in a drug deal gone wrong. After all, the action is based on him and he is the one that gets the story rolling in the first place. At first glance, he is the protagonist. But what became clear on the second viewing is that it is not Moss who is the main character, but Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, played by Tommy Lee Jones. It is his story about how much the times have changed and how the world seems to be coming apart at the seams. He decides that this new wave of violence is too much for him, that it has passed him by; the same way it had passed by his father, grandfather and his uncle Ellis, all lawmen.

Javier Bardem got the accolades and awards (well deserved) for his portrayal of the psychotic hit man Anton Chigurh. He is perfect in the role, no doubt. And Tommy Lee Jones is also note perfect as Sheriff Bell. He is really the soul of the movie and Jones plays it with with both humor and a sense of gravity. It's a great performance. But I thought Josh Brolin was equally good in the Llewelyn Moss role. He seems a natural for the part: the rugged everyman who has seen a lot, including war, but can't possibly fathom what he is up against. He makes Moss into a decent, likable man that you root for, even though he is certainly no innocent victim. When he comes to his end, it is shocking in both it's outcome and the matter-of-fact way that it is shown. The Coens seem to be building towards a classic showdown between Moss and Chigurh and many viewers (including this one) felt a bit cheated that Moss is killed by Mexican drug dealers, not Chigurh, and off-camera at that. But on the second viewing I think I understand why they (and obviously Cormac McCarthy, who wrote the book) don't let you see Moss get killed. And it's because that is not what the movie has been about. It has been about ALL violence and the fate of those who dabble in it. It's about the harshness of violence, of the West, and of men who kill without remorse. Some of it is senseless and all of it seems to be fate. How many people die in the movie because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? It is telling that the death of Moss is shown in the same manner as the girl in the pool who had been flirting with him. After the fact, after all that has happened, they are both just corpses, entwined by violence and fate.

To Sheriff Bell, the violence and crime is getting worse and he cannot deal with the this new harshness that seems to have enveloped the world. But it's not just that the level of violence is new, it's also that Bell has gotten old. His time has passed. As Bell's uncle Ellis says, "Whatcha got ain't nothin new. This country's hard on people, you can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity." What Bell finds is that it is indeed no country for old men.

Bully for me!

I finally got in a few hours of Bully: Scholarship Edition last night. It was hard to pry myself away from MLB '08: The Show, as I am having a blast in Road To The Show mode with my closer. Still in AA (that's Double A ball, not Alcoholics Anonymous), but now I am actually closing out games, which is great fun. Anyway, back to Bully. The first thing I noticed was that the game was not blessed with cutting edge graphics. It almost looks like an original Xbox game, but a bit more polished. If you are not a graphics whore, you'll get used to it in pretty quick order and go about your business.

The game puts you in a sort of private school hell, as your character is dropped off at Bullworth Academy by your uncaring mother and stepfather - not that you yourself have the best of attitudes. After getting lectured by the headmaster, you start your career as the new kid at school. No one likes you very much, except for a creepy kid named Gary. I wanted to beat the crap out him right away, but he plays a vital role in the story, so that was a no-go. Everyone else at the school seems to either want to kick your ass or avoid you like the plague. You can fight back of course; the fighting mechanics are simple and the fights themselves pretty easy. You spend your idle time going to class, pulling pranks, helping Gary's nefarious plots, fighting bullies and wooing the girls. It's all a little simple, but damn if it ain't addictive. You definitely get that "just-one-more-task" feeling. You are given missions to carry out that advance the story and there are little side quests such as helping out other students. These side quests are usually of the paying kind, so you can build up a nice little chunk of change. Just like real life, there are cliques at school and your actions will either increase or decrease your popularity with each one, i.e. help the nerds and face the wrath of the greasers. Each individual day goes by pretty fast, but there doesn't seem to be a limit on how long you have to carry out the main story.

So basically the game is Grand Theft Auto in the schoolyard., which makes sense since GTA creator Rockstar is behind the game. It plays very well, controls aren't too wonky for the most part and I have yet to see any of the slowdown that has been mentioned in some web reviews. There are a LOT of "loading" screens. At first they were excruciating to me, but they actually become more tolerable as you play on. I just finished the first chapter of the game, so now I get to venture off campus and out into the real world. Every review I have read said that this is where the game really takes off and gets interesting. So far I have had a lot of fun and I am very anxious to carry on the adventure. If you like "sandbox" games, I'd definitely recommend trying out Bully.

Who Needs Rules?

I have already touted Operation Sports, which is a must-have link for serious sports gamers. They have a great forum over there and excellent articles written by a fine staff of writers. The info you can get there is incredible.

There's also a relatively new sports gaming site that has already shown itself to be just as valuable. Who Needs Rules? is run by the distinguished Scott Burress, a.k.a. ExtremeGamer. He has assembled a stellar staff of writers who have already made a name for themselves in the sports gaming community. The articles there are fresh, relevant and very well written by guys who simply love games. They have an awesome set of forums there as well, populated by knowledgeable fans who know what they are talking about. It's a great place to find in-depth info and strong opinions about what is happening in the sports gaming world.

So here's a serious shout-out to Scott Burress and his staff at Who Needs Rules: Our good friend Dave Roland, Dave Lint, Greg Callaghan, Matt Kabara, Chris "Sully" Sullivan, Mike Snider, Dave Roberts, John Enoch and Steve Semple. Congratulations, fellas. You have already made Who Needs Rules a vital player in the sports gaming community.

Happy Anniversery, Baby

Five years ago today, my wife and I went on our first date. It was a real doozy; it ended up lasting over a week. Now here we are with our beautiful 3 year old Laurel and another baby on the way. I have been blessed not only with Barb, but her (now our) two wonderful children, Zach and Jessica. Best package deal ever.

I love you Barb. You have made my life so much more meaningful and you are my best friend. I cherish you and our family. Thanks for everything you do.

Love, Laughter and Friendship,
Jim

What are friends for?

If nothing else, I am raising Dave's spirits by losing to him in MLB 08: The Show. I'd love to say I am being altruistic and letting him win, but the plain truth is that I just suck. Dave beat me 3-0 with the Blue Jays against my Angels. Halladay threw a complete game shut-out. My pitching ain't bad, my defense is fine, but my hitting and baserunning is abysmal. It's like having a whole team full of Caesar Izturis clones. That ain't good.

Good job, Dave. Maybe we can get our headsets working soon. Bluetooth technology is boggling my mind.