This appears to be another take on genre-crossing in a genre-style movie. Previous examples include the wildly successful Sin City movies, popular western splices like The Good The Bad and The Weird and The Warrior's Way, and the stillborn Sucker Punch. But all these movies were well-advertised and wide theatrical releases (in Asia, at least, for The Good The Bad and The Weird). Should I approach this lack of advertising as a snake's rattle and keep my expectations low? When I stumbled across this I thought "This movie features Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Ron Perlman, Woody Harrelson and Kevin McKidd, and I had never heard of it or saw a trailer. How does that happen? Is this a weird little gem waiting to be discovered, or an utter Sucker Punch tragedy?"The opening credits are cleverly presented during an animated story background. The style was much like that of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One or Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. When moviemakers really care about a movie, they make an effort to have the opening credits "affect" the viewer somehow. Even if it's only music over a black screen, moods are set and pace is foreshadowed. I've commented on the great opening credits of The Good The Bad and The Weird, and that movie was awesome. This made for a promising start.
In this perhaps futuristic world guns have somehow been banned, making way for a resurgence in swordsmanship and a feudal yakuza-esque gang culture. A young, Doc Holidayish brawler (Hartnett) and a swordless samurai team up to exact their revenge against the ruthless king of the hill, "The Woodsman" (Perlman). To do so, they must kill their way through leagues of henchman and his nine right hand men, one of which is played by a sleek Kevin McKidd.
This film is VERY stylistic. The effects and music smack of Scott Pilgrim versus The World with comic book stylings of villainy and storyline much like Kill Bill. The combat follows suit, with choreography focusing more on a dance-like technical precision than producing a realistic fight. It's more like theater than cinema. In fact, the set designers erected intentionally artificial-looking structures in order to unsubtly accent this feeling. Sets and wardrobe contain elements of the present, the future, the old west, and the early 1900's. Many theatrical devices are employed as well. All of this synergistically produces an other-worldly feel.
The style of this movie is rare and difficult to execute. The fights are fun, the scenes are clever, and (with the exception of Demi Moore's role) the characters were interesting. If you are careful about your expectations, this movie could be a great pick for you.
Plot? Motivation? Characterization? Well, not so much, but let's not dwell on that. The visual spectacle makes this worthwhile.
-wiredweird, reviewing the release to theaters"Revenge is an act of style." When a man (Hartnett) bent on revenge come to a city he finds what he is looking for. He begins fighting his way through nine very different and very deadly assassins on his way to the one he want. This is another movie that really surprised me as to how good it was. Having never seen a preview or even really heard about it I had no idea what to expect. While the movie is not that original it takes from many different types of movies and blends them together in a very interesting and exciting way. Some aspects have been taken from "Scott Pilgrim vs The World", "Kill Bill" and "Sin City" just to name a few. This is more like "Sin City" then the others in the style that it uses and the "comic-booky" feel that it has. The fighting is great, and is refreshing to see an action movie that doesn't rely on guns to make it fun. The cast is great and the movie is very fun, very much worth your time. The only thing that bothered me is that it didn't need to be two hours long. They could have cut at least 15-20 min out and had it move at a more exciting pace. Other then that I really enjoyed this. Overall, a very entertaining way to spend your time and money. I give it a B.
Would I watch again? I don't think so *Also try Sin City & Tekken
Read Best Reviews of Bunraku (2011) Here
[Review based on the theatrical release.] This is an fascinatingly stylized film that is as much about filmmaking itself as it is about its mythological, Joseph Campbell-esque plot. I was originally interested in it because of the involvement of Japanese singer/auteur Gackt, whose staged works I greatly admire. However, when I read the mainstream reviews, I went into the theater thinking than the film would be a disaster or even worse, a "so bad it's bad" bore.Nothing could be further from the truth. I found the film engaging from beginning to end, with more visual information packed into the theatrically lit and staged frames than could possibly be absorbed in a single viewing. During the showing I didn't look at my watch once and I am not easily amused.
This film deserves to advance to "cult classic" status and is a film that deserves to be added to future film school curricula because of its success in using many of the devices of filmmaking and theater to create a visually consistent, entirely artificial world. I usually rent instead of buying, but this film is worth more than one watch, just to absorb more of the kaleidoscopic visuals.
If you love the "production design" aspect of filmmaking, this is a five-star movie. If you mostly care about story and a novel plotline, then call it 2 ½ stars because there is little new in the plot. If you like a mythological story that is told in a way you have never seen before, then Bunraku is a solid four stars.Honestly, The main reason I bought Bunraku was to support my favorite Japanese musician, GACKT who stars as Yoshi in Bunraku. I didn't hold out much hope for the rest of the movie based on critic reviews.
But I sat down and watched it, and honestly, I really really liked it. Not to say the movie isn't flawed. the beginning is a bit campy and confusing. I didn't know where they were going with anything until almost 15 minutes in. The way they introduced and built the characters up could have been done much better.
However, once you got passed the corny introductions to the characters, and figured out what the heck was going on... the rest fell into place nicely.
Josh Hartnett filled the role of "The Drifter" very well. he brought a bit of realism to what could best be described as a comic book character. There were moments where he made you laugh, like a scene where he has to use a trapeze. I really enjoyed the fight scenes with "The Drifter". They were exciting... Josh Hartnett was right on in his interpretation of the character.
I think Woody Harrelson did a great job as the bartender. He seemed to fit the role perfectly, and I'm not talking about his bartending stint on 'Cheers'. (I was too little to really appreciate his time on that show lol). what I liked about Harrelson in this movie... He has this sort of wisdom in his eye, and cunningly knowing smile. He really stuck out to me in this movie. I have to say, I have a new found respect for Harrelson as an actor after this role.
Gackt surprised me. I'm a big fan of his music, and I liked him in Furin Kazan (a Japanese Samurai period piece)... however, I didn't know how he would handle the transition to and English speaking Hollywood movie. Surprisingly, his acting is very good. he wasn't over the top nor was he too understated. He made the character realistic and likable. You would never guess by watching this movie that this was his first Hollywood movie, or that he didn't have a large list of acting credits under his belt. There were a few times I had to remind myself that I was watching GACKT, because he brings you into his character. He really did a great job.
There were a few things I didn't like, or at least, that disappointed me a bit. Nicola (the main baddie played brilliantly by Ron Perlman) and Alexandra (played also brilliantly by Demi Moore) were not properly utilized in the movie. There was so much that could have been done with both characters... I feel there were missed opportunities. Especially when we learn WHO Alexandra has a history with, and considering Nicola is the most feared, and most dangerous man that few dare stand up to him... once you see the movie, you'll spot a few places where the opportunities were missed... So I won't go into it further as to not spoil you.
So all in all, this was an excellent movie. Yes there are some flaws, but none that seriously effect the watch-ability of this movie. I would say this is going to be a fan classic fairly quickly. if you like Samurai movies or Westerns, or if you liked Sin City... I think you'll like this movie. Its the kind of movie you can appreciate more the second and third time around. I'd say it's definitely worth the purchase.
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