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Directed by: Jim Jarmusch Starring: Forrest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva, Isaach De Bankole The plot of this movie is as follows: A Black hit-man for the Mafia follows a samurai lifestyle in New York. A hit goes wrong and all of a sudden the Mafia wants to get rid of this mysterious killer. Forrest Whitaker's stoic portrayal of the modern samurai is very good. Important scenes are prefaced with an excerpt from the Hagakure, a book detailing the samurai life. Its not an off the wall action movie, but the scenes where he carries out a hit are fun to watch. The soundtrack is mostly hip-hop, selected by the RZA, who makes a small cameo in the film. One part of the film I found enjoyable were the scenes where Ghost Dog talks to his best friend, a Haitian ice cream man, who speaks French. The scenes are amusing, with neither of the two understanding the other's language, but knowing what they're thinking. The scenes with the Mafia guys trying to find him are pretty fun, too. overall, I give it 4/5.
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May 2, 2004 18:11
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 05:50 |
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I love this flick, and I think it's Jarmusch's best. It's not just a Samurai film, but actually synthesizes a number of related film genres including Westerns and Mafia films by concentrating on their common denominators. Some goons may find it too artsy for their taste, as it's definitely not an action movie, but slow-paced and meditative. Watch it in a patient mood and you'll be glad you did, but I hope you're prepared for urban apocalypse!
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May 2, 2004 18:57
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A lot of people say that they don't like Jarmusch's action scenes (a criticism that applies to Dead Man, too), but I've always found a certain calm violence in them appealing. It's different.
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May 2, 2004 19:45
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I wouldn't call this an action movie, but more of a... I really can't describe it besides Jarmusch. and I love Jarmusch.
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May 2, 2004 19:50
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:09 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 19:55
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 20:23
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 20:28
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I got this movie because it sounded horrible, and I was in the mood for a lovely movie, but I actually like it. Voted 4.
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May 2, 2004 20:36
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I liked it, though you have to be in the mood for a fairly slow pased contemplative, driving around for a very long time listening to RZA, cute-funny, very melancholy film. My favorite part was the running joke about how far onto hard times the mob had fallen. They are all old, every mob house has a for-sale sign infront of it, they are getting shaken down by chinese restaurant owners, etc. etc. etc. Great flick. But have to be in a relaxed wait-for-it sort of mood.
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May 2, 2004 20:50
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I waited the whole movie for Forest Whitaker to start kicking rear end. He never really did. I thought it was a major letdown, the story was so-so and all the pseudo japanese samurai poo poo was retarded. 2 out of 5 manbabies.
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May 2, 2004 22:04
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 22:10
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All those who were waiting for rear end whooping are retarded. This movie is one of the few Jim Jarmusch movies I really enjoy. It's a really well told tale about various off the wall characters who are all slowly dying in their worlds. The mafia dont really have a place anymore, just as the samurai do not either. Their respective codes are antiquated and obsolete, rules that nobody plays by anymore. But they struggle to go out standing up "Like true fuckin' wise-guys." And nobody cares. That's what I loved about this movie. Very strong characters, very interesting storytelling. This is a slow movie so it's not for everybody. But everybody is pretty stupid so gently caress them.
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May 2, 2004 22:25
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 22:31
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This movie was just painful for me to watch. I got the feeling that they were trying to push the "hey, it's about the samurai code, we're deep! aren't we?" too much.
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May 2, 2004 22:31
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I didn't enjoy this much either. I wasn't really expecting it to be "action" or "omg deep" when I went into this movie. But when I watched it I couldn't stand it. Maybe it was too "deep" for me but to me it made no sense whatsoever. I don't try to criticize movies because they try to do something different but this movie just didn't do it for me. Also I forgot where this is in the movie and since it's not a major plot I won't use spoiler tags, but what the hell was that whole sequence where Forest Whitaker and RZA walk towards either and do some secret handshake or whatever and then leaves.
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May 2, 2004 22:43
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 22:45
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While I found the scenes with the mob bosses highly amusing thanks to all their neuroses and quirks, I wasn't particularly enthralled with Forest Whitaker's acting, nor most of the pseudo-pop-philosophy. Still, the style and directing were pretty enjoyable, and it was a nice change of pace from most common action movies. I think I'll give this one 3/5. Not everyone's (or even my) cup of tea, but worth watching if you stumble upon it and want a slower, quirky movie.
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May 2, 2004 23:07
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 2, 2004 23:16
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I take Film Criticism in High School and I was just about to post about this movie. I thought this was brilliantly produced and the acting was incredible. Not to mention Rza, from Wu tang, did the entire soundtrack and even had a small role in the film. Side note, anyone notice the little diddy between Rza and Ghost Dog when they passs on the street? RZA - Power. in Equality. Ghost Dog - Always. C. Everything. PEACE I dunno, just a little side fact my teacher pointed out
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May 3, 2004 01:56
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 01:59
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The samurai philosophy that a lot of people are talking about is actually an homage to Jean-Pierre Melville's film noir Le Samourai, a similiar film about a killer with a code and meticuluos habits, which was also remade by John Woo as the Killer.
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May 3, 2004 02:02
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This movie is horrible, I dunno what you guys are talking about.
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May 3, 2004 02:06
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 02:08
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quote:]-[ate_Sandwich came out of the closet to say: You too! Want some reasons? The story sucked. The imagry was boring, rehashed garbage. The acting was not 'stoic', it was pitiful. The cinematography was utter crap. As I said, the movie is horrible. 1/5 *edit for rating Cithen fucked around with this message at 02:22 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 02:19
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I found this movie to be disappointing. It's probably due to my high expectations after enjoying Jarmusch's Dead Man so much. I thought Forrest Whitaker was perfect and there's not much I could single out that I didn't like, but as a whole I just thought it fell flat. The mafia guys especially seemed forced and unnatural. It's hard to explain but by the time it was all over, my reaction was simply 'meh'. 3/5
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May 3, 2004 02:25
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:12 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 02:26
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 02:44
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As much as I would have liked to enjoy this film, it never picked up to the point of entertainment. The film has an overall slow paced tone with long shots in a dark lit enviroment. The plot could not be any more primitive, bad men trying to kill a single good guy. However, this low-budget film lacks the eye candy which usually gets us through two hours of nothingness. It's obvious the type of theme the producers were tring to accomplish with passages of eastern philosophy narrated throughout the film, but the added hip-hop music was of poor taste and killed off any credibility the film might otherwise have had. Certain people will over-analyze the story trying to convince themselves that it contains some kind of deep message, but in reality this film is a flop. 1/5
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May 3, 2004 02:44
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 03:41
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HOLY poo poo STOP POSTING YOU FUCKUP
Somebody fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Jul 17, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 08:24
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I think you should be banned.
Somebody fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Jul 17, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 08:31
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CAN YOU READ, YOU loving human being!?
Somebody fucked around with this message at 18:12 on May 8, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 08:31
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I was highly entertained by this movie, and didn't feel it was presenting Ghost Dog's philosophy as truth or as being wise or whatever. Just part of the story, nothing more. When it came on IFC, I had been planning to leave the house, but I started watching it and it just kinda drew me in from the start. 4/5, very interesting movie.
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May 3, 2004 08:55
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I enjoyed the movie very much. Yeah, it was slow-paced, but it was interesting. Whitaker did a great job, and the characters were really interesting. I'm normally not a fan of "artsy" movies, as some people lumped this in with, but I enjoyed it a lot. 4/5
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May 8, 2004 10:38
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I liked this movie quite a bit. It was a bit slow, but I think that it stuck to the code of a samurai, and was entertaining despite its slow progress. I find that this movie is either love/hate for people that see it, which means its gotta be pretty good if people hate it so much to go out of their way to spout their hatred. 4.5/5
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May 13, 2004 01:04
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I had a hard time buying into Whitaker as a modern day samurai, and although I think he's a capable actor, for some reason Ghost Dog just felt very flat for me. At time the movie drags with a lot of slow, wandering scenes. Still, this movie has an undeniable feel of "cool" about it and definitely establishes a consistent mood. The story isn't nearly as important as the character, and for this reason the movie tends to suffer during some of its slower sequences. 3.0
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Jul 16, 2004 17:20
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I rented Ghost Dog because it looked real lovely, and I thought it was gonna be something I could laugh at (see also: "Bones" ala Snoop Dog), but I liked it alot. I think alot of what people say here is true, its not for everyone...but its interesting to see how they fit the Samurai code so well into the sort of hip-hop culture. The soundtrack fits amazingly well with the feel of the movie, I wouldn't want to change any of it. The mafia is hilarious. The film makes them old and stupid...I think it kind of goes with a depature from the olders mafia movies that used to be so big.(Goodfellas, Godfather, etc.) I don't think they could have gone with a better actor than Forest Whitaker. His lazy eye adds so much to the scene where he comes back to his roof shack...I think it gives the perfect portrayl of his mixed emotions. This movie's definately not for everyone. There's alot less action than I originally expected, and the plot seemed short, but it left me wanting more.
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Jul 16, 2004 20:27
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 05:50 |
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When this movie came out, I thought it looked as lovely and retarded as Catwoman does now. I just rented it today because bastards like you told me it was good. This movie should have been called "Ghost Dog: Stare at Forrest Whitaker's face while he drives stolen cars and contemplates being a hit man who likes pigeons" But that would probably be a bit long for a title. At least it would describe about 30 minute's worth of the movie. And to say this movie is "too arsty" is a joke.
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Aug 7, 2004 00:31
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