Show t ' From Top Gun to Shogun t Edward Zwick Directed by Samurai” stare - semi-automa- tic Tom Cruise which makes it a Tom Cruise movie whidun tum means that ultimately no : ' matter who the director or what the plot the movie can only be all about Tom Cruise himself Set in 1876 the movie intro- duces Cruise to us as Captain Nathan Algren a one-tiGvil War hero who now makes a living as a spokesman for V Winchester rifles reading his own war stories off cue cards ' v to an admiring crowd Drunk and paunchy Algren is disgust-e- d with hiihself for selling out : and it’s hard not to wonder if Cruise worries about a similar fate: Will themovie star one day end up like die bloated Orson Welles in the grubby hands of advertising execu- fives? y Let’s face it: The last few yean have not been good to Cruise If took Steven Spielberg himself to rescue the actor in battle' “Minority Report” from a battery of recent misfires (“Eyes Whoops The samurai Wide Shut " "Mission: v emerge out of die fog like die ' Impossible IT and “Vanilla ghosts of Kurosawa Fast Sky?) and even then only by : slaughtering Algren 's troops v ' and taking him back to their asking him to mn rather than act No coincidence that Cruise outpost village as a prisoner of has chosen “The Last war Their leader Katsumoto Samurai”-die story of a disil- - (Kan WntanabeX wants to lusioned hero’s redemptio- n- ' “learn about our new enemy”:' as a vehicle for hisowny and you can be sure that Algren ' has some learning and growing Algren walks out on y Winchester to make s lateral career move across the Pacific Ocean: training an army of ‘conscripted Japanese peasants- ' ' y ' ! and becomes “the warrior in whom the old ways have joined the new’’ To itscredit the movie leaves open the question oT of just who is the “last” samu-r— Katsumoto or Algren — and thus narrowly avoids the arrogance of "Dances with Wolves” in which Kevin Costner turns put to be the lilli- mate Native American ' q" Cruise has more modest ambitions: Algren is happy to achieve only a draw when spar- ring with die samurai who teach him to fight instinctively - with “no mind" a mantra he repeats under his breathThat sUWo may be a good way to swing a "sword but “The Last Samurai'’ ' little more shows that it’s no way to make a good movie' :— especially for Tom Guise in whom the old: ahead of him too Beforelpng-Algrebetween men of action — long mainstream is spealdng Japanese shots of long talks between ways have not yet' ' new karaie joined we anything and men of can actionwhom practising waxing Samiuui” Last “The is rated see but not hear chatting as on and off in love with die R for strong violence and battle widow of a man ho killed in they strolj over hill and dale' ' battle It takes a village full of ' y “Why are we having these con- - sequences Running time 144 rs ' minutes D venations?” Algren demands indigenous people to redeem a ‘ O) of Katsumoto as Cruise should single American who there have demanded of Zwick other Brian McCuskey is an associate enjoys “my first untroubled professor of English at Utah State than to give the cinematographsleep in many years” ' he teaches At which point die audience er a chance to show off the glo- -' Universityonwhere film and literature He : courses mountain nod “The rious there’s to well: as off begins scenery is among a number of freelance 7 Last Samurai” could use a little ' no good answer writers whose columns appear In less conversationanda little The movie plods along with - The Herald Journal as part of an the men to chart the predictable more action For every spectaceffort tp expose readers to a variular swordfight or roaring fusil-- course of Algren’s changing -ety of community voices He is ' lade we must endure the only loyalties as he adopts the notan employee ofthe newspa- "" bushido code of the samurai thing worse than long talks per Feedback at hjmOviesOhot- - o The emperor has decided to modernize japan idler the y American model which naturally means importing as many ' weapons as possible he needs an army to put down the revolt of those few samurai who refuse to go: Western Having fought die Indian nation Algren knows a little something about suppress- ing tribal leaden he writes in v his diary “I am beset by the ironies of my life” just as Chuse himself isberetby screenwriters who do not know the correct meaning of ’Irony” ' But quibbling over semantics would leave Algren no time to meet die emperor whom he’--' approaches with die same cere-monial bowing and scraping with which one imagines thb : youngactor playing the emper- or (Scichinosuke Nakamura) must have been introduced to Cmise Algren notes that the emperor’s advisors have a healthy financial interest in trade agreements with the Americans but he nonetheless leads his army into ' Tin last SamT SL Fit 540-7:0- 0 ' n ’ Tie last SsmsnrcseUsss Has csmnsUse sail a action: - - ' 2 - : - maMicom -- f WESTATES THEATRES' - BuyTidteh Online at vnvw moviesweslcorn 795 North Station Aoenf Main- - m 7flO WXt SciurJw 430 V " IEWBONORSIMASEVE Of d Mona lisa Smile roii ' Daily liMatmees Ail Seats S200i Catln 1:15 3:15 1 Master A vommanaer no 300-- 4 5:15'' 5 SAT 1 15 TOO 'V' 70S I3:30 qjn: ' 4:15 935 Mm - NOW PLAYING Z": 1221N300E' 0 BhMta Irb QL7SM777 muMkm ' : 13 30 AO v West 1 QO Lova Don't Cost A Thing i ' 4 20 910 Nut Ht ' A4DMGHT ' N fosses ef OfstawntlSekefi' Si 1 540 3b rf' Elf m ’'’ v CI'FH( MiW Hi CIIMIT ra-u- riitiS 4 it CIFFEIBIS CINEMA3 12rl5em-- BUmiwi f 1 6Ca4THOttN uaoAMjoPM: UNCft nauraoa mansion ra 1140 140 EXCLUSIVE RUN ”WESTATE8 mi t Rtlt ro-- i UOITMKfl M Mona lisa $mile Ik35 205 405 TO Q H B D UudUiMi 45-- : 420700 Lard Of The ifings NSlwehr IflSMAwMi lYaoi V’’ Pnd A Prajudico mr Ottmmmt 1:15 1 hctaii 50 4 35 7 10 Samuftiing's Gotta Give ro-- H1MMNGHI Mm 40 MW mi bmmmmmt CACHEiVALLE Yj3i Gotta Something's Give re-130 e ' ' 1300 North Main Vohlnd ih Mod r ItL A yi Haunted Mansion f V 700 ro-30 700 n-i-i 50 705 ' h' ' 55"— 4 00 Mi fWei h V' N0MBNGHT9OMNS m G Stuck On You ftclm The Hat II NoSun l 230 am 2:10 440 71Q9r40’ Mi AwnJWHMiWr : Lost Samurai 400 700 2:an Last Samurai S35 W 100 N7RrwidKa Lord Of Ttw Rinds :12) 400 iKfWSANCMt Dmiwf ICO 1 iSTOCKING STUFFERSI $5 BowlPool Gift Cer 9Q0 T :v V at ifieStadiuni 0 Sabjrtkry OiF S4S64 mr 435-753-- 2450 North Main Lord Of The Rings re-i5230 430 §30 - SLMWCEIMimWNr6QWS0Ny Frvkr Uof Line' MOVIES5 LOGANARTi CINEMA) Ato pan feOO - ' ria RADIO p £ n Erfy (PI 1 ai STADIUM18 BROTHER BEAR t M YOUR FAMliyiN FOR RMPTSHOP OMNI r S 1130 135 405 70) 10 MftVIMMGHr GiTBooITAroiIaBrarMoviaiTsIo5uiTr8vmwie$iwrmm V Z ’ : s : |