I really enjoyed this movie because it spoke to me on a personal level. I am a fan of Jarmusch's work, although I have only seen Broken Flowers,Down by Law and part of Coffee and Cigarettes. I enjoyed the esteemed role literature played in this film, especially in two contexts: high brow philosophy or religious lore, and low brow genre fiction. I was intrigued at how Ghost D incorporated the teachings of Hagakure into his life to such an extent that he is willing to die for his beliefs. I found it equally humorous that Jarmusch was willing to equate mafia dogma with cartoons, and used the conflicting texts to elevate Ghost D to a hero.
Of course, Jarmusch, like Wes Anderson, has caricatured his characters to such an extent that the viewer could be drawn away from the resonance of finding parallelisms between gang life and slapstick cartoons. But would we take Ghost D seriously if he was regularly tuning into Bruce Lee or David Carradine? I think not. His theme song for each drive is pretty hilarious too in its unassuming attempt to be cool, ie "I wear my sunglasses at night." Hence the use of cartoons to show the absurdity of the middle aged mafia men (and in Ghost D's case, mixes for each shoot out) caught on upholding their family, and the praise of the solitary figure who sustains his own nuclear regime of misunderstood outliers via shared ice cream cones and classical literature and a multicultural approach to language: in spite of any language barrier, Ghost D is grounded enough to get Raymond, Pearline and Louie. Perhaps this telepathic sense could be attributed to Hagakure, but I think it's more of a trope used to gain the trust and sympathy of a world weary audience who may humor Raymond or Pearline if they met them in real life, but depending on the context, would fear for their lives. I'll try not to get into class or race issues, although it's rampant throughout the film.
Back to the emotional effect Ghost D had on me. I gravitate towards films which rely on books as the central theme, and I think Jarmusch has effectively conveyed how we read texts on a strictly subjective level, to such an extent that what Heraclitus says is true: history is "finding out for oneself," going beyond the cultural context of any text (which I consider to be film, artwork, books, clothing, songs, what have you) and seeing it as an extension of yourself. Hagakure enables Ghost D to overcome the dangers of ghetto life, and in a way, reframes the power structure between him and Louie, who saved his life when he was a youth. Ghost D constantly reiterates his role as Louie's retainer. Unfortunately, the actual text is interposed so much that the viewer is unable to find a way to relate to Hagakure or Frankenstein or Rashomon on a personal level. I did at one point, but that's it. But the ending saved it for me. Here's why.
May A Movies
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May B Movies
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| Beauty and the Beast ♦ Road to Perdition | Robin Hood: Men in Tights ♦ The New World |
Showing posts with label Ghost Dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghost Dog. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sven's Review of Ghost Dog
I went into this movie thinking I'd hate it for sure. I've never actually seen a Jarmusch film (save the first bit of Broken Flowers), and so had very little to go on other than the title: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai... Uhm, what? I look into the film a bit more to learn that it is "An innovative blend of samurai and gangster lifestyles" (Rotten Tomatoes). How in the world does someone accomplish that? So, finally, I sit down to watch the movie.
My first impression is "eh." It's obviously not a blockbuster; it has an indie feel to it, which is fine. Then, it gets to the scene where Ghost Dog and Pearline meet in the park and converse over books. This is where the movie went from 'dislike' to 'like' for me. This impressed me. The movie doesn't develop Ghost Dog much at all, so this scene, for me, is what got me to like the character Ghost Dog. This scene and all of the scenes with Ghost Dog and Raymond the Haitian ice cream salesman were my favorites parts of the film.
My first impression is "eh." It's obviously not a blockbuster; it has an indie feel to it, which is fine. Then, it gets to the scene where Ghost Dog and Pearline meet in the park and converse over books. This is where the movie went from 'dislike' to 'like' for me. This impressed me. The movie doesn't develop Ghost Dog much at all, so this scene, for me, is what got me to like the character Ghost Dog. This scene and all of the scenes with Ghost Dog and Raymond the Haitian ice cream salesman were my favorites parts of the film.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Ghost Dog: The way of the Samurai
I'm not a movie critic.
Thoughts:
The movie started and I saw Jim Jarmusch's name. I thought,"Sweet, I like his work," thinking back to movies like Dead Man and Coffee and Cigarettes (the newer one).
I liked Ghost Dog, I thought he was a cool character that needed to be developed more. In a perfect world there is a comic book/graphic novel series, probably printed by Dark Horse, that explores this character more and I'll find out about it later. I want to get closer to him and understand why he stays alone, why his best friend can't speak the same language, but more than that to understand why he has these perspectives. Hermits are interesting people. I need more backstory.
I liked the movie scenery a lot. I really liked the scene where Ghost Dog was going to snipe some crusty white assholes, but a little bird landed on the silencer and obscured his vision.
The Score for this movie was un-f*cking-believeable. When it comes to hip hop, I am a fan of the low-production quality, lyrical emphasis of east-cost hip hop. RZA did a great job on the score. At no point were my ears bored. I want to buy the soundtrack, and further explore the body of his solowork.
Cartoon usage during the film.
LOL!
In the end I give this 3/5 stars and would watch it again. Sober.
Thoughts:
The movie started and I saw Jim Jarmusch's name. I thought,"Sweet, I like his work," thinking back to movies like Dead Man and Coffee and Cigarettes (the newer one).
I liked Ghost Dog, I thought he was a cool character that needed to be developed more. In a perfect world there is a comic book/graphic novel series, probably printed by Dark Horse, that explores this character more and I'll find out about it later. I want to get closer to him and understand why he stays alone, why his best friend can't speak the same language, but more than that to understand why he has these perspectives. Hermits are interesting people. I need more backstory.
I liked the movie scenery a lot. I really liked the scene where Ghost Dog was going to snipe some crusty white assholes, but a little bird landed on the silencer and obscured his vision.
The Score for this movie was un-f*cking-believeable. When it comes to hip hop, I am a fan of the low-production quality, lyrical emphasis of east-cost hip hop. RZA did a great job on the score. At no point were my ears bored. I want to buy the soundtrack, and further explore the body of his solowork.
Cartoon usage during the film.
LOL!
In the end I give this 3/5 stars and would watch it again. Sober.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Ghost Dog: Or Something
Despite the vast subtleties and intricacies that define and complicate Jim Jarmusche’s films, it is surprisingly easy to sum each of them up with one brief Twitter-friendly line.
“Broken Flowers”-- Bill Murray looks for a son he may or may not have by visiting ex-girlfriends.
“Coffee and Cigarettes”-- People sit at a table and smoke, sip, converse.
“Dead Man”-- Johnny Depp meanders about in the 19th century American frontier.
“Night on Earth”-- Vignettes of cab drivers around the world during the same 15 minute time frame.
My wife asked me what Ghost Dog was about.
“Forest Whitaker is a ninja, or something.”
I said that before I saw the film. I would now like to amend that description.
“Forest Whitaker is a samurai, or something.”
The “something” needs to be retained, because even though the character Ghost Dog walks in the way of the samurai, I never got the feeling that he was anything else besides an imitator. He was a guy with moral convictions who aspired to be a samurai, and was thus nothing more than a guy with moral convictions who aspired to be a samurai. Granted, the character was great in everything he did (swordplay, gunplay, stealthiness, sweet assassinations, waxing philosophical, etc.), but in the end he could only follow in the footsteps of the samurai and never wear the shoes.
Neither were his mobster foes anything but imitation mafiosos (which became clear when the landlord dropped by and demanded they pay up three months’ worth of rent). But their imitations were more about posturing. They became mafia stereotypes because the image of tough-guy mobsterism was more important than whatever values and earned respect authentic mafia men had. Above all else this is what set Ghost Dog (a fake samurai) apart from the mobsters (a fake mafia). Respect of ones’ self versus respect from others. And, if anything, this film illustrates that if you respect yourself then the admiration from others will follow. Simply dressing up to make others admire you will only result in angry landlords and loud clothing. I may have read that in a fortune cookie once.
Forest Whitaker is a samurai, or something.
So there’s that.
Let’s talk about the Jarmuschian elements of this film.
The pace of Jarmusch’s films tend to be leisurely, to say the least. Thankfully there are ample killings in “Ghost Dog” to interrupt long takes of long shots of nothing in particular. Still, Jarmusch presents a story rather than tells it. The story is conveyed through imagery instead of words, and an unfortunate consequence of this is that the characters feel held away from us at arm’s length. It’s hard to relate to them. It’s hard to get to know them. We don’t really care that much when they die. Their deaths are simply presented to us on a well-crafted platter. We are not making friends and we are not mourning lost loved ones. We are merely observers.
What we are left with are the thematical elements to dwell on and the comedy/violence to entertain us. “Ghost Dog” succeeds in both of these departments. I was left pondering the relationship between the old and the new, endings and beginnings, good and bad, the way of nature and the way of man. I was also terribly enthralled by the way Ghost Dog went about shootin’ down the bad guys. I love me some vengeance killings.
Overall I liked “Ghost Dog.” It was entertaining, had a killer RZA soundtrack, and watching any of Jarmusch’s films, whether you like them or not, will earn you film snob points. I now have enough to trade in for a key fob shaped like Francois Truffaut.
I will also never stare down the drain of a bathroom sink ever again.
I rate “Ghost Dog” 4 ancient Japanese manuscripts I’ll never read... out of 5.
“Broken Flowers”-- Bill Murray looks for a son he may or may not have by visiting ex-girlfriends.
“Coffee and Cigarettes”-- People sit at a table and smoke, sip, converse.
“Dead Man”-- Johnny Depp meanders about in the 19th century American frontier.
“Night on Earth”-- Vignettes of cab drivers around the world during the same 15 minute time frame.
My wife asked me what Ghost Dog was about.
“Forest Whitaker is a ninja, or something.”
I said that before I saw the film. I would now like to amend that description.
“Forest Whitaker is a samurai, or something.”
The “something” needs to be retained, because even though the character Ghost Dog walks in the way of the samurai, I never got the feeling that he was anything else besides an imitator. He was a guy with moral convictions who aspired to be a samurai, and was thus nothing more than a guy with moral convictions who aspired to be a samurai. Granted, the character was great in everything he did (swordplay, gunplay, stealthiness, sweet assassinations, waxing philosophical, etc.), but in the end he could only follow in the footsteps of the samurai and never wear the shoes.
Neither were his mobster foes anything but imitation mafiosos (which became clear when the landlord dropped by and demanded they pay up three months’ worth of rent). But their imitations were more about posturing. They became mafia stereotypes because the image of tough-guy mobsterism was more important than whatever values and earned respect authentic mafia men had. Above all else this is what set Ghost Dog (a fake samurai) apart from the mobsters (a fake mafia). Respect of ones’ self versus respect from others. And, if anything, this film illustrates that if you respect yourself then the admiration from others will follow. Simply dressing up to make others admire you will only result in angry landlords and loud clothing. I may have read that in a fortune cookie once.
Forest Whitaker is a samurai, or something.
So there’s that.
Let’s talk about the Jarmuschian elements of this film.
The pace of Jarmusch’s films tend to be leisurely, to say the least. Thankfully there are ample killings in “Ghost Dog” to interrupt long takes of long shots of nothing in particular. Still, Jarmusch presents a story rather than tells it. The story is conveyed through imagery instead of words, and an unfortunate consequence of this is that the characters feel held away from us at arm’s length. It’s hard to relate to them. It’s hard to get to know them. We don’t really care that much when they die. Their deaths are simply presented to us on a well-crafted platter. We are not making friends and we are not mourning lost loved ones. We are merely observers.
What we are left with are the thematical elements to dwell on and the comedy/violence to entertain us. “Ghost Dog” succeeds in both of these departments. I was left pondering the relationship between the old and the new, endings and beginnings, good and bad, the way of nature and the way of man. I was also terribly enthralled by the way Ghost Dog went about shootin’ down the bad guys. I love me some vengeance killings.
Overall I liked “Ghost Dog.” It was entertaining, had a killer RZA soundtrack, and watching any of Jarmusch’s films, whether you like them or not, will earn you film snob points. I now have enough to trade in for a key fob shaped like Francois Truffaut.
I will also never stare down the drain of a bathroom sink ever again.
I rate “Ghost Dog” 4 ancient Japanese manuscripts I’ll never read... out of 5.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Ghost Dog...really?
Quickview
Overall: 2.5 Turkey Claws
Direction: 2.5 Turkey Claws
Screenplay:2.5 Turkey Claws
Acting: 4 Turkey Claws
When I saw that this was one of the first movies I was to review, I found myself laughing. The laughter grew harder when I realized it was the “good” movie. When I first thought of getting some people together to review movies as a group it was because I wanted to share with others one of my favorite movies of all time; a precious little gem called “The Twilight Samurai”. When the idea was posed to do one bad movie and one good movie, I knew I had my good movie. But what to pair it with? Well, the answer should be obvious. I decided on Ghost Dog.- a horrible movie you can’t seem to look away from.
I have noticed a trend with my personal movie taste throughout the years. A movie I watched when I was younger and absolutely worshiped, years later I realized was total crap (Surf Ninjas, Ace Ventura, and The Three Musketeers to name a few). Likewise, movies I hated I grew to love (Goodfellas, 12 Angry Men, Rocky). So I was hopeful that even though I had seen, and disliked, Ghost Dog twice before, I would like it now. It has been like three years, right?
Turns out my feelings for this particular film have not changed. I was able to appreciate the acting a bit more this time (Forrest Whittaker is on my top ten best actors of all time list). However, I have always hated the movies of Jim Jarmuscsh. He is on another list I have of the most overrated directors of all time. His best movie, Coffee and Cigarettes, is only watchable in segments (which is why I feel it was shot that way). This movie is a masochist’s dream.
Cardboard cut-out characters, sloppy cinematography, weak-kneed writing, and a crazy Doc Emmet Brown haired director create a cacophony of insanity that is reminiscent of a 1st year film students “pet project”. A great film title and a great cast cannot compensate the film’s many flaws.
At best, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a one time rental (best watched with the influence of a good beer or seven). At worst...well, at worst you have to endure it three times stone cold sober...
Breakdown:
Direction: I may have been subtle previously, so allow me to be blunt. I do not like Jim Jarmusch. I feel that a lot of the action in the movie was choppy and hastily assembled. Many of the visuals and shots seemed to be “point and shoot” as opposed to taking his time to set up the best visual and cleanest shot. He did a good job choosing an ensemble cast, and the sets looked distinct and fit the mood (all real venues instead of being shot on a sound stage, but they looked unique and not generic or bland – which is a major plus).
Screenplay: The characters in Ghost Dog were unimaginative sterotypes common in every gangster film. Even the only two interesting characters, the title character and Raymond were sterotypes (albeit they were well done). I understand that the theme of the movie does call for them, but the “Family Men” could have been better done (a la the Godfather, Casino, or the Soprano’s). The dialogue was weak as well. However, I will warrant you that the scenes with Ramon and Mr. Dog were extremely well done.
Acting: The acting was the best part of the movie. The actors worked well with what they were given, and it is no surprise why Forrest Whittaker gained popularity after this movie came out. Not many fat black men could swing a sword around while wearing a hoodie and still be believable. But dammit, he did.
Overall: I would say I’m not a fan of this movie. Nor will I never watch it again. But don’t get me wrong, there were some good element. The sets, the acting, and the soundtrack were all good. And I am not a fan of movie’s with a soundtrack as opposed to an actual musical score, but this movie pulled it off well. Though not my exact brand of music, it did fit to push the theme and tone of the movie nicely.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Random thoughts on Ghost Dog
totally snowballing here but here goes.
Ghost Dog has been a 2nd list favorite of mine for a while now. What I mean by that is, It's not one of my top 10 but if I were to make a top 10 list and then subsequently make a next top 10 list to follow the original top 10, Ghost Dog would be on this list. Probably in the 4th or 5th spot. One could presume that this means I would say this is my 14th or 15th favorite movie, but that would not give it or myself justice. Suffice it to say I like it and I always enjoy watching it.
It is one of those movies that if it is on I will probably watch it through to the end no matter what point in the film I catch it at. Another movie that immediately comes to mind and not for lack of similarity would be Leon the Professional. As polar opposite of main characters can get they are not without their similarities. The character of Ghost Dog (and for the record how bad-ass of a name is Ghost Dog? seriously!) is one that really presents a persona that I find easy for myself to get behind and follow. There is something about 'honor' and 'duty' that really attracts me both in film and books lately. I don't know exactly, but I may have to explore this further in the near future.
As per the movie itself I think it is Jim Jarmusch's best movie. I am not personally a huge fan of Jims but I think he really manages to strike a match with Ghost Dog.
In retrospect I give it 4 out of 5 stars or turkey feet or whatever. I took away some excellent dialogue, a solid screenplay, and one of the better uses I've seen of a very cliche plot device, the background narrative/monologue.
In summary
4/5 stars
+dialogue
+screenplay
+badass nameology
I leave with the following thought and probably one the my favorite elements of this movie. I really enjoyed the interaction between Ghost Dog and Raymond the ice cream truck owner.
Ghost Dog has been a 2nd list favorite of mine for a while now. What I mean by that is, It's not one of my top 10 but if I were to make a top 10 list and then subsequently make a next top 10 list to follow the original top 10, Ghost Dog would be on this list. Probably in the 4th or 5th spot. One could presume that this means I would say this is my 14th or 15th favorite movie, but that would not give it or myself justice. Suffice it to say I like it and I always enjoy watching it.
It is one of those movies that if it is on I will probably watch it through to the end no matter what point in the film I catch it at. Another movie that immediately comes to mind and not for lack of similarity would be Leon the Professional. As polar opposite of main characters can get they are not without their similarities. The character of Ghost Dog (and for the record how bad-ass of a name is Ghost Dog? seriously!) is one that really presents a persona that I find easy for myself to get behind and follow. There is something about 'honor' and 'duty' that really attracts me both in film and books lately. I don't know exactly, but I may have to explore this further in the near future.
As per the movie itself I think it is Jim Jarmusch's best movie. I am not personally a huge fan of Jims but I think he really manages to strike a match with Ghost Dog.
In retrospect I give it 4 out of 5 stars or turkey feet or whatever. I took away some excellent dialogue, a solid screenplay, and one of the better uses I've seen of a very cliche plot device, the background narrative/monologue.
In summary
4/5 stars
+dialogue
+screenplay
+badass nameology
I leave with the following thought and probably one the my favorite elements of this movie. I really enjoyed the interaction between Ghost Dog and Raymond the ice cream truck owner.
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