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jeb6294
Well-known member
Somebody got "X-Men" so I was able to watch that one last night. I'm not sure where it came from, but I may have to see about watching it again when I'm back in the States and the real-deal comes out on Blu-ray. At one point when they're riding in the back of the truck, the distance shot is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. It looks like someone zooming in on someone's second rate train model and the truck driving along the dirt road is obviously some sort of Matchbox car so I'm guessing someone pirated the movie which makes me wonder if it's some sort of pre-production version.
Allright, I know this one is very obscure, and it's unlikely any of you will ever take the trouble to search it out, but I watched "Oba: The Last Samurai" last night at our local theater. It is a recent, Japanese-made World War 2 film, about Captain Sakai Oba, who led a band of 200 holdouts on the island of Saipan (where I live!) for a year and a half after the US invasion, and only surrendered when he received orders from a Japanese Imperial Army General, 4 months after the war was over.
Here is an actual photo of his surrender ceremony. Definitely one of my favorite pictures in WWII History:
Granted, I have a special interest in this film, because it is set in the place I have lived for the last 16 years, and in the jungles I have, by my own calculations, spent more time (cumulatively) than Captain Oba. So I won't blame you if you dismiss my recommendation on that basis. But, I really did think it was a very good war movie. It showed the war from an interesting perspective - that of the never-surrender Japanese - and was a very well done study of the concept of honor held so deeply by these men. Technically, it was a very well made film - almost up to the level of quality we would expect from a high-budget Hollywood film. It was filmed in Thailand, but distant scenery and setting shots were made on-location in Saipan, and many background shots have been painstakingly matte-painted to resemble World War 2 Saipan. The caves and jungle look identical to the terrain found on Saipan, and all the jungle scenes were utterly believable to me - which is saying a lot.
The action is excellent, and the story moves along and really involves you. The story starts with the actual battle itself, which culminated in a disastrous Banzai charge in which most of the surviving Japanese military were killed, and then moves into the longer part of the movie, following Oba as he regroups with military stragglers and civilians and attempts to hold out in the jungle.
Historically, from what I know of the story, it is fairly faithful to the battle of Saipan, and Oba's post-battle actions. Unfortunately, and typical for a Japanese production, it fails to honestly portray the brutality of the Japanese military, which Clint Eastwood did such an excellent job of documenting in "Letters from Iwo Jima". Although it is alluded to here and there, and there are a few characters who are obviously more violent than others, the film portrays a far chummier relationship between the soldiers and the Japanese civilians than was actually the case. For example, it completely avoids the mass civilian suicides that made the battle so infamous, where whole families were forced to jump to their deaths, and were shot by Japanese soldiers if they refused. It attempts to have you believe that Oba and his men had no idea of the bombing campaign being waged against the Japanese homeland, which is absurd - they were hiding within 3 miles of the busiest airfields in the world at that time. Yet, in the film, Oba knows nothing of this until he sneaks into the civilian internment camp, and is shown images of Tokyo destroyed. But when the B-29s finally make their appearance, roaring low overhead as Oba sneaks back into the jungle, it is supremely well done. The film also fails to show some of the actions Oba's men took after the war was over, such as shooting unarmed American soldiers swimming at the beach, months after the war was over. These were documented in American war hero Guy Gabaldon's (aka "the Pied Piper of Saipan") memoirs , who was part of the Marine unit who hunted Oba after the battle, and was ultimately shot by his men during a firefight and shipped home. Gabaldon accuses Oba of being a war criminal in his book. Of course, it must be said that the book upon which the screenplay is based, was written by a former US Marine who was also a part of the hunt, who in turn admired Oba and did not feel that he was a war criminal. Nevertheless, these omissions are the biggest failing of the film, and made it difficult for me to swallow the "honorable" image the filmmaker strives so hard to achieve.
If you're a fan of World War II films and history, this movie is well worth your viewing. It was infinitely better than "Wind Talkers", which was also set in Saipan, but horribly inaccurate and probably cost far more to produce.
Here is an actual photo of his surrender ceremony. Definitely one of my favorite pictures in WWII History:
Granted, I have a special interest in this film, because it is set in the place I have lived for the last 16 years, and in the jungles I have, by my own calculations, spent more time (cumulatively) than Captain Oba. So I won't blame you if you dismiss my recommendation on that basis. But, I really did think it was a very good war movie. It showed the war from an interesting perspective - that of the never-surrender Japanese - and was a very well done study of the concept of honor held so deeply by these men. Technically, it was a very well made film - almost up to the level of quality we would expect from a high-budget Hollywood film. It was filmed in Thailand, but distant scenery and setting shots were made on-location in Saipan, and many background shots have been painstakingly matte-painted to resemble World War 2 Saipan. The caves and jungle look identical to the terrain found on Saipan, and all the jungle scenes were utterly believable to me - which is saying a lot.
The action is excellent, and the story moves along and really involves you. The story starts with the actual battle itself, which culminated in a disastrous Banzai charge in which most of the surviving Japanese military were killed, and then moves into the longer part of the movie, following Oba as he regroups with military stragglers and civilians and attempts to hold out in the jungle.
Historically, from what I know of the story, it is fairly faithful to the battle of Saipan, and Oba's post-battle actions. Unfortunately, and typical for a Japanese production, it fails to honestly portray the brutality of the Japanese military, which Clint Eastwood did such an excellent job of documenting in "Letters from Iwo Jima". Although it is alluded to here and there, and there are a few characters who are obviously more violent than others, the film portrays a far chummier relationship between the soldiers and the Japanese civilians than was actually the case. For example, it completely avoids the mass civilian suicides that made the battle so infamous, where whole families were forced to jump to their deaths, and were shot by Japanese soldiers if they refused. It attempts to have you believe that Oba and his men had no idea of the bombing campaign being waged against the Japanese homeland, which is absurd - they were hiding within 3 miles of the busiest airfields in the world at that time. Yet, in the film, Oba knows nothing of this until he sneaks into the civilian internment camp, and is shown images of Tokyo destroyed. But when the B-29s finally make their appearance, roaring low overhead as Oba sneaks back into the jungle, it is supremely well done. The film also fails to show some of the actions Oba's men took after the war was over, such as shooting unarmed American soldiers swimming at the beach, months after the war was over. These were documented in American war hero Guy Gabaldon's (aka "the Pied Piper of Saipan") memoirs , who was part of the Marine unit who hunted Oba after the battle, and was ultimately shot by his men during a firefight and shipped home. Gabaldon accuses Oba of being a war criminal in his book. Of course, it must be said that the book upon which the screenplay is based, was written by a former US Marine who was also a part of the hunt, who in turn admired Oba and did not feel that he was a war criminal. Nevertheless, these omissions are the biggest failing of the film, and made it difficult for me to swallow the "honorable" image the filmmaker strives so hard to achieve.
If you're a fan of World War II films and history, this movie is well worth your viewing. It was infinitely better than "Wind Talkers", which was also set in Saipan, but horribly inaccurate and probably cost far more to produce.
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snickerd3
Taking suggestions
I've actually heard of that one. haven't seen it though
Capt Worley PE
Run silent, run deep
I seem to recall a Japanese soldier finally coming out of the jungle in 1971 or so...might have to google that one.
Edit: It was Onada in 1974 that I was thinking of. Looks like there were a fair number of holdouts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_holdout
Edit: It was Onada in 1974 that I was thinking of. Looks like there were a fair number of holdouts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_holdout
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^That page is interesting, but not quite complete. I should get out my references and edit it. There was one Japanese soldier who either turned himself in or was captured here on Saipan well into the 1950s, and there was a pretty famous one on Guam who held out until around 1970 or so - there's photos of him and his hiding place all over the walls at "Jeff's Pirate Cove" in Guam (a cool little beach bar on the "far" side of the island, if you ever find yourselves in Guam).
Also, there are some bad feelings among some of the communities where these holdouts were hiding. Those three in the Philippines who held out until the 70s, for example, are accused by the local villagers of having murdered quite a few villagers in the course of their time there, in both organized raids, and in encounters while pilfering food and supplies. I remember reading a bunch of articles about it around 10 years or so ago, when the three were making a highly-publicized return trip to the Philippines, and the villagers came out in protest.
(Can you tell how much I love living in the Pacific?)
Here's the guy in Guam, Shoichi Yokoi:
And from the Wikipedia page on the Philippine Holdout, Onoda:
noda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoichi_Yokoi
And from the Wikipedia page on the Philippine Holdout, Onoda:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiro
noda
snickerd3
Taking suggestions
saw the new Pirates movies and Thor. The drive inn cut pirates short before the credits ended so we didn't get to see the setup for the next one.
overall both were a little lack luster. sort of cheezy special effects in Thor.
overall both were a little lack luster. sort of cheezy special effects in Thor.
jeb6294
Well-known member
Picked up Green Lantern at the hadji shop yesterday. The movie itself didn't seem too bad, not sure I'd pay $10 to go see it, but I'll watch it on Blu-Ray when I get home if the FIL buys it when it comes out. The biggest problem was the copy. Apparently they weren't using the best camcorder in the world because it kept going in and out of focus. There was about 8 minutes in the middle where there was no picture. I mean come on, if you're going to pirate movies at least put a little effort into it...have some pride man!
I also picked up Super 8, Pirates of the Caribean 4, and Fast and Furious 5 along with a new pair of genuine Oakleys (he said they were real and everything) for the low, low price of $14.
I also picked up Super 8, Pirates of the Caribean 4, and Fast and Furious 5 along with a new pair of genuine Oakleys (he said they were real and everything) for the low, low price of $14.
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I took my son to see Mr. Popper's Penguins.
Crappy. But he sort of enjoyed it. I can't stand Jim Carrey, but he was OK this time. Horrible writing though. It felt like sitting through an hour and a half of Hollywood previews. Or commercials. Just garbage.
Crappy. But he sort of enjoyed it. I can't stand Jim Carrey, but he was OK this time. Horrible writing though. It felt like sitting through an hour and a half of Hollywood previews. Or commercials. Just garbage.
jeb6294
Well-known member
Yeah, watched Super 8 last night and it wasn't great. Apparently someone didn't bother to stick around and film the credits/extra footage though so I may have to take it back and demand a refund. Another one of those movies that wasn't awful, but definitely didn't live up to the hype...we don't have TV over here (AFN doesn't count) so if I hear hype over here about a movie then that's pretty bad.
I'll have to flip a coin later to determine whether I'll be watching Furious 5 or Pirates 4 tonight.
I'll have to flip a coin later to determine whether I'll be watching Furious 5 or Pirates 4 tonight.
snickerd3
Taking suggestions
jeb6294
Well-known member
I went with Pirates...didn't see your recommendation until I got into work this morning...mostly because today is our "day off" which means we just get to come in to work an hour later so I figured I could stay up a little later to watch the whole thing and get to sleep in a little bit. Today at some point between sand volleyball and steak & lobster night will be F&F 5. Someone also put a copy of Saw 13 or 46 or whatever the last one was in our video library in the rec. room so I have that to watch now too. I got a hard drive off eGay that was pre-loaded with movies and the Saw series was on there so, out of pure boredom, I've seen all the ones leading up to this one so I figured I might as well.
Pirates was decent. Definitely nothing new, but it was entertaining enough. I am a bit annoyed by the fact that you've got a school of hot mermaids in there but not a single naked boob?!?!
Pirates was decent. Definitely nothing new, but it was entertaining enough. I am a bit annoyed by the fact that you've got a school of hot mermaids in there but not a single naked boob?!?!
Road Guy
Well-known member
i thought the same thing with Pirates, but that was the coolest part of the movie though (IMO)
We went to go see Hangover 2 last night, guess I should have waited until it came out on DVD, its defin not as funny as the first one, the monkey is the funniest character...
We went to go see Hangover 2 last night, guess I should have waited until it came out on DVD, its defin not as funny as the first one, the monkey is the funniest character...
Yea
I wasted money watching it in the theater.
Watched Bad Teacher last night...same thing.
