10 Ninja Movies

3 Ninjas 1992
Blind Fury 1989
Ameircan Ninja 1985
Beverly Hills Ninja 1997
Duel To Death 1983
Dreadnought 1981
Revenge Of The Ninja 1983
Shogun Assassin 1980
The Hunted 1995

I don't think it a disgrace for Cruise to be overshadowed by Ken Watanabe. Just as an example of his standing the fact he got the role of the King of Siam in the recent stage version of the King and I and genuinely looked comfortable in a role owned and i mean seriously OWNED by Yul Brynner, really does say something.

The Seven Samurai is one i'll eventually get, although it's three hour plus run time does put me off somewhat. Says he who watched Gods and generals, all three and a half hours of it, on Saturday afternoon.

You’ll enjoy Seven Samurai Dem, I know you like your westerns and this isn’t far off. Don’t let the running time but you off either, much like the other epics of the era it doesn’t feel long and has plenty of action in the final act to keep you going. It has an intermission as well so you could take a short break.

That was the first time I had seen Ken Watanabe in anything, and it was only later when he was in Batman Begins, Memoirs of a Geisha, Inception, and Letters from Iwo Jima, that I realised he was an established international star and respected actor. At the time I saw The Last Samurai, it looked like Tom Cruse was being acted off the screen by a complete novice!

I haven't seen the new stage adaptation of The King and I, but I saw the trailer which gave me the impression that it would be at least as good as the 1956 film.

It might be best to start with Yojimbo as you'll recognise the story from A Fistful of Dollars and, at under two hours, has a slightly more 'user friendly' running time! Perhaps surprisingly, Sanjuro (the sequel to Yojimbo) doesn't appear to have had a western remake but is quite accessible and is the shortest of the three Kurosawa period dramas.

If you like either of those, I highly recommend Rashōmon, a brilliant and highly influential story and piece of filmmaking.

I was lucky enough to see Brynner and Virginia McKenna in The King and I at the London Palladium in 1979. Along with Michael Crawford as Barnum (same venue) it's easily the best show i've ever seen.

Theatre brochure below.

Ninja movies...

Attachment 211021 Attachment 211022

Attachment 211023 Attachment 211024

Attachment 211025 Attachment 211026

Attachment 211027 Attachment 211028

Attachment 211029 Attachment 211030

it's a bit late, but I didn't want to leave this any longer. I also didn't want to cut my list down more than I already had, so it will have to be a top 20 for last weeks topic.

1. Monty Python's Life of Brian
2. North by Northwest
3. Vertigo
4. The Big Lebowski
5. The 39 Steps (1935)
6. Dead Ringers
7. Back to the Future
8. Lost Highway
9. Being There
10. Possession
11. The Prestige
12. Adaptation.
13. The Wrong Man
14. The Great Dictator
15. Galaxy Quest
16. Face/Off
17. Tucker and Dale vs Evil
18. Kagemusha
19. Dave
20. ¡Three Amigos!

Now to concentrate on Ninja Films!

I thought I’d seen films in which a prominent character is a Ninja than I have, at least that I can remember and know enough to put on a list, so I’m going to have to use my own ‘extension’ to include rōnin, though not extending the definition to the mercenaries in John Frankenheimer’s 1998 action-thriller.

In alphabetical order:

• American Ninja
• Enter the Ninja
• Five Element Ninjas
• Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
• Pray for Death
• Sanjuro
• The Seven Samurai
• Sin City
• Yojimbo
• You Only Live Twice

This week's topic doesn't have to be limited to films which are downbeat or have depressing endings, but could be to do with something you find draining, or generally tough to watch.

The films for consideration are those you rate highly and may have seen more than once, but would happily never watch again.

A Serbian Film 2010
Boy Meets Girl 1994
The Bunny Game 2011
Teeth 2007
The top 3 movies were difficult to watch even to the end, Teeth is a movie that once watched and really don't fancy watching again.

D.A.R.Y.L 1987
The Last Exorcism Part 2 2013
The Village 2004
XX 2017

I found these movies boring to the point that coffee wasn't keeping me awake.

The Chronicles of Ridding 2004.
Your probably thinking why is this movie added to your list are you nuts. When I first saw this movie a good friend of mine was involved in a serious car crash, shortly she died to her injuries and never saw the end and can't watch the film.