u/Sufficient_Whole5554

Cinepals: Just luxuriated in an enthralling period drama and whodunnit murder mystery set in the sword and armor world of Japan circa 1579.

THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER (in theaters) comes courtesy of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) who’s known stateside for horror flicks like CURE. Both title characters are stranded for different reasons in Arioka Castle, a fortress under siege from a bloodthirsty warlord. The samurai character Araki Murashige, is the stern but wily leader of Settsu province, who willfully skirts time-honored samurai rules regarding executing enemies and their unfortunate messengers He’s more pragmatic than caring, raising eyebrows by sparing the lives of those that might serve his interests.

Kanbei, the prisoner, is ensconced in a dirty dungeon and they develop a symbiotic relationship as Kanbei gets off advising Araki on strategies to keep enemies and backstabbing in-house betrayers at bay.

The tormented Araki is portrayed by Masahiro Motoki who starred in the 2008 Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner DEPARTURES. He has the gravity and wounded fire of Toshiro Mifune, somehow keeping his wits, and his subordinates respect, while cornered. Masaki Suda, an actor and singer, brings a mind-gaming theatricality and feline elan as the shackled prisoner who toys with his captor.

Kurosawa came up directing yakuza b-films and adapted the bestselling novel by Honobu Yonezawa, because the director prefers mysteries where authority figures, not hired gumshoes, must juggle punishing responsibilities while searching for clues. Visually, Kurosawa honors the pageantry of Japanese historical epics but the story has more on its mind than battles and red herrings delving into issues of Christianity vs. Buddhism and whether divine intervention is a delusion or an inevitable system of justice.

At two-and-a-half hours, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER never flags and in one sitting it engaged me in its palace intrigues more than the bloody, action-packed but largely glum, humorless third season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (HBO) with its cliffhanger killings of key figures desultory vs. dramatic. Conversely, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER pays off with an emotive and plot twisty bang – or shall we say clang?

https://preview.redd.it/65rqlrntxfjh1.jpg?width=455&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a803ab78cf7b6df5e123ba4e3de71eecd13a84b

Cinepals: Just luxuriated in an enthralling period drama and whodunnit murder mystery set in the sword and armor world of Japan circa 1579.

THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER (in theaters) comes courtesy of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) who’s known stateside for horror flicks like CURE. Both title characters are stranded for different reasons in Arioka Castle, a fortress under siege from a bloodthirsty warlord. The samurai character Araki Murashige, is the stern but wily leader of Settsu province, who willfully skirts time-honored samurai rules regarding executing enemies and their unfortunate messengers He’s more pragmatic than caring, raising eyebrows by sparing the lives of those that might serve his interests.

Kanbei, the prisoner, is ensconced in a dirty dungeon and they develop a symbiotic relationship as Kanbei gets off advising Araki on strategies to keep enemies and backstabbing in-house betrayers at bay.

The tormented Araki is portrayed by Masahiro Motoki who starred in the 2008 Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner DEPARTURES. He has the gravity and wounded fire of Toshiro Mifune, somehow keeping his wits, and his subordinates respect, while cornered. Masaki Suda, an actor and singer, brings a mind-gaming theatricality and feline elan as the shackled prisoner who toys with his captor.

Kurosawa came up directing yakuza b-films and adapted the bestselling novel by Honobu Yonezawa, because the director prefers mysteries where authority figures, not hired gumshoes, must juggle punishing responsibilities while searching for clues. Visually, Kurosawa honors the pageantry of Japanese historical epics but the story has more on its mind than battles and red herrings delving into issues of Christianity vs. Buddhism and whether divine intervention is a delusion or an inevitable system of justice.

At two-and-a-half hours, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER never flags and in one sitting it engaged me in its palace intrigues more than the bloody, action-packed but largely glum, humorless third season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (HBO) with its cliffhanger killings of key figures desultory vs. dramatic. Conversely, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER pays off with an emotive and plot twisty bang – or shall we say clang?

Cinepals: Just luxuriated in an enthralling period drama and whodunnit murder mystery set in the sword and armor world of Japan circa 1579.

THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER (in theaters) comes courtesy of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) who’s known stateside for horror flicks like CURE. Both title characters are stranded for different reasons in Arioka Castle, a fortress under siege from a bloodthirsty warlord. The samurai character Araki Murashige, is the stern but wily leader of Settsu province, who willfully skirts time-honored samurai rules regarding executing enemies and their unfortunate messengers He’s more pragmatic than caring, raising eyebrows by sparing the lives of those that might serve his interests.

Kanbei, the prisoner, is ensconced in a dirty dungeon and they develop a symbiotic relationship as Kanbei gets off advising Araki on strategies to keep enemies and backstabbing in-house betrayers at bay.

The tormented Araki is portrayed by Masahiro Motoki who starred in the 2008 Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner DEPARTURES. He has the gravity and wounded fire of Toshiro Mifune, somehow keeping his wits, and his subordinates respect, while cornered. Masaki Suda, an actor and singer, brings a mind-gaming theatricality and feline elan as the shackled prisoner who toys with his captor.

Kurosawa came up directing yakuza b-films and adapted the bestselling novel by Honobu Yonezawa, because the director prefers mysteries where authority figures, not hired gumshoes, must juggle punishing responsibilities while searching for clues. Visually, Kurosawa honors the pageantry of Japanese historical epics but the story has more on its mind than battles and red herrings delving into issues of Christianity vs. Buddhism and whether divine intervention is a delusion or an inevitable system of justice.

At two-and-a-half hours, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER never flags and in one sitting it engaged me in its palace intrigues more than the bloody, action-packed but largely glum, humorless third season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (HBO) with its cliffhanger killings of key figures desultory vs. dramatic. Conversely, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER pays off with an emotive and plot twisty bang – or shall we say clang?

Cinepals: Just luxuriated in an enthralling period drama and whodunnit murder mystery set in the sword and armor world of Japan circa 1579.

THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER (in theaters) comes courtesy of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) who’s known stateside for horror flicks like CURE. Both title characters can’t escape Arioka Castle, a fortress under siege from a bloodthirsty warlord. The samurai character Araki Murashige, is the stern but wily leader of Settsu province, who willfully skirts time-honored samurai rules regarding executing enemies and their unfortunate messengers He’s more pragmatic than caring, raising eyebrows by sparing the lives of those that might serve his interests.

Kanbei, the prisoner, is ensconced in a dirty dungeon and they develop a symbiotic relationship as Kanbei gets off advising Araki on strategies to keep enemies and backstabbing in-house betrayers at bay.

The tormented Araki is portrayed by Masahiro Motoki who starred in the 2008 Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner DEPARTURES. He has the gravity and wounded fire of Toshiro Mifune, somehow keeping his wits, and his subordinates respect, while cornered. Masaki Suda, an actor and singer, brings a mind-gaming theatricality and feline elan as the shackled prisoner who toys with his captor.

Kurosawa came up directing yakuza b-films and adapted the bestselling novel by Honobu Yonezawa, because the director prefers mysteries where authority figures, not hired gumshoes, must juggle punishing responsibilities while searching for clues. Visually, Kurosawa honors the pageantry of Japanese historical epics but the story has more on its mind than battles and red herrings delving into issues of Christianity vs. Buddhism and whether divine intervention is a delusion or an inevitable system of justice.

At two-and-a-half hours, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER never flags and in one sitting it engaged me in its palace intrigues more than the bloody, action-packed but largely glum, humorless third season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (HBO) with its cliffhanger killings of key figures desultory vs. dramatic. Conversely, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER pays off big time with an emotional and plot twisty bang or should I say clang?

Cinepals: Just luxuriated in an enthralling period drama and whodunnit murder mystery set in the sword and armor world of Japan circa 1579.

THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER (in theaters) comes courtesy of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) who’s known stateside for horror flicks like CURE. Both title characters can’t escape Arioka Castle, a fortress under siege from a bloodthirsty warlord. The samurai character Araki Murashige, is the stern but wily leader of Settsu province, who willfully skirts time-honored samurai rules regarding executing enemies and their unfortunate messengers He’s more pragmatic than caring, raising eyebrows by sparing the lives of those that might serve his interests.

Kanbei, the prisoner, is ensconced in a dirty dungeon and they develop a symbiotic relationship as Kanbei gets off advising Araki on strategies to keep enemies and backstabbing in-house betrayers at bay.

The tormented Araki is portrayed by Masahiro Motoki who starred in the 1981 Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner DEPARTURES. He has the gravity and wounded fire of Toshiro Mifune, somehow keeping his wits, and his subordinates respect, while cornered. Masaki Suda, an actor and singer, brings a mind-gaming theatricality and feline elan as the shackled prisoner who toys with his captor.

Kurosawa came up directing yakuza b-films and adapted the bestselling novel by Honobu Yonezawa, because the director prefers mysteries where authority figures, not hired gumshoes, must juggle punishing responsibilities while searching for clues. Visually, Kurosawa honors the pageantry of Japanese historical epics but the story has more on its mind than battles and red herrings delving into issues of Christianity vs. Buddhism and whether divine intervention is a delusion or an inevitable system of justice.

At two-and-a-half hours, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER never flags and in one sitting it engaged me in its palace intrigues more than the bloody, action-packed but largely glum, humorless third season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (HBO) with its cliffhanger killings of key figures desultory vs. dramatic. Conversely, THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONERS pays off with an emotive and plot twisty bang -- or should I say clang?

Guessing many of you have heard this but if not -- Lennon gives Paul a call out from the stage. A magic moment.

Bet many of you have heard it. The b-side of Elton's 45 version of LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS is John and Elton doing "I Saw Her Standing There" during Lennon's surprise appearance for a gobsmacked crowd at Madison Square Garden. John dedicates it to Paul! a moving moment. (They did LUCY too but haven't heard it). Posting shaky footage of same.

Lennon is my favorite Beatle if forced to choose but SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY isn't just bad. It's a collector's album that's hard to find and many have never heard of it despite its single "Woman is the N***er" of the World." Wondering if anyone on this chain is a fan of this one?

I can do with some smart laughs these days. Here’s a show that brought levitating levity, each carried by a peerless actress.

ALICE AND STEVE (Hulu/Disney +) is a biting Brit comedy with a saucy premise. It’s a WAR OF THE ROSES not between spouses or lovers but middle-aged best friends. Alice (Nicola Wallace) and Steve (Germaine Clement) are platonically joined at the hip for 25 years. They have scads of private jokes and share in weekend warrior bad behavior to prove they’re still edgy. When Steve starts dating Alice’s 25-year-old daughter, Alice goes ballistic and tries to destroy him. Those who find some ick to the premise are missing the real buzz. These frenemies have all sorts of dirt on each other acquired over the decades, so they wield opposition research to burn. Touche’ to show creator Sophie Goodhart, a scribe on SEX EDUCATION, who keeps upping the ante.

The supporting characters are well drawn – especially Marcia Warren as Alice’s ‘get-over-it’ mom -- but the show’s edge of your seat cringe derives from the dueling characters who still need each other. Wallace usually plays underestimated cops on Brit TV and here revels in the chance to let er rip -- emotionally falling apart and detonating rage bombs. Clement, half of FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, has a sheepish, hang dog quality that keeps swarm in check.

The show ends on a cliffhanger that either sets up another season (if it’s picked up) or serves as a satisfying and crazy wrap up.

I can do with some smart laughs these days. Here’s a show and a flick that brought levitating levity, each carried by a peerless actress.

ALICE AND STEVE (Hulu/Disney +) is a biting Brit comedy with a saucy premise. It’s a WAR OF THE ROSES not between spouses or lovers but middle-aged best friends. Alice (Nicola Wallace) and Steve (Germaine Clement) are platonically joined at the hip for 25 years. They have scads of private jokes and share in weekend warrior bad behavior to prove they’re still edgy. When Steve starts dating Alice’s 25-year-old daughter, Alice goes ballistic and tries to destroy him. Those who find some ick to the premise are missing the real buzz. These frenemies have all sorts of dirt on each other acquired over the decades, so they wield opposition research to burn. Touche’ to show creator Sophie Goodhart, a scribe on SEX EDUCATION, who keeps upping the ante.

The supporting characters are well drawn – especially Marcia Warren as Alice’s ‘get-over-it’ mom -- but the show’s edge of your seat cringe derives from the dueling characters who still need each other. Wallace usually plays underestimated cops on Brit TV and here revels in the chance to let er rip -- emotionally falling apart and detonating rage bombs. Clement, half of FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, has a sheepish, hang dog quality that keeps swarm in check.

The show ends on a cliffhanger that either sets up another season (if it’s picked up) or serves as a satisfying and crazy wrap up.

THE INVITE (in theaters) finds a couple on the marital skids. Joe (Seth Rogen oozing self-loathing) is a music teacher whose rock band never made it and his stay-at-home wife Angela (Olivia Wilde) wants to tap some DIY homemaker talent that eludes her. Desperate for friendship and affirmation, she coaxes her upstairs neighbors Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penelope Cruz) for dinner not realizing they’re swingers and their loud, intrusive love making is the result of (off-screen) orgies organized like book club meetings.

THE INVITE is a single set remake of a Spanish comedy THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS (which I haven’t seen) but laissez faire sex comedies are prevalent European art house exports, often frothy as a latte. Moving the premise stateside, in our era of diminished expectations -- Joe and Angela’s spacious, gorgeous apartment wasn’t earned but a handout from Joe’s dad -- and sexual recession -- a term I hear is entering the vernacular -- gives the hilarious script (by Rashida Jones and Will McCormick) real bite.

All four actors are on point. Rogen’s exasperation contrasts Norton’s cryptic, elfin charm and Cruz sizzles as a mind-gaming therapist. For me, Wilde, in her third go-around as director, is the corker, a nimble physical comic whose facial gymnastics and frenetic mood shifts are wonderfully bonkers, and we feel for her need to impress.

THE INVITE comes on the heels of THE DRAMA, and both had a youngish theater crowd howling; in the latter, after a truth-or-dare game, Robert Pattinson learns about a skeleton in fiancee Zendaya’s closet, that drives him batty. For me, THE INVITE has a slight edge, rotating its characters from suspicion to submission and back in a well-calibrated roundelay. A24 released both films which keep its winning streak intact delivering provocative watercooler material even in our era of remote gig workers whether it’s inventive, auteur horror (MIDSOMMAR; BACKROOMS), serrated social comment (EDDINGTON) or caustic romance as in this juicy pair.

“I have a question for you,” Fred Armisen, in his Mones wig, asked the crowd at Frogtown’s cozy club Zebulon Friday night. “Are you punk rockers?” Seconds later Fred, pounding the skins with Tommy/Marky abandon sang “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” joined with frenetic force by Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker and guest bassist, Blonde Redhead/St. Vincent’s Toko Yasuda. THE RETURN OF JACKIE AND JUDY, their ongoing Ramones tribute was tight and joyous.

They stuck to the nanosecond arrangements we love. However, Brownstein, when not caterwauling, pogoing “at such great heights” (with apologies to The Postal Service) and shredding, took an extended solo on “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.” She had to strip off her black leather jacket after the second tune.

The night natch kicked off with “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and a sliver of the hefty set list included “We’re a Happy Family,” “Do You Believe in Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?” “Beat on the Brat,” “She’s the One” and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.” The crowd lost it when Tucker modified the lyrics in the last verse of “The KKK Took My Baby Away” to “The I-C-E” etc.

Ramones are my Beach Boys and I often spin them as an anti-depressant that never fails and I’m not alone based on the non-stop sing-alongs throughout. The night was not without unwelcome incidents. An aging trouper up front toppled over twice and almost knocked us over like bowling pins; his pals/handlers noted “he had a stroke last week” before he left in an ambulance. A bullying bro also convened a mosh pit no one wanted.

Kyle Mooney opened the night without breaking character as gloriously dim “Todd” who did crowd work searching for homies including Lily a young pal who Mooney brought on stage and she held her own for ten minutes. Her middle-aged Dad grew up in Uptown and Lily is such a Replacements fan she told me she searched out the Bob Stinson bench while visiting the Twin Cities. Quite a night.

Those locals seeking a larger scale Ramones tribute can hit Hollywood Forever August 30th for what’s called “the official” 50th anniversary concert feting the debut album with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, blink-182’s Travis Barker and late era Ramones bassist CJ Ramone appearing -- in the unlikely event tics are still available.

“I have a question for you,” Fred Armisen, in his Mones wig, asked the crowd at Frogtown’s cozy club Zebulon Friday night. “Are you punk rockers?” Seconds later Fred, pounding the skins with Tommy/Marky abandon sang “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” joined with frenetic force by Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker and guest bassist, Blonde Redhead/St. Vincent’s Toko Yasuda. THE RETURN OF JACKIE AND JUDY, their ongoing Ramones tribute was tight and joyous.

They stuck to the nanosecond arrangements we love. However, Brownstein, when not caterwauling, pogoing “at such great heights” (with apologies to The Postal Service) and shredding, took an extended solo on “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.” She had to strip off her black leather jacket after the second tune.

The night natch kicked off with “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and a sliver of the hefty set list included “We’re a Happy Family,” “Do You Believe in Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?” “Beat on the Brat,” “She’s the One” and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.” The crowd lost it when Tucker modified the lyrics in the last verse of “The KKK Took My Baby Away” to “The I-C-E” etc.

Ramones are my Beach Boys and I often spin them as an anti-depressant that never fails and I’m not alone based on the non-stop sing-alongs throughout. The night was not without unwelcome incidents. An aging trouper up front toppled over twice and almost knocked us over like bowling pins; his pals/handlers noted “he had a stroke last week” before he left in an ambulance. A bullying bro also convened a mosh pit no one wanted.

Kyle Mooney opened the night without breaking character as gloriously dim “Todd” who did crowd work searching for homies including Lily a young pal who Mooney brought on stage and she held her own for ten minutes. Her middle-aged Dad grew up in Uptown and Lily is such a Replacements fan she told me she searched out the Bob Stinson bench while visiting the Twin Cities. Quite a night.

Those locals seeking a larger scale Ramones tribute can hit Hollywood Forever August 30th for what’s called “the official” 50th anniversary concert feting the debut album with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, blink-182’s Travis Barker and late era Ramones bassist CJ Ramone appearing -- in the unlikely event tics are still available.

See less

I’ll go long as a long haul Rolling Stone(r) since high school; I started with HOT ROCKS and then my paper route/bus boy ducets went to scoring the whole library. Yes, I gorge myself on ‘the run’ – BEGGARS BANQUET through EXILE ON MAIN STREET (and “my trousers would fall down” if I didn’t include GET YER YA’S YA’s OUT! in that sequence of LPs that stands up to the best of the Beatles/Dylan). I also spin the old cover-heavy records (ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS etc. doesn’t get enough love) and the Brian Jones baroque period (AFTERMATH/FLOWERS/BETWEEN THE BUTTONS and I even skip around SATANIC MAJESTIES etc.). And lucky me was at the height of my Stones-mania when SOME GIRLS, a top five of mine, stunned the world (and was in that crowd crush on the floor at the St. Paul Civic Center and kept staring at irreplaceable Charlie Watts).

A lot of hardcore buffs gripe that there’s no point in listening to Stones’ studio LPs post TATTOO YOU and they’re damn straight. I kept buying all those records by reflex but they were really just tour merch and cheaper than a t-shirt (anybody play UNDERCOVER or STEEL WHEELS lately)?

So it’s a welcome relief the new FOREIGN TONGUES is frisky, intentionally funny, urgent and has that classic Stones murkiness we dig. At first spin, it’s of a audio piece with HACKNEY DIAMONDS but it’s the better half. Andrew Watt is back and he’s the Stones’ most impactful outside producer since Jimmy Miller. Unlike Don Was he’s not starstruck (he’s worked with Justin Bieber/Lady Gaga/Post Malone/Madonna/Elton, etc.) and has a new side hustle dusting off legacy artists like Sir Paul whose new LP I just bought.

As Keith says, he kicked the band in the ass and this record was recorded in three weeks’ time (!) a nanosecond vs. the lurching sessions around gloriously wasted LPs, overrated (GOATS HEAD SOUP) and underrated (IT’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL). TONGUE includes new material and left over tracks from the HACKNEY sessions hence “Hit Me in the Head” hosts another Charlie Watts from beyond the grave appearance, and McCartney plays funked up bass on “COVERED IN YOU.”

There’s guest stars galore – Steve Winwood is all over the record on guitar and organ, The Cure’s Robert Smith vocalizes and synth-esizes, and Bruno Mars, channeling Christopher Walken on SNL, clangs the cowbells. Yet none announce themselves; they’re just chipping in tasty bits into this Stone(s) soup.

It’s book ended by two bluesy songs – the in your face "Rough and Twisted” and the Chuck Berry cover “Beautiful Deliah” with a scratchy guitar reminiscent of BEGGARS “Prodigal Son.” There’s a zesty cover of Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” (with Mick working his slur on “you sniffed me out like I was Tanqueray”) and “In The Stars” in old radio days would have cut it as a single.

Since I go crazy for the Stones’ goofball but weirdly soulful countryesque tunes like “Faraway Eyes” and “Dead Flowers,” “Ringing Hollow” is a kick. The lyrics hearken to the Stones’ early infatuation with our country. “Well, I was madly in love with you/before we ever met/I saw all your movies/I smoked your cigarettes.” He then channels our current down and out feeling. “Lady Liberty don’t look so good/when she’s wearing a frown.” Mick’s seems more sad than angry at how far the US has face planted and can’t resist elsewhere casting a side eye at Elon Musk. At 14 tracks, FT could stand a trim, but it’s a blast overall.

It’s also refreshing to see Mick (who turns 83 later this month) pop up all over from the World Cup to a full court press blitz that crested with a New York Times humdinger. The usually suave and evasive Mick steps up with his most illuminating, entertaining interview in eons. It’s full of quotable lines on aging (“There’s nothing good about it”), slipping in political lines into FT tracks (he won’t “lecture”) and fame ("It is not like most people's lives. It does affect you. You can become disassociated.”).

It’s recommended reading/listening despite the cheating click bait headline "Mick Jagger Knows He May Have Played His Last Rolling Stones Show;” since he merely states he could get hit by a bus. The cheeky copy desk is riffing on the fact the band currently can’t tour due to Keith’s arthritis. Broaching this sticky wicket, The Glimmer Twins seem to be talking through the press with Keith claiming they’ll need to stick to residencies to spare him travel while Mick says he likes to do multiple cities. The Stones have always spared themselves the embarrassment of farewell tours that don’t stick. If the Stones finally wind down (and who can blame ‘em?) FOREIGN TONGUES is a jaunty Irish goodbye.