Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is about as "average" as they come- clocks into work monday through friday, works out Thursday, takes out the garbage on tuesday, goes to sleep, rinse, repeat, one day to the next. An average man, milquetoast even, with no major personality quirks or exceptional skills to speak of. His daily life is the photo-perfect example of a man who is only going through the motions.
But, after a home burglary, something eats away at him. He has a distant brother (RZA) he communicates with over a short wave radio, his retired father (Christopher Lloyd) urges him to take care of things, and he finally goes out to pursue the robbers. But that doesn't settle things with the doting father and husband, the milquetoast family man, that he wants to be. When a group of Russian thugs accost the people sharing the bus with our boring hum-drum "every man", all the pieces click into place and he isn't about to let things slide. In his words, he's going to "Fuck (them) up".
Unfortunately, this begins a chain of dominoes that results in Mansell now becoming a marked man with a local Russian mafia boss. And all bets are off when he sends his thugs to Mansells house. When his family is threatened. When the life he has carefully crafted is finally blown up and we learn just WHO this veritable "nobody" really is.
I loved this movie. The action was frenetic and brutal, with broken teth and bones- ripped tendons, slashed muscles, and plenty of knuckle cracking, body-jolting impact. Guns were blazing and the soundtrack was excellently selected.
Highly recommended, 8.5 out of 10.
CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI: 400 vs. 1
TAK Sakaguchi is best known as the Convict from the 2000 film "Versus", though he's had various action roles throughout the decades and was recently seen in "Re:Born". In this film, he plays the legendary swordman; Miyamoto Musashi. Shortly after his duel with Yoshioka Seiji and his younger brother, the clan decides to strike back with their 100 retainers and an additional 300 Mercenaries... what follows his a non-stop duel with all 400 and is considered one of Musashi's most famous legends.
Director Shimomura Yuji approaches the material as an experiment, presenting an introduction and climax in a typically cinematic style- but the 77 minutes between are a non-stop, uncut, single-take action extravaganza following Musashi from the moment he kills the youngest brother with a surprise appearance to his exit at sundown. And for the sheer effort and marathon of choreography, both the star and directed should be commended and applauded. Though the maneuvers get a little repetitious at times- the film maintains it's approach of completing the task with one long take AT sundown. Watching the sun move throughout the scene, watching the shadows deepen and stretch, you keep expecting a cut at every turn and moment.
Definitely worth watching for fans of the Samurai genre.
7 out of 10
