| I saw this at SXSW (yes I am soooo late) and I am led to understand that it won a cinematography award at Slam Dance. SSS is totally deserving of that award. Since viewing it I have come across a few reviews (damn, lost my exclusive - I snoozed, I losed) saying how great and funny and clever it is. |
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Ignore those reviews. It is an interesting idea, a post-apocalyptic society where Elvis lived and was actually King and now musicians come to challenge for the crown and they play guitar (shades of The Devil Went Down to Georgia) and sword fight to win (shades of Highlander) - oh yeah, and Death is a-comin' too (shades of Raising Arizona). Our hero, our incredibly hunky and eminently edible martial arts stud muffin Buddy (Jeffrey Falcon) is traveling to Lost Vegas to claim the title of King. He is filthy, disheveled, generally all crapped out, and I totally wanted him. After the film he came up all nice and clean and he was just not the same. Oh well! Anyway, Buddy finds this kid and saves his life and the kid follows him and I know how annoying that sounds - but this kid, Justin McGuire, was GREAT. I mean excellent - and the director (Lance Muniga) said the kid was a one- or two-take actor. Incredible!
So here's two good performers and a good idea, gorgeous camera work....and nothing else. |
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| The dialogue was weird and almost 95% looped (per Muniga - I would have guessed 85%), and not all that good. The idea was funny but I thought it was executed poorly at times. |
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"A mysterious and powerful hero of the classic kind, Buddy is as skilled with his guitar as he is with his samurai sword. Thrown together with a kid whom he saves in a spectacular battle, the two of them must now escape their enemies and reach 'Lost Vegas,' the rock and roll capital of this future world."
It has a feel like a big private joke that also had big private funding. It was fascinating to hear about how they started out on a lark and in debt (and Falcon did everything - stunts, production design, more!) and how they landed some dough and some real equipment and just didn't upgrade the content past a 10 minute student film type script. Plenty was amusing, it just wasn't remotely cohesive.
The Red Elvises, a real Russian Elvis-style band, provide the soundtrack. It's appropriate music, but it literally overwhelms the movie, and the whole thing has a music video feel. |
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You know how some videos (especially in the 80's) had sort of an implied plot, like Cyndi Lauper leaving her boyfriend in Time After Time or the gang fight in Beat It? That is exactly how Six strong Samurai felt. Hard rockin tunes, fabulous amazing visuals and - ooh, what's next on Video Jukebox?
Samurai makes no pretensions at being serious, but it also lacks camp - it's a Spinal Tap video the way it's meant to have come from the band. It's not straight man funny like The Naked Gun, nor is it wacky funny like The Mask. Best line: "Who are you?" "Death." "Cool." That and the best use of "Misrilou" since before Pulp Fiction. Falcon is definitely a bad ass and this is his vehicle but he the actor is overwhelmed by the Night Flight void around him.
If they could remix it and maybe re-edit it I think it would be a nice vapid but fun matinee. As it stands, however, it's a rental. I don't like to discourage filmmakers but dangit, I have to protect the public's money. |
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