The Last Samurai - **

AKA "Dances With The Last of the ThirtySomething Braveheart Mohicans." Great cinematography, gorgeous costume design and admirable performances by Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe doesn't save this completely Hollywoodized film from coming off as an Oscar-nominee wannabe. The film's running time of 154 minutes could easily have been shaved to 120. I'm not complaining about long running times, it's the pacing of the film--ROTK's 201 min. goes by much quicker, yet, so did the oral surgery when I had my wisdom teeth removed. Only slightly more painful.

When Tom Cruise works with great directors, he turns in great performances. One need only see "The Color of Money," "Rain Man," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Magnolia" and my favorite, "Jerry Maguire," to see Tom's capability as an actor. Unfortunately, as director Zwick's last job was helming ABC's "Once and Again,' he should have warned Tom that he has trouble differentiating between a big screen and a small one.