Redbelt

A good movie! 2008 has now seen two movies that will be worth watching next year: "Rambo" and this. The story brings to mind "Ghost Dog" in its depiction of applying samurai and martial arts principles to modern life. Like in "Spartan," David Mamet's great recent film, the dialogue in "Redbelt" is incomparable. Every line is active: it is one character doing something to another, forcing him or her to respond. Every line propels the story forward. And how significant too that Mamet, one of Hollywood's best dialogue writers, chooses to end his film in silence.