Rental-worthy: "Ghost Dog"

Looking for a good, under-the-radar flick to rent on a cold, wintry night? How about a mob movie that’s completely different?

“Ghost Dog” has to be one of the strangest and most oddly intriguing efforts to come out of Hollywood in many a year—a kind of cross between “The Professional” and the 1970’s TV series “Kung Fu.”

Forest Whitaker stars as Ghost Dog, a loner who becomes indebted to an Italian Mafioso named Louie (John Tormey) after Louie saves his life one day. Ghost (who is a stern disciple of the way of the samurai) vows to repay the favor by serving as a hit man for the mob—a killing machine who carries out his grisly work with disciplined, unemotional precision. But eventually Louie wants Ghost rubbed out.

Only problem is that Ghost lives like one—he’s a silent drifter who dresses like a homeless man and can only be reached via carrier pigeon (his preferred method of receiving an order for a hit). Can the G-Dog escape the mob’s attempt to put him to sleep?

This highly stylized philosophical thriller/character study, directed by Jim Jarmusch, is definitely worth a rental.--Erik J. Martin