tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post4813445739809093536..comments2024-03-27T21:42:56.131-05:00Comments on 1001plus: What Tarantino Dreams ofSJHoneywellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-58626864064145342892010-12-17T22:38:42.396-06:002010-12-17T22:38:42.396-06:00I understand that point of view, but I still look ...I understand that point of view, but I still look at the scene in the garden and think, "Boss Fight!"<br /><br />I don't disagree on the choreography, though.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-18146393963192679432010-12-17T21:42:29.707-06:002010-12-17T21:42:29.707-06:00While the violence was the first thing that stood ...While the violence was the first thing that stood out for me, the one thing that gave me the desire to follow up with a second viewing was the final battle. When the bride opens the door on the serenity of the Japanese Garden with the snow falling which leads the sound of rapid clapping. At this point in the theater, I believed myself to be the only person that recognized the Latin Disco version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmerelda. This really endeared me to Tarantino's style more so then his signature use of "Miserlou" in "Pulp Fiction". His ability to take the most obscure, mostly forgotten song, and raising it to near classic status really speaks volumes.<br /><br />While I am not really impressed by the hyper-violent tone of today's over-the-top action movies, I can't help but appreciate the choreography that makes the last decades martial arts cinema as artistic as night at the ballet.Ken Loarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17207009680910318145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-81900320700643807052010-12-17T10:57:41.918-06:002010-12-17T10:57:41.918-06:00Ah! Mr. Boe, I feel vindicated! You've nailed ...Ah! Mr. Boe, I feel vindicated! You've nailed my feeling exactly--"soulless" is the word I was looking for and couldn't come up with last night. Where were you when I was slamming my head against the keyboard?<br /><br />Based on your and Kevin's comments, perhaps I will venture into Vol. 2. Right now, though, in the afterglow of the first movie, I didn't see anything that makes me want to see the next film. <br /><br />Kevin--I figured that motivations and the reasons for the intial hit would appear in the second movie. However, nothing here makes me <i>want</i> to discover those motivations. Still, with more recommendations, I'll get there eventually.<br /><br />And yes, I did have a "that's a magical sword that can cut to the contour of her brain" moment.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-49923097553949067372010-12-17T10:45:59.506-06:002010-12-17T10:45:59.506-06:00I completely understand your reaction to this film...I completely understand your reaction to this film. I saw it back when it was in the theater, and as I recall I was the most excited of our group to see it. At that time I was in love with Hong Kong action flicks, I was a huge fan of Pulp Fiction, and I was ready to buy into the promise of greatness that was Quentin Tarantino.<br /><br />Strangely enough, when we were leaving the theater, I was the only one not filled with jubilation about what we'd just seen. It seemed hollow, and soul-less. The characters were more charactures than they were real people. The actors were doing the right things, the action was hard and heavy, but there was no real feeling of stakes. It was (and I suppose, still is) pure exploitation, pure hedonism. Quentin had lost me.<br /><br />I tried watching it again on DVD, but ultimately it never worked...that is, until I saw part 2. It was in part 2 that, Tarantino put all the soul, all the emotional heft, all the quality dialogue. The Bride, Bill, and all the rest of them, shed their plastic ideals, and phoney motivations, and each gained something they were lacking completely from the first film...hunger.<br /><br />The Bride sought answers, not only revenge, but a real reason why Bill and the others, had done this to her. <br /><br />The first part of the film (vol. 1) would have been so very much better if it had been released, as planned, as one film, but the downside would have been that the second part (vol. 2) would have been affected equally in the opposite direction.<br /><br />I have come to appreciate Vol. 1, but only as a means to get to Vol. 2, other than that it is simply a mediocre movie.<br /><br />I'm usually in the minority when talking about Kill Bill, so I'm glad there are a few like minded people out there. Keep up the great reviews!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-89213939877657081102010-12-17T00:33:34.540-06:002010-12-17T00:33:34.540-06:00How apropos, by the way, that the previous comment...How apropos, by the way, that the previous comment's "captcha" security word was "Tatino" in a Tarantino-related comment thread. "Tatino" sounds like a two-year-old trying to say the director's name.Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-73683193758691558842010-12-17T00:31:58.945-06:002010-12-17T00:31:58.945-06:00Not at all, not at all. I was in the minority in ...Not at all, not at all. I was in the minority in Korea for liking Volume 2 better. Young Koreans have such short attention spans, and they wanted Volume 2 to be as action-y and gory as Volume 1. It wasn't (though one person's eyeball does get squished in the second film). <br /><br />By my students' standards, 2 was slow, and way too talky. I was happy, though: Carradine gets plenty of screen time in 2, and gives the now-classic "Superman discourse" near the end of the film. The violence in 2, when it happens, is more focused and personal, and not about the indiscriminate spew and spray. It's got some Grand Guignol elements, but it's nothing compared to the bloodbath of 1.<br /><br />By the way, did you have a "Hey-- why's the top of her brain still in her skull?" moment while O-ren was sighing her final words?Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-78468307293102566612010-12-16T23:53:37.776-06:002010-12-16T23:53:37.776-06:00No, I haven't seen the sequel. Hadn't seen...No, I haven't seen the sequel. Hadn't seen the first one until tonight. My reaction to this film is similar to my reaction to <i>Sin City</i>: looks great, but is so repugnant in content that I end up feeling unclean.<br /><br />Sorry, man. I know that's a minority opinion.SJHoneywellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550007053995112090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3166297507174717122.post-84375958009742962382010-12-16T23:32:47.814-06:002010-12-16T23:32:47.814-06:00You haven't seen the sequel? It's a total...<i>You haven't seen the sequel?</i> It's a totally different movie: more internal, more dialogue-heavy, more slowly paced, and dare I say, more about the acting and less about the stunts. Kudos in particular to Michael Parks: he plays the sheriff who, along with Number One Son, inspects The Bride at the beginning of Volume 1 and gets spat on for his trouble; he plays a completely different, almost unrecognizably different, character in Volume 2-- and most of the unrecognizability is due to his acting, not the makeup or costume design. (Credit as well to Gordon Liu, who plays one role in Volume 1 and a very different, not to mention <i>prominent,</i> role in Volume 2.)Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.com