Kill Bill Vol. 1 ( * * * * )
I hear that Quentin Tarantino's next movie will be another kung-fu film, this one shot entirely in Mandarin. Sounds good to me.
The Acting: Uma Thurman acts her heart out as the nameless (until Vol. 2) Bride who is shot during her wedding rehearsal along with her husband, the party, and the bad motherfucking organist. Lucy Liu is cwazy as a crosseyed Yakuza boss. Stealing the show is "Special Guest Star" Sonny Chiba as a retired swordmaker cum sushi chef. As usual for Q.T., the soundtrack is yet another character in the film. David Carradine is a phantom menace, while Daryl Hannah plays Ellie Driver, A.K.A. The California Mountain Skank.
The Story: Revenge and assassination stories are great because they're so uncomplicated. They're like zombie or survivalist stories, where the objective is merely to live. Except that, in the case of the former, the objective is merely to kill. And maybe live as a bonus. The Bride does her share of killing, including a dazzling knife-fight scene early on. The bloodbath at the House of Blue Leaves is one of cinema's finest moments, if geysers of blood is your thing.
The Direction: Jackie Brown sucked balls. So did Kill Bill Vol. 2. But this is a fully complete, self-enclosed movie that makes me think maybe every other movie Q.T. does will be great. You know, like the way only the even-numbered Star Trek movies were good for the first six? Actually, it's so self-contained, if there wasn't a cliffhanger line at the end about her daughter, then Bill would have been the kung-fu version of Waiting For Godot. Okay...add "Kung-fu version of Waiting For Godot" to the top ten list of the most fucked-up things I've ever written.
Overall: Finally a film even Paul Verhoeven can watch and say, "Okay...that's enough blood."
Tredekka Rules:
The Acting: Uma Thurman acts her heart out as the nameless (until Vol. 2) Bride who is shot during her wedding rehearsal along with her husband, the party, and the bad motherfucking organist. Lucy Liu is cwazy as a crosseyed Yakuza boss. Stealing the show is "Special Guest Star" Sonny Chiba as a retired swordmaker cum sushi chef. As usual for Q.T., the soundtrack is yet another character in the film. David Carradine is a phantom menace, while Daryl Hannah plays Ellie Driver, A.K.A. The California Mountain Skank.
The Story: Revenge and assassination stories are great because they're so uncomplicated. They're like zombie or survivalist stories, where the objective is merely to live. Except that, in the case of the former, the objective is merely to kill. And maybe live as a bonus. The Bride does her share of killing, including a dazzling knife-fight scene early on. The bloodbath at the House of Blue Leaves is one of cinema's finest moments, if geysers of blood is your thing.
The Direction: Jackie Brown sucked balls. So did Kill Bill Vol. 2. But this is a fully complete, self-enclosed movie that makes me think maybe every other movie Q.T. does will be great. You know, like the way only the even-numbered Star Trek movies were good for the first six? Actually, it's so self-contained, if there wasn't a cliffhanger line at the end about her daughter, then Bill would have been the kung-fu version of Waiting For Godot. Okay...add "Kung-fu version of Waiting For Godot" to the top ten list of the most fucked-up things I've ever written.
Overall: Finally a film even Paul Verhoeven can watch and say, "Okay...that's enough blood."
Tredekka Rules:
- Rule 4: Sweet Actor Bonus--Michael Madsen, +1 star, Michael Parks, +1 star
- Rule 6: Over The Top Acting Award--Uma Thurman is like a freakish force of nature. Hell, she's even kinda hot in her Bruce Lee yellow bike suit. +1 stars
- Rule 16: The Paul Verhoeven "More Blood!" award--you've earned it, Tarantino...in a big way. And let this be a lesson to you other Hollywood directors out there: spray it don't say it. +1 star.
- Rule 17: The "Don't Fuck With The Fourth Wall" Penalty--goes to people walking around with Samurai swords in the airport and on planes. My willful suspension of disbelief was sliced neatly in half at that point. -1 star.
- Rule 22: The Great Entrance Award--goes to morningstar-weilding Go-Go Yubari, who long-distance telegraphs a teriffic final battle as she casually walks down the stairs and tells Uma "you can beg better than that." +1 star.
Tredekka Score: ( * * * * )
posted by Tredekka at 9:46 AM
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