11-06-2003, 09:55 PM
I had an interesting reaction to Kill Bill. Keep in mind that I liked Pulp Fiction, but only on the second viewing 2 years after the first.
It's classic Tarentino. If you like his films, this is an outstanding piece of work. If you don't, this one is self-indulgent to the point of being masturbatory, so you're not going to like it.
That said, I was offended by some of the movie's extremes. If you take what is going on, onscreen, at face value, then you're going to see lots of people exploited and damaged (physically, but mostly emotionally) for your own kicks. I had a similar reaction to Natural Born Killers and, to a lesser extent, Gladiator, but both made me think about the link between vicariously cruel entertainment and exploitation. "Are you not entertained?"
This situation was exacerbated by the fact that some madwoman, instead of hiring a babysitter, had brought her 3 kids (age around 6-10) to see this movie. :huh:
But about 20 minutes in (after anguishing along with Uma when she realizes her baby is gone, and what was done to her; that was really a fabulous performance), I relaxed and decided to enjoy it as pure cinema.
This is when the endorphins kicked in.
Kill Bill is the most tongue-in-cheek, playfullly reverential, winkingly tribute-driven movie I've seen since Galaxy Quest.
If you've ever stayed up watching cult 70s cinema, you'll find dozens of perfect moments. Some of my faves - the out of focus intro "Feature Presentation" with the off-kilter sound; "If you meet God in your travels, God will be cut"; deliciously cheesy miniature airplanes and Tokyo skylines; and, best of all, the Quincey Jones theme (Ironsides?) playing like a Theremin siren over Uma's angst-ridden expression when she tweaks. That moment, I think, somehow distilled everything that was bad and wondrous about 70s cinema in about 2 seconds. Pure, intentional cheese of the finest caliber; choose your own wine.
The conflict against the Crazy 88, was gore-ridden enough that I got most of the tributes (ahh, the double arterial victim spray, that hearkens back to that one Kung Fu grindhouse flick, can't remember the name), that I actually got annoyed with it. But while annoyed, I was grinning from ear to ear.
It redeemed itself when I realized that the showdown is not the ultimate scene in this movie. The ultimate scene only lasts for a few seconds, but it's a huge payoff: After all of this melodramatic, referencing carnage, you get a serene view of a snow-crisped Japanese garden that is simply one of the most beautiful frames I've ever seen on film. In any other movie, it would have been a nice shot. But after 20 minutes of hyperkinetic gore, it's a masterful payoff that I haven't seen equaled by any movie this year.
Unfortunately, that's followed by a somewhat disappointing final showdown.
More thoughts, but I have to get back to work ...
;)
It's classic Tarentino. If you like his films, this is an outstanding piece of work. If you don't, this one is self-indulgent to the point of being masturbatory, so you're not going to like it.
That said, I was offended by some of the movie's extremes. If you take what is going on, onscreen, at face value, then you're going to see lots of people exploited and damaged (physically, but mostly emotionally) for your own kicks. I had a similar reaction to Natural Born Killers and, to a lesser extent, Gladiator, but both made me think about the link between vicariously cruel entertainment and exploitation. "Are you not entertained?"
This situation was exacerbated by the fact that some madwoman, instead of hiring a babysitter, had brought her 3 kids (age around 6-10) to see this movie. :huh:
But about 20 minutes in (after anguishing along with Uma when she realizes her baby is gone, and what was done to her; that was really a fabulous performance), I relaxed and decided to enjoy it as pure cinema.
This is when the endorphins kicked in.
Kill Bill is the most tongue-in-cheek, playfullly reverential, winkingly tribute-driven movie I've seen since Galaxy Quest.
If you've ever stayed up watching cult 70s cinema, you'll find dozens of perfect moments. Some of my faves - the out of focus intro "Feature Presentation" with the off-kilter sound; "If you meet God in your travels, God will be cut"; deliciously cheesy miniature airplanes and Tokyo skylines; and, best of all, the Quincey Jones theme (Ironsides?) playing like a Theremin siren over Uma's angst-ridden expression when she tweaks. That moment, I think, somehow distilled everything that was bad and wondrous about 70s cinema in about 2 seconds. Pure, intentional cheese of the finest caliber; choose your own wine.
The conflict against the Crazy 88, was gore-ridden enough that I got most of the tributes (ahh, the double arterial victim spray, that hearkens back to that one Kung Fu grindhouse flick, can't remember the name), that I actually got annoyed with it. But while annoyed, I was grinning from ear to ear.
It redeemed itself when I realized that the showdown is not the ultimate scene in this movie. The ultimate scene only lasts for a few seconds, but it's a huge payoff: After all of this melodramatic, referencing carnage, you get a serene view of a snow-crisped Japanese garden that is simply one of the most beautiful frames I've ever seen on film. In any other movie, it would have been a nice shot. But after 20 minutes of hyperkinetic gore, it's a masterful payoff that I haven't seen equaled by any movie this year.
Unfortunately, that's followed by a somewhat disappointing final showdown.
More thoughts, but I have to get back to work ...
;)