Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is simply fantastic. For everything that was wrong with Kill Bill: Vol. 1, mainly the lack of great dialogue, Vol. 2 has in spadeful amounts. We still have the elements of asian cinema throughout, like the training of the Bride by Pai Mei, this wise old martial arts master. There's long action sequences, but they're GREAT to watch. The music, composed by Robert Rodriguez, reminds you of the old spagetti wetern musin of Ennio Morricone, simple amazing. I honestly preffered Robert Rodriguez's score to Rza's score of the first movie.


Let's go back to Pai Mei for a second. This dude is awesome. He teaches the Bride a trick called "The Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique", the deadliest blow in all of martial arts. How freaking cool does that sound! He'll pluck your eye out if you give him a disdainful look. He hates "caucasins, americans, and especially women". He'll snap your neck and break you back in a second. I think he once killed 60 monks in a temple because one of them looked away while he nodded at them to say hello. One of the best characters I've seen of Tarantino's films.


We pick up where the last movie left off. The Bride has just finished off Vernita Green(The killing of Vernita Green happens at the start of Kill Bill: Vol. 1, but chronologically it happens after the killing of O-Ren). We meet another member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, Budd, Bill's brother, played by Michael Madsen. He's given up his "swordplay", hawked hid old Hattori Hanzo sword, which was priceless, for $250, and now works as a bouncer in a "titty bar" and lives alone in a trailer out in the desert. Bill pays him a visit, telling him that The Bride is after them. Budd is the most sympathetic towards The Bride's revengful plan. "She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die". The Bride is after Elle Driver, Budd and Bill and no one can do a damn thing to stop it. Revenge at it's glorious best.


All in all, this movie is a work of art. If you don't like the first movie, DO NOT dismiss the rest of it, or you will at your OWN PERIL!! Like I did. Enjoy the first as much as you can. You might not enjoy it all. But what's waiting in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is Quentin Tarantino at his absolute best. Fantastic dialogue, characters we get to know well, and better action sequences in my honest opinion. For those who have seen it think of Pai Mei and the fight with Elle Driver. The genius of it all shines through.


There is THE greatest speach made by Bill: "As you know, l'm quite keen on comic books.... I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman.... The mythology is not only great, it's unique"......"Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

I said in one of my earlier posts that I couldn't even watch Tarantino's Kill Bill movies. I thought that Kill Bill: Vol.1 was too flashy, too many homages etc. I just stopped it all right there. I never really gave Kill Bill: Vol. 2 a chance. Well I decided to give the series another crack, and that I was gonna try to enjoy the first movie from the get go. Have it in my mind that what I was watching was enjoyable. And I actually saw the movie in a different light when I took that approach. Most of it is really good when you just give it a chance.


It's not a Tarantino film that you're used to, his great dialogue for one is missing for most of the film, and we don't get the chance to really identify with the characters and get to know them. This is his action movie, he's throwing his hat in the ring with the other great action directors. The plot is simple: Bill (David Carradine) and his Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, made up of Budd(Michael Madsen), O'Ren Oshii(Lucy Liu), Vernita Green(Vivica A. Fox) and Elle Griver(Daryl Hannah) murder former Viper member The Bride(Uma Thurman) on her wedding day, along with the Bride's groom and friends. To make things worse The Bride was pregnant at the time. As Bill shoots her in the head, execution style, she lets him know that the baby is his. The Bride wakes up four years later, and plots bloody revenge on the people responsible. What follows is bloody mayhem.


The action scenes were ok. If I had more knowledge and greater awareness of Chinese Martial Arts cinema, or Japanese Samurai movies I might have apprectiated it more. I once started watching the legendary "Enter The Dragon" starring Bruce Lee and I had to switch it off. I just didn't "get" it. I knew there was something great in it, I just couldn't see it and appreciate it. Same goes for the Kill Bill: Vol. 1, but I went along this time. There's a great action piece with O-Ren Oshii's body gaurd, a 17-year-old psychopathic schoolgirl by the name of Gogo. Her weapon of choice is a Meteor hammer, an ancient Chinese weapon. It's basically a big metal ball with blades on a chain. The scene really makes you sit up in your seat and pay attention in anticipation of violent, well choreographed chaos.


Other parts of the action were too drawn out. The final battle between The Bride and O-Ren, the ex-assassin turned Yakuza boss, takes forever without much happening at all. The setting does look great though. What I liked best about the movie was Tarantino's enthusiasm for worldwide cinema, and how he brought all the elements together. There's spagetti westerns of Sergio Leone, Kung Fu movies, there was stuff in there that i just was not getting, but I could tell that Tarantino was having a great time making it.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction is Quentin Tarantino's second film, released in 1994. One of my all time favourites, it's up there in my top three alongside Rio Bravo and Chinatown. It's simply amazing. I could try and go into detail about what techniques I think he is employing and so on, but I think it's just for the fact that it's so entertaining is the reason I love it. It's up there with the likes of Indiana Jones, Jaws, Terminator 2 and Rio Bravo for films that I come away with a buzz after watching.


To be honest, I wasn't all that crazy about Reservoir Dogs for some reason. To me it seems as though he knew how and what kind of movie to make that would sell, and get his foot in the door in the business, and he did it. I think he's got such an awareness of the industry that he knows exactly which buttons to press to make it work. And that's why I think he made this movie. He knew people would eat it up. It is a great movie, would trump most other Hollywood movies, but not my favourite Tarantino movie.


But back to Pulp Fiction. Samuel L. is fantastic. "I just figured it was some cold blooded shit to tell a nigger 'for I put a cap in his ass!" How great was his performance. They all talked about John Travolta's come back role of his career but Samuel L. Jackson was amazing. Ofcourse he had, and probably will never get better, dialogue written by a genius, but as Tarantino himself says "The S.L.J knows how to sing my dialogue". His delivery was impecable.


Not saying that John Travolta wasn't any good. He was superb. Just not as good as S.L.J for this particular movie. He was really cool, and laid back. He never got the rush of blood to the head when he had the chance to bang Mia Wallace, the Boss's wife. "You're gonna go back in there, have your drink, say goodbye, go home, jack off, and that's all you're gonna do". He was definatley tempted, but the story about Tony "Rocky Horror" would make anyone think twice. "Nigger fell four stories...kinda developed a speach impediment after that". That sucks for Tony. Another bit of the movie I was laughing at with Vincent was his run in with Butch, played by Bruce Willis. Butch: "You looking at something friend?" Vince: "You ain't my friend, palooka" Butch: "Whas that?" Vince: "I think you heard me just fine, punchy..." Like how did Tarantino develope such an ear for great dialogue.


The music in this film is one of the best things about it. Well really most things about the movie are brilliant: casting, script, camera work (love the homage to Sergio Leone with the closeups), editing, set design in Jack Rabbit Slim's. But I really friggin dig the music. There's Dick Dale and the Del Tones with the iconic "Misirlou". If you get a chance listen to "Banzai Washout" which is not on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, but it's fantastic. Dusty Springfeild's "Son of a Preacher Man". Every one knows that one. And much more you just have to check em out.


I hope he gets back to the form of Pulp Fiction soon. My second favourite of his films was actually "Inglorious Basterds" but he's not quite hitting the same mark. I couldn't even watch the Kill Bill movies. I don't know why: Too showy, too many homages, too stylistic, it just didn't do it for me at all. Same with Death Proof. Jackie Brown I thought was good. Watch Pulp Fiction!