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Kill Bill - Vol. 1

Kill Bill - Vol. 1

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $19.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Hard to Kill Bill
Review: It is never a good sign when the first Quentin Tarrantino film in years borrows its basic plot from a Steven Seagal movie. At least in Hard to Kill, when Seagal emerges from his coma, he has to train to get back into peak condition. Whereas in Kill Bill, all that has to be done to get back into shape after being in a coma for 4 years is the old "wiggle your big toe" work out.

I guess this is Quentin's homage to old school Kung Fu movies... I feel like he borrowed a little too heavily. Right down to the team of assassins, which may be "inspired" by the Five Deadly Venoms.

Of course, it's hard to give this film a fair review, since the movie theater asked us to leave after the first half. They told us we could come back in February to see the rest, but we'll have to pay again. That seems fair.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If you understand it, you'll love it!
Review: First of all, this won't be like any Quentin Tarantino movie you've ever seen. He often makes pop culture references and writes wonderful dialogue. But in "Kill Bill: Volume 1," he trades in great dialogue for great action sequences and great cinematography, and trades in spoken pop culture references for a one and a half hour long reference (parody) to the old, B-level kung fu movies of the past. If you understand that he is making an homage/parody, you'll love the film.

My main disclaimer would be the violance. If you have a weak stomach when it comes to realistic gore, come. If you have a weak stomach for any form of blood/gore, DON'T COME! Arms are sliced off and heads go flying with huge waterfalls of blood pooring out like that body part was just a dam and there's an entire lake of red hidden inside the body. For example, a woman's arm is cut off and blood squirts out for about five minutes. And ten minutes later, you still see her rolling around on the ground, alive. This is sort of a half disclaimer, because the way Tarantino makes fun of the old kung fu violance will mostly make you laugh, rather than mutter to your date "this is so stupid."

My second disclaimer is its simple plot. If you're one who loves complex, "you have to think every moment" movies, then you may not like the film unless you're looking for something different. The plot is as follows: a woman (whose name is beeped out, played by Uma Thurman) is left for dead at her wedding after her former partners in assasination (the Deadly Viper Assasination Squad, or DiVAS) kill her friends and family, and wakes up from a coma four years later with revenge churning in her mind. And then she goes out to get it. That's it. But watch out for the twist at the end...it's a killer! A great way to end a film.

But beyond these two reasons, which I didn't really find as reasons not to see the movie, there is a fun chemical put into the movie you don't get a lot anymore. Uma Thurman plays her role with Oscar-worthy rage which never leaves her eyes. And you stare and stare at her, but it never goes away. She's out for revenge and she won't let it leave her, herself! It's a joy to watch her. She makes you laugh and amazes you with every step. And Tarantino, of course, puts his usual uniqueness and non-linear movie form into it, keeping you locked at every moment. I hope all will take everything I just said into consideration and see it, or not see it. Whatever decision you make based on this review means I was successful, one way or the other.

Bottom Line: A fun, exciting, hilariously bloody flick that will have people talking from the moment the credits begin rolling. (I give it an A)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Self indulgent, pretentious twaddle
Review: ...QT it's great doing an homage to 70's kung fu films but they had wobbly titles and dodgy music cos they couldn't afford any better. When a big hollywood film does it, it may be entertaining for about 5 seconds and then it's just ...grates. This is just the kind of film that you get when everyone trips over themselves to blow sunshine up a directors arse so he can put anything on the screen and everyone goes 'uum,yes,umm Quentin that's brilliant'. Boring, menial trash that's lame in just about every way.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Kill Bill, Volume 1
Review: This movie was over done with violence and exessive gore. The only reason I gave it two stars is because Uma Thurman did such a fine job as an actress that she carried the whole movie. Also I have to add that the fight scenes/Kung Foo were very well choreographed. But basically the only reason I would have any interest in seeing the sequel is because of her performance. Other than that the movie would be garbage in my opinion.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Avant Garde!
Review: While I'm no film critic, I found "Kill Bill" absolutely clever and brilliant. It's one of those films that need to be watched several times to "get" everything. Sure, the violence and gore might be a turn off, but the gore for one thing wasn't meant to be realistic. The gore is simply a parody, meant to be comical. Note the crazy stream of blood that appears when body parts are cut off. In this way, the film reminded me of the schizophrenic comics people will sometimes read on the subway trains in Japan. "Kill Bill" is also a highly stylized type of film, kind of like the Hong Kong kung foo style? I'm not exactly sure though. Regardless, I found this film a breath of fresh air from the regular Hollywood fare. Although the film might not exactly seem like a brainteaser, "Kill Bill" does have some interesting dialogue - for example, Oren-ishi's schoolgirl bodyguard who "penetrates" the unwitting male guest. Clearly this film is a revenge film, but I'm interested to see what happens in Vol. 2 especially as we begin to realize that the premise for revenge begins to unravel as the "Bride's" child is not dead, but actually alive. Gore and violence aside, I would recommend this film to anyone who is a mature and responsible adult.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Watch for Reviewers' Spoilers
Review: I wanted to lead my review by warning readers to be wary of reviewers who write too much, which may spoil the outcome and some of the surprises that unfold in this yarn of revenge.

Now, for the movie: It's important to mention that those who are sensitive to violent portrayals, loud noises and screams may consider not watching this film, the most bloody and violent in the history of filmmaking. Be sensitive to those who are curious to watch Kill Bill with you by knowing what their limits may be: within the first 5 minutes, I leaned to my companion asking her to tell me the moment she felt uncomfortable, while the woman next to me scolded her husband for not warning her of the graphic violence.

The moment the film opens, following an unusual tribute to ShawScope films (note about this below), the violence is already in progress, and only lets up to allow us to breathe, process the shocking information, and dive right back in for more. Director Quentin Tarantino's style weaves stories back and forth, giving viewers bits and teases (along with some rather shocking gore) but unless you've had it and are insistent on storming out of the movie, I urge you to watch it all the way to the credits. Tarantino is playing with our minds like a psychiatrist. Even those of you who don't like violence, you may find yourself justifying the revenge set out by Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) and searching for when the second Kill Bill movie will be released, which I'm sure will have continued spins, surprises and detours from predictability to keep you on your toes.

This is a jawdropper, clearly outpacing previous shockers like Taxi Driver, Terminator, Natural Born Killers and Reservoir Dogs (all of which generated a backwash of criticism). Strangely, I haven't heard any uproar criticizing the violence and high body count which are usually follows such a movie release.

Tarantino began Kill Bill with homage to Shawscope by showing the Shaw Brothers' logo at the very beginning, before Uma Thurman stole the show. Shaw Brothers films, which are Hong Kong movies of old school Kung Fu presented to English audiences complete with wild Chinese boxing and hideous dubbing, is a film format that is usually authentic letterboxed, which Kill Bill appears. But Kill Bill is actually filmed in "Super 35," a hybrid film format that fulfills the letterboxing for big screen presentation while allowing the film to be presented on traditional NTSC (television) aspect without needing to crop the important content. The film process uses a camera with horizontal matting so the director can frame the shot for the film audience. Whenever the movie is presented on full frame TV, the viewer actually will see more content, since the matting is removed to allow the film to be presented on traditional TVs.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: This movie was very good, the casting was excellent (Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Uma Thurman You can't go wrong!), acting superb, story overdone yet funny and smart. THe entire thing can be viewed as a parody of Japanese popular culture or a tribute to kung fu movies of the past, or both. The dialogue reminded me of the witty comebacks and bizarre statements of Roger Moore (not in the same style, yet somehow similar). If you are looking for a fun time, or interested in this type of film, go see Kill Bill. (Note: this is not a film for a date, avoid it if you have "company".)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic Movie
Review: Quentin Tarantino is quite simply a man who can make fantastic movies. This movie had me hooked from the very start of it. There are some great tricks he pulls, like the fact the Bride's name isn't revealed. Now to the plot.

The plot is about a woman named "The Bride" of course not her real name, it just isn't revealed until part 2. The Bride (Uma Thurman) used to work for Bill(David Carradine) as an assassin, she decided to settle down and get married, but Bill betrayed her and shot up the wedding chapel and put a bullet in her head. Leaving her in 5 year coma, she wakes up, realizes her baby's gone and proceeds to get revenge on the 4 assassins and Bill.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS UP AHEAD

The assassins are
1. O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu)
2. Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox who is horribly underused)
3. Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah in probably her best role)
4. Budd (Michael Madsen, Budd is Bill's Brother)

The Bride heads out to extract revenge on both Vernita and O-Ren in the first part. Sonny Chiba is great as Hattori Hanzo. Of course this movie is extremely gory. But sometimes it's laughable because it sometimes looks cartoonish. There is also an anime sequence in it. All in all Quentin Tarantino has made a movie that may very well be the best of 2003, so far.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kill Bill
Review: Tarintino is the king of retro cinema. He is the only director who can recapture the golden age of seventies cinema,Kill Bill is an outstanding film,this masterpiece is like a mainstream Golden Harvest film. Bring on volume 2!!
Also release them both on DVD as soon as possible please.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ah, Man.
Review: Even though I am a huge movie buff, I am not a Quentin Tarantino fan. I didn't enjoy any of his previous three films and thought they were basically overhyped garbage. Therefore, I was reluctant to see KILL BILL VOLUME I. When I saw the previews, I thought to myself, "Give me a break." However, after a close friend recommended the film to me, I finally gave in and was quite surprised with what I saw.

KILL BILL doesn't seem to contain one original piece of filmmaking. Just about everything in the movie is stolen from some obscure film or television show of the past: from the opening credits to Uma Thurman's yellow jumpsuit. However, all the pop references of the past are chopped up and brought together in such an unique way that a totally new film is born. Even more surprisingly than that is the film actually works, even with all the cheesy gore, great sword fights, and witty-yet-over-the-top dialogue. Outside of the characteristic heavy foul language, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I left the theatre thinking to myself, "Ah, man, now I have to four months to find out what happened." In that sense, the movie resembles another great tribute of the pop cultural past: the surprise cliffhanger. Can't wait to find out what happens in KILL BILL VOLUME 2.


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