Rating: 
Summary: . . . and Everyone Else
Review: In the "Making Of" bonus feature, Quentin Tarantino says he thought it'd be really cool to make a revenge flick. Indeed. Revenge abounds in "Kill Bill", and it ain't pretty."Kill Bill" tells the story of "The Bride," played by Uma Thurman, who after spending four years in a coma, wakes up to take revenge on those that put her there. Oh yeah, when she was sent to the coma, she was very pregnant, and this only fuels her rage. Volume One focuses on the Bride waking from her coma, acquiring "Japanese Steel" from a legendary sword maker (who, bye the way, has a pretty cool back story that can be found in the DVD extras), and taking revenge on two of the DiVAS (the assasin group that put her in the coma) on her way to tracking down Bill. The first two victims of the Bride's revenge are played by Vivica Fox and Lucy Liu. Fox plays Vernita Green, the Copperhead, who has distanced herself from the assasination business and concentrates on raising a family. She has an excellent duel, which is interrupted by Green's daughter coming home, that Tarantino has suggested might be the focus of a third Kill Bill movie. Fox was perfect in the part, injecting the right amount of attitude and sass, and dealing out great verbal jabs to go with the physical one. Liu plays O-ren Ishii, a Chinese-Japanese American that has risen to the head of the Yakuza crime world in Tokyo, Japan. Her back story was told in an anime sequence, which did the job, but through me for a loop. Liu does an excellent job playing a ruthless criminal leader, which is a departure from her usual roles. Tarantino's movie was a test of his limits. He even says so himself in the bonus features. While there is a story, it takes a back seat to the characters, dialogue, and plenty of gory action. His focus seems to be on making memorable scenes, not necessarily memorable movies. There is nothing wrong with that, because the end product benefits. Tarantino combined all the influences into this movie. The best part is that he managed to combine an old western, a Japanese Samurai story, and a mob story into one exhaustive tale that makes for a good revenge flick. The music and sound further the atmosphere. I really enjoyed this movie. As mentioned earlier, the action, dialogue, and characters make the movie, and the story takes a back seat. One thing to watch out for is the level of gore. It reaches an all time high in this movie, with literally, geysers of blood that spray from the victims. Blood is everywhere, so don't say you haven't been warned if you are squeemish. If you had any problems with Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs," then you'll have a hard time with this one. I tempted to give the movie five stars, but I'm taking one away simply because I think the amount of blood was increased simply for shock value in parts and the story could have been a little more developed. In addition, the DVD is light on extras, which I imagine has something to do that it is being released right on top of the theatrical release of Volume 2. I suppose in the near future, we'll get a double disk set with a ton of bonus features, to be followed up in a few years with another edition with even more features. There is a lot to talk about this movie, and if I hit everything, I'd be spoiling it and this review would come out to long, but its definitely worth a viewing or two.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Job of Making an Intentionally "bad" Movie...
Review: This is basically Tarintino's tribute to all the really bad B movies of the sixties and early seventies. As such, it has a lot of really bad storytelling elements, but they're all intentional. Call this movie a very perverse form of satire, "lovingly" mocking the classless martial arts products of the previous generation. If only the entire movie had been done in voice-overs that didn't match the characters' mouths....
Rating: 
Summary: Shameless Japanese TV rip-off
Review: I went to see this movie because the trailer made me want to know what Uma Thurman was doing with a samurai sword. When, during the opening credits, I saw that Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba, who played ninjas like Hattori Hanzo and Yagyuu Jubei in the 1970's and 1980's was in the film, I thought I was in for a treat (when I lived in Torrance, California in the late 1980's, I watched Japanese TV with English subtitles every Saturday night, Chiba's shows included). I was mistaken. Chiba did make a great contribution by magnigificently choreographing the sword fights, but he also played Hattori Hanzo (descended from his TV character?) and quoted his speech about not fearing Buddha or the Devil from the _Yagyuu Conspiracy_ opening. But this "homage" gave me the impression that Tarantino had run out of ideas and turned to Japanese television to, uh, "borrow" some. Don't let Uma's wearing a Bruce Lee-style yellow jumpsuit fool you into thinking this film is about "kung fu." If you've seen enough Japanese TV, then you've seen _Kill Bill_, and, perhaps like me, you saw it before Tarantino made _Resevoir Dogs_.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning before you buy!
Review: Uma is gorgeous, and the action is good, but 35% of this movie is in Japanese with NO subtitles, and 20% of this movie is Anime. Very disappointed, BAD direction, this could have been condensed into 45 minutes of GOOD film, and both parts put on the same DVD. I will NOT be purchasing the sequel. With over 300 DVD's in my collection, this one was bad enough for me to write my first review.
Rating: 
Summary: i <3 kill bill!! lighten up you 1 star giving people
Review: I love this movie so much. I think that all of you who gave this movie only 1 or 2 stars is completely wrong. First off, you expected this to be so great and all since Pulp Fiction came out. You in your mind are just comparing it to Pulp Fiction, cause this movie was almost as good as Pulp Fiction to me. All of you are complaning about "dynamic charcters" are crap like that. Well guess what, If you were a bride at a wedding, your husband and baby got killed and you got shot in the head only to wake up four years later, you would want revenge right? You wouldn't change cause all you care about is revenge, and this to me was very realistic. And who cares if the gore was like a spray hose? I found it funny whenever someone died, and the gore with just awesome, and he wanted to make all these gorey fight scenes cause the movie gets more interesting.
The anime was also great, i thought that tarantino decided to try something new and so what if you didnt like it? It was still a creative way to play out the story. I mean what 11 year old girl is gonna act and pretend to shoot 3 guys, impale someguy, and sit under a bed while some woman dies ontop. I was also completely shocked when she killed "copperhead" in the beggining telling the daughter "you mother had it coming to her" By far the best scene was at the meeting with Lucy Liu, and the japanese man calling her something bad so she goes to kill him. If you want to see this movie, dont see it expecting it to be another pulp fiction, but another completely fresh movie as if pulp fiction never existed, then see how it is then.
Rating:
Summary: 25% Racist, 50% Plagiarized, 100% Trash
Review: Synopsis- Mysterious, beaten to near death 4 years prior for who knows what reason, angry white woman goes on an immediate killing spree for revenge, avenge or any other type of "venge" you can think of. Meanwhile she manages to master the Japanese language and samurai sword fighting (within a one-month stay in Okinawa), hey at least it took Tom Cruise almost a year. The film seems to be an attempt to bring back to life to old Shaw Bros kung-fu classics (SB logo in the beginning) however even Run Run Shaw himself would consider this a laugher. Problems- There is absolutely 0% character development. We don't know who Bill is or these other "Death Squad" women or their purpose in life, we don't know why they beat the crap out of Uma Thurmans character and tried to kill her some number of years ago, we don't know if she's a hero or a villain, we don't know how she remembers kung-fu after a 4 year coma (being unable to move and practice). We don't know why she is even still breathing. What we get is a woman on killing spree and will cut of the arms, legs, skull cap, spleen or any other severable body part of anyone who gets in her way, all she knows is violence and death even when killing a woman in front of her kid (Vivica Fox). "Most" of her victims are minorities which raises a "race" question about this movie. In the end we have a bunch of dead Asians most importantly Lucy Liu. Verdict- Due to the problems in the above paragraph I was begging for this movie to hurry up and end, non-stop unexplained killing and no character background stories being the icing on the cake.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, yes. A shame but it has to be seen....
Review: And for a start, another reviewer said that Tarantino only ever did a commentary for FROM DUCK TILL DAWN, whereas in fact he recorded a superb one for the director's cut of TRUE ROMANCE, which again he didn't direct. So perhaps he refuses to do commentary on just his own films. On the film, the soundtrack is superb, in fact I believe the soundtrack is better than the film, and it is a spectacular film, and from anyone but him it would be outstanding. But you shouldn't expect PULP FICTION and it isn't. Brash and bloody and even arrogant at times with the editing style (the b/w and color transition timed with Uma's blink for instance) it is worthy of repeat viewings but not in the same leafue as RD or JB. The DVD is boring and uneventful, rent this one until the SE comes out. The three stars here comes from probably a 4 for the movie and a two for the dvd.
Rating:
Summary: Killer "Bill"
Review: - Revenge is a dish best served cold. - Old Klingon Proverb "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." - O-ren Ishii and "The Bride" exchange a pop cultural reference (and a hint to "The Bride's" real name) before squaring off in "Kill Bill". Even before I saw this film back on 10/11/03, I had a strong feeling I was going to be owning "Kill Bill" on DVD, and I was right (I purchased it on 4/14/04!). One of the best films of 2003, Quentin Taratino's 4th film is, perhaps, one of, if not, his best film to date. Not as "quirky" as "Pulp Fiction" (still a great film though), "Kill Bill" is a justly violent revenge film that pays tribute to the chop-socky, grindhouse, exploitation films that graced drive-ins, and rundown theaters of the 1970's. A female assassin known as "The Bride" is setup on her wedding day, with her former employer "Bill" and his gang known as "The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad", killing her, and her friends on her supposed wedding day. "The Bride" miracously surivives and spends the next four years in a coma. She awakens to find her baby gone (she was pregnant at the time of the massacre), a hole in the left side of her head, (a permanent reminder courtesy of Bill) and a cold, blood chilling need for revenge. She does get her revenge, dispatching, former fellow employees, Vernita Green, and O-ren Ishii with her gang, "The Crazy 88's" led by Johnny Mo & Go-Go Yubari, with a vengeful wrath that would make Khan blush. This movie easily has "cult film" written all over it. The action is almost non-stop (the last 45 minutes alone is worth the 5 star rating). Tarantino is at the top of his game. His direction in this film is tight (the film moves from color, to black and white, to silhouette in the fight at The House of Blue Leaves with ease, the viewer is thankful for it, without being to jarring). The performances are great (the cast members who were a part of the "DiVA" squad went through some martial arts training for the film). If you've seen "Kill Bill Volume 2", watch this film again and you might see some subtle hints to the second film (the reference to "Trix" cereal hints at "The Bride's" real name, an eye pull during the final battle hints at Elle Driver's fate in "2" and notice in this film that when "The Bride" walks through the airport to get to The House of Blue Leaves check out the billboard in the background advertising Red Apple cigarettes. Does the woman look familiar? It should. Its Julie Dreyfus who plays Sofie Fatale). "The Bride", unfortunatly, doesn't kill Bill in this opening installment, but, there is always "Kill Bill Volume 2". Die-hard fans of the genre will not be dissapointed. As for the DVD, its a must own, but don't expect a lot of special features (a 20 min. making of segment, 2 music videos by the "5,6,7,8's", with trailers from other Tarantino films as well as trailers for "Kill Bill: Volumes 1 & 2"). Hopefully, with the release of "Kill Bill: Volume 2", Tarantino will release an ultimate "Kill Bill" edition in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: The Lost Art of Stylization
Review: Some may say this film is over-the-top or unbelievable. These comments are redundant in the same way that saying Picasso's representation of a woman crying was unbelievable. It is meant to be stylized, even abstracted for artistic effect. Aside from this, the storyline is very interesting and keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. I wait impatiently for the second to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Multi-Million Dollar Grandhouse Masterpiece
Review: Tarantino's lifelong ode to 1970s exploitation/drive-in/grind house films began with film noir (Reservoir Dogs) went through Blackploitation (Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown) and Zombie filx (his work on From Dusk to Dawn) and now we're up to the Kung Fu/Hong Kong years with KILL BILL VOL.1. When I first saw the film I was a little disappointed, especially as David Carradine and Michael Madson were billed as being in the film, but neither of them show up for very long. I bought the film on DVD, just to see it again before going to see vol. 2, and I liked it a lot better on the second round. I like Kung Fu films, but I never became as obsessed with them as I did over early splatter films and film noir, so I'm missing some of the jokes (for example, the short documentary on the DVD points out that the actor playing the sword maker is actually continuing a role he made famous on Japanese television). The criticism that this film is too light or pointless sounds a lot like the flipside of the criticism that JACKIE BROWN (which was a fine film) was too serious and not enough fun. Tarantino is never going to make PULP FICTION again, so everyone needs to get over it. PULP was an amazing moment where the right people came together with the right attitude and created a classic. I have no doubt that Tarantino will make something even greater, but it might take awhile. In the meantime we have KILL BILL VOL.1 (with Vol. 2 opening in the theatres as I write this, and Vol. 3 is bouncing around in Tarantino's mind). The weakest aspects of the film are Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui. Thurman just doesn't have much presence (compare the way Travolta and Jackson's careers exploded after PULP FICTION to Thurman's near disappearance) and Lucy Lui is beautiful to look at, but never really seems to raise to the call in this film (we'll have to wait a few years before Tarantino casts Chiaki Kuriyama, who plays the young, crazed asasasin Gogo, in a film- she steals every scene she appears in). KILL BILL is a fun homage to Asian cinema with touches of westerns and film noir mixed in for maximum violence. In the documentary on the DVD Tarantino talks about how he's trying to create a homage to the Kung Fu film the same way Spielberg and Lucas created their homage to matinee serials in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. This film was designed to be non-stop action, while Vol. 2 is supposed to be more character driven (like the director's other films). Overall, it's a good movie, and I while I might consider it #3 if I were ranking the four Tarantino films (I'm sure film just to remind everyone that he did NOT direct Natural Born Killers, True Romance, Desperado, From Dusk to Dawn, etc.) it's a lot more interesting than most popular action films (like the Die Hard series) and funnier than most attempts at comedy today (Old School comes to mind). For people who want to see PULP FICTION again, they should probably just watch PULP FICTION and forget about trying anything new. With all of that said, we all know the DVD will ultimately be a rip-off. After Vol.2 comes out you know there will be a special edition that will make this one seem pointless. Tarantino still hasn't put in a director's commentary track (the only one he has recorded was for FROM DUSK TO DAWN, and he didn't even direct that film) and the extras are just the short documentary, a couple of songs by The 5,6,7,8s (who I find unlistenable, and I love surf punk music) and trailers of the director's other films. This is a good disc of KILL BILL Vol.1, but it won't be your last.
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