Rating: 
Summary: Smile
Review: Yes, there is a point when you ask "Does no one own a gun?". But you do leave feeling your time spent in the theater was worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Grind House Grind
Review: The movie had me with its opening, rolling the very-70's "Feature Presentation" intro. But the scenes where Uma wasn't slicing up Matrix amounts of bad guys were pretty slow.The violence was so over-the-top that the movie, at times, played like a parody of Kung Fu films, something on the level of the "Fistful of Yen" sequence from the hilarious KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE. The other scenes were played so straight that it took the wind out of the momentum. If the characters had been as interesting as those in PULP FICTION, this movie would've been a home run (and I don't mean the exact characters, just more developed in their own Tarantino way). The great thing about the PULP characters was that you couldn't imagine a more wildy diverse group of people interacting.
In KILL BILL, characters exists to chop each other into bits. If a love story is here, I think it's Quentin's ongoing love affair for Uma Thurman's feet. Uma's tootsies were the first thing we saw in PULP FICTION (following a debate between Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta about foot massages). Tarantino actually has Salma Hayek's bare foot in his mouth in the horrible FROM DUSK TIL DAWN and Robert De Niro, under Tarantino's direction, appears to spend a lot of time staring at Bridgette Fonda's toes in JACKIE BROWN.
In KILL BILL 1, Uma actually appears to have a conversation with her bare feet early in the film and a barefoot Japanese girl band performs before the final massacre.
All of this reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where a filmmaker with enormous buck teeth makes film after film--and everyone in his films have monstrous buck teeth! I wanted to like this movie more.
But the movie made that a little difficult.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the film it was printed on
Review: "Kill Bill" absolutely sucked! And this is coming from someone who loved "Pulp Fiction". Please don't waste your precious time and money on it. It was beyond boring and the acting was embarassingly bad. I feel sorry for Tarantino. "Kill Bill" seems like a desparate attempt to recapture the intensity he had with "Pulp Fiction" but with this one he failed miserably.
Rating: 
Summary: Colorful & Brilliant, 'KBv.1' is Tarantino through & through
Review: Remember watching late-night Saturday Kung-Fu Theatre as a kid, and lying there with the lights out thinking how great it would be if these films could be on every night? (Uhm...or maybe that was just me). But watching this DVD put me back in that place during my youth when I admired characters with a code of honor, and where villains, having their own stories to tell, reciprocated that same level of code.
Quinton Tarantino's film, 'Kill Bill Vol.1', is a rare triumph in cinema, as is it's creator, who, it seems, is one of the few in Hollywood today who has the vision to create unique, and brilliant motion pictures.
Tarantino's quirky, fast paced, dialogue is ever present in 'Kill Bill,' and although the film is not like his previous gritty mosaics where the characters carry guns (Katanas are the desired instruments of death in this film), 'Kill Bill' is still very similar stylistically. Do not be mislead. This is not a watered-down Tarantino flick by any means. In fact, 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' may be his bloodiest film to date.
In 'Kill Bill Vol.1' we come to know Uma Thurman only as "The Bride," a former member of The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad who has been victimized by the very same group on the day of her wedding. "The Bride," however, survives the massacre, and after coming out of a four year coma, she realizes that not only has she been the victim of a horrific event by the same people she once worked with, but that she has also lost the child she was carrying in her belly up to that day. The seeds of revenge are inexorably planted.
The events that follow are an amalgam of Kurosawa, Wu Tang, Troma, and Sergio Leone. Tarantino is a master of stylization, and should not be considered a plagiarizer, as I have heard so many critics label him as. If that were the case, then every well-known writer, director, creator, artist, etc., is guilty of plagiarism.
If you enjoyed 'Kill Bill' in theatres, then you will be pleased to know that the DVD not only delivers the film in wonderful clarity, but its special features make a wonderful addition as well. 'The Making of Kill Bill Vol.1' is well made and gives you a perspective as to the layers of work it took to produce the film. The bonus musical performance by "The 5,6,7,8's" was a nice touch. The movie trailer portion was the only aspect of the DVD that left me wanting more. While the trailers for "Kill Bill Vol.1" were fine, the back cover of the DVD is a bit deceptive in the sense that it does not actually include the trailer to Vol. 2, but simply a 30 second teaser; which provided no anticipatory scenes from the coming film. I figured it would make sense to provide an adequate trailer, considering the DVD was released only two days prior to the theatrical release of Vol.2.
There aren't any major inserts in the box; just a film synopsis and background to its creation. However, the 'Kill Bill' action figure and miscellaneous movie memorabilia insert definitely caught my eye.
This film is many things. I have often heard or read comments accusing Tarantino of making unintelligent work, but I cannot disagree more. There is a reason why Tarantino has such a loyal following, and why many, including his staunchest critics, flock to the theatres to see his films (I will make a prediction that this film comes in at #1 for box office revenue this weekend and next weekend as well, if not the week after that too). Tarantino's films are filled with real people, who act and speak like real people, and are put into situations that allow them to make decisions like you and I. Sure, his scenes or locations may be a little grandiose, lofty, and high-flown, but they are bold, cleverly thought up, and are intended to entertain.
'Kill Bill Vol.1' is colorful, bold, and brilliant. This is NOT one of those movies you rent (I would tell you if it were... just check out my other postings coming soon). I recommend that you see this film, and that you PURCHASE this DVD. Who knows, maybe you might be home one Saturday night and have the urge to put something on that makes you reminisce to the things you enjoyed in your youth (Uhm...or is it still just me?).
Rating:
Summary: A Modern Day Alfred Hitchcock
Review: I have been an avid fan of QT's from "Dusk Till Dawn"-lol.I think that his directing style can only be compared with the late great Alfred Hithcock in that his movies require a certain I.Q., many people have several complaints(violence,complicated plots,et.all).My reply to these complaints would be 1- if you have moral objections to violence via visual entertainment-watch religious TV only, and quit bothering others with that holier than thou crap.2- to those that the plots are too busy for my advice is to either watch Disney Movies, or Jerry Springer-lol. I hope that this personnal review doesn't step on too many toes, but if it does-THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.Kudos to QT,and to all of his loyal fans. KEEP IT COMING-QT!
Rating:
Summary: What a geek.....
Review: I think the director's mind of this movie is very distrubed because only a unbalanced mind could have conceived this movie where people die terrible deaths and try and make it to be funny or something. This is trash pure and simple, nothing else.
Rating:
Summary: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, and boring, violent and stupid.
Review: I had been told by a friend that this was a "great movie or even one of the best movies of last year" and that it was action packed, funny, but that it was very violent. After hearing this but reading some positive reviews I went out and paid my $20 for the DVD thinking that it had to be at least decent. In the past I thought that Pulp Fiction was ok and I had really liked From Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado was good but after an hour of trying to like this movie and giving it more than a fair chance I could hardly watch another minute of it. I learned nothing in the first hour that made me want to watch any more nor did I care about any of the characters. It seemed as though Tarantino had cut and pasted clips and themes from past movies along with ones from other movies to throw together this messy "wanna be" martial arts spoof. I really cannot understand how some of the other reviewers could call this movie anything but a boring, violent, stupid waste of time but I guess some people can't get enough of this kind of thing. For some people the plot and story don't really matter and its the shock value that they like. This type of action may have been appropriate and even funny in films made years ago like in the quirky vampire spoof film From Dusk Till Dawn. However it really is time for Tarantino to progress, evolve, and get away from this same silly plot of sudden shock scenes while the audience sits back with oohs and ahhs and tries to figure out how and why all the wierd action fits into some supposedly genius developing plot that we have seen a hundred times before in other films of this type. At this point I don't care anymore how all the killing and violence fits into the story. I already see enough real killing and violence from watching the nightly television news programs. If you waste and hour of my time and I still don't care about any of the characters in the movie then another hour or more is not going to do anything more for me. The last movie I struggled through like this was Vanilla Sky which was two hours of a painful mind torturing film to find out that none of what you had watched made any difference and you could have just watched the last 15 minutes and skipped the rest of the movie. Movie watchers now expect more than the same old garbage from past films and this film just doesn't cut it anymore (no pun intended). This is the type of film that makes Hollywood look bad and it deserves negative criticism. Even worse is that this kind of film keeps people like me away from similarly hyped movies and forces me to be much more cautious about my future DVD purchases. I rate this film two stars more than my most recently disliked film (Vanilla Sky, I rated minus one star) and so I give this film a SINGLE STAR for at least showing some interesting camera work. Beyond the fancy camera work and action editing in some of the scenes I highly recommend that you save your money and your time and try a different movie. Better yet if you want to see this Tarantino style of movie done the right way I recommend that you watch any one of Tarantino's previously inspired films that he worked on such as Desperado, Once Apon A Time in Mexico, From Dusk Till Dawn, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Tarantino is Back with a Vengeance
Review: Although I feel that Quentin Tarantino's reputation as of the the best directors of his generation might be overblown, I still can not deny the fact that his films have offered me great enjoyment in their unique and original style and very smart writing. I found Pulp Fiction to be his best, while I thought Reservoir Dogs was certainly ambitious but not the masterpiece that it was made up to be, being too gratuitously violent for my own personal taste, while Jackie Brown was certainly a disappointment. So it is with some interest that I watched Kill Bill, not knowing what to expect and what surprises were in store, typical of Tarantino's writing.
And yes I did enjoy the film very much, yet I had some reservations too.
The film is a delight to watch, and is crammed with homages, from Kung Fu films,David Carradine, Westerns, Japanese Yakuza movies to Japanese animation, and it really looked like Tarantino,similar to a child running loose in a toy store, was enjoying himself immensely with all the ideas and tributes that drives him as a director and as a first rate movie buff.
The success of the film is in telling a very simple story of revenge and dressing it with various styles to animate and liven it far beyond its basic premise.
The film was too violent and gory but in a totally different way: it was hilarious..Not unlike Sam Raimi's Army Of Darkness, the violence was too overblown as to render it comical rather than disturbing, especially the main fight scene towards the end, when Thurman manages to kill dozens of swarming gang members..
My reservations about the film is the slightly pretentious air that hovers over the movie..The credits informs us in bold letters that it is the 4th film by Tarantino..and the idea of the main character was by QT (!!)..Moreover, stretching as I mentioned a very simple story into two films was a bit over indulgent.This is why when I left the theater, and despite enjoying all the hidden goodies of the film, I just did not feel any lasting connection to it.
Uma Thurman was as good as you expect her to be under the direction of a very sympathetic director like Tarantino, and Lucy Liu was particularly suited for the tough Yakuza boss role.
Kill Bill is still a very good film that you will enjoy very much, more so if you do not dwell a lot on the 'genius and masterpiece' behind it all..Just a well directed and scripted film from a talented director who loves cinema's geniuses and masterpieces.
Rating:
Summary: Hey, it's just fun!
Review: I'll admit I was a bit reserved about seeing this movie. The last few movies people were hyped out were also movies that disappointed me. However, once this movie kicked in half-way through I found myself hooked in and enjoying myself the whole way through! Most "white people in an strange land" movies follow a cliche, formulaic story that does little except bore the audience. "Kill Bill," on the other hand, take such a concept and does new things with it. This is because Quentin Tarantino moves not to take his movie seriously. Do I consider this the greatest Tarantino film ever? No. Do I consider this a bad film? Of course not! This round Tarantino takes his odd sense of humor, as well as endless knowledge of movies barely any body's ever heard of, and puts it to good use. The storyline consists of Uma Thurman, a bride who's wedding was interrupted by a group assassins, coming out of a coma and planning to reprimand her enemies, including the man of the title character. She seeks training from a Japanese swordsmith (none other than Sonny Chiba) and with her new enhanced skill she sets out to get the first two people on their list. I have to admit it's here that I really enjoyed the film. The first hour was typical Quentin Tarantino with his trademark dialogue (characters speaking ghetto one second, using words like "beseech" the next), but here it takes a stylized approach. It also starts to take itself less seriously, and provides lots and lots and lots of sword slicing action. And lots and lots of blood. Ever noticed that pool was clear before the fight...? Many people have complained "This movie rips off other films!" Well, yes and no. Yes, there are homages to other films in here...but no, it's more so you can sit through the movie and think, "Oh yeah I've seen that film!" The scene where Uma Thurman spanks a young Yakuza is taken right out of "Yojimbo." The music they play when Uma Thurman first sees O-Ren-Ishii (and even that flashing red lights they play over her eyes when she sees one of the villains) is taken from the Western "Death Rides a Horse" (which was also about revenge). Also, the scene where Lucy Liu kills a racist member of her group is actually taken from a Japanese film where the heroine kills a dissenting member of her Yakuza clan (the line the actress used in the scene was what made the young Japanese actress famous and became her catch phrase). Knowing Quentin Tarantino there are probably about a thousand other references I haven't mentioned. Because of all these references I consider this some thing Quentin Tarantino did just for fun, not to make any artsy film like he did in "Reservoir Dogs." However, don't mistake me - I loved this film! If you want a good laugh and some actually really good action, then I suggest you check this movie out.
Rating:
Summary: R.I.P. American Cinema.
Review: If this is the kind of film that a so-called great American filmmaker can come up with, then I'm sorry to say that American Cinema is now officially dead. Once a flourishing art form that produced such great visionaries as Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, Tarrence Malick, Stephen Spielberg, Francis Ford Coopola, Clint Eastwood, John Ford, etc, have now beeen reduced to sensationalism and nonsense storytelling.
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