Went to see this fourth Quentin Tarantino film, and I must tell you, it is a frigging mess of a movie. You have never seen so much blood and guts in 2 hours of visual entertainment. Limbs and heads get severed like every 30 seconds, so get used to it because the story is equally as severed as it meanders all over your visual cortex.

The fact that it is part one leads me to believe that part two is going to be equally messy, but hey, at least it will be consistently messy. Somewhere in this movie there is an actual plot having something to do with Uma Thurman surviving a wedding massacre and waking up 4 years later with a burning desire to "get even". So, as revenge motives go, the woman is pissed, but killing everyone she sees certainly tells you she is in need of some major mental health therapy.

The film uses every cliche ever invented in the martial arts genre', so you will not be seeing any new revolutionary story themes here. If I gave away the entire story, you wouldn't be missing much. The only difference between this film and the most low budget 1960's Hong Kong chop-socky movie is that the Director is famous and has added his peculiar "style" of movie making and color coordination. There is a pretty cool anime-like sequence that is a tad appropriate, but even in that, blood sprays like a garden hose. Other departures from reality include boarding airliners with katana in plain view. Not in this day and age, Quentin.

Lucy Liu is one of her victims, and the sword play is pretty good, but Uma is absent that gifted spark that only our girl Z has when it comes to swords. One day, Lucy and Z ought to get it on with sword in hand. That's going to be a treat.

Harvey Weinstein has his name all over this and it strikes me peculiar that he'd do that and ignore Hero, which is a thousand times better. One man's art is another man's comic book. Kill Bill is definitely comic book.

KILL BILL is QT dumped about $30 million into the Japanese and Chinese economies doing this project. Foreign aid, I guess.

Admittedly, it’s a homage to chop-socky (like Asians need one of those, haha.) Everyone already has a distorted idea of what Asians are all about. Steely little yellow butt-kickers/rice eaters. Killer women...sawed off dark Amazons with feet of fury. OK!

Face it, QT can get all the bux he needs to make these banal minor-pieces...cuz lovers of banality run the H-wood establishment. Kudos to Lucy Liu, though...it’s her element. Shame on Uma Thurman...she’s better than that, and this won’t help her with a badly needed comeback film.

Oh, well. I think I’ll go see this when it comes to the dollar movies.

Suprisingly this movie is actually pretty good, compare to the other films that we are left with these days.

I'm surprise that its so long that they have to break it into two parts.

I really want to see this movie. I liked Pulp Fiction because of QT's desire to make things that are serious, funny. He got away with all those things. The blood and gore doesn't really worry me. I've read too much about that. He's exaggerating it to the point where it just doesn't look real anymore and kind of goofy. Kill Bill wasn't meant to be serious all the time you know :D

chick with a katana seriously. Bushido white women. Haha.

Maybe a meat cleaver.

Actually,its hard to take anything hollywood does seriously.

Plus, I liked how QT had to go black and white in that fighting scene to avoid an NC-17 rating.

Uma Thurman got away with it :D I think this is her best acting ever (including the choreography). Yes, most women can't do the bushido woman role but I think Uma did what other women didn't, which is slicing and dicing. It's a revenge movie and the blood is an exaggeration, what did you expect?

QT used black and white and anime, I think that's cool. The music makes it better, I've heard some of the tracks.

While certainly bloody, I've certainly seen worse. Ichi The Killer or Battle Royale anyone?

I heard in Japan several of the more extreme scenes were kept in the movie. Maybe when the ultimate dvd of Kill Bill is released, the Western audiences can see what they missed out on.

My only beef is they are going to release both volumes are seperate dvd's. To be perfectly honest, who wants half of the story? Save your money and wait for the combined superior dvd, a la the extended editions of LOTR (why you would want the normal edition is beyond me).

Good movie. I think I'm going to see it again. Bye!

When both Volumes of Kill Bill come out, I'm definitely getting that! It'll probably come out later in the summer. I just ordered the Battle Royale comic and I've seen lots of screenshots of the movie, now THAT is bloody.

Last night I watched “Kill Bill.” Not only did I walk out of the theater feeling that I got my moneys worth for the $9.50 ticket price, but I walked away amazed at the visual feast I just experienced. Knowing then, what I know now, I would’ve gladly paid twice as much to see this film.

QT’s often imitated “Reservoir Dogs” is a classic, I wasn’t too fond of “Jackie Brown” (although I can appreciate aspects of it), his sophomoric effort “Pulp Fiction” may be his finest movie, but “Kill Bill” is a close second in my book. It seems from the comments in this thread that there’s a split in opinion here, but personally I thought it was well crafted. Every shot was obviously meticulously thought over in great detail and in the end carries equal weight giving the entire movie a sense of balance. Even the animated “O-Ren Flashback” sequence, that could’ve easily pulled the audience out of suspension, was handled in a way that I felt only added to the stylistic flare and stayed consistent with the overall look and feel of the movie.

The plot is a simple story of revenge, but its presentation left me the opposite of speechless. All I could talk about on the drive home was how incredible this movie was. If it doesn’t get nominated for Best Original Screenplay I’ll be shocked. Again…this is only my opinion. I’ve talked with friends that have seen the movie. Some think it’s okay, some loved it, some hated it. I’ve heard people say there’s too much flash and not enough substance, it’s like an expensive B-movie, it’s a martial arts cliché, it’s too gory, it’s unrealistic. The funny thing is, the reason why these people don’t like the movie is actually the reason I enjoyed it.

Cliché/B-movie? I’d like to think of it as homage. I’m a HUGE fan of Kurosawa. I’ve seen many of his movies and the one thing I especially like about his samurai movies (with the exception of “Ran”) is they’re shot in a spaghetti western style with a western soundtrack. It’s apparent that Kurosawa was an inspiration with the way Kill Bill was shot and also with some of the music that’s in the movie. The massive fight scene totally reminded me of the finale from “Seven Samurai”. And the fact that it was black and white even made it more so. The battle between O-Ren reminded me of the showdown in “Yojimbo.” QT successfully gives the classic Samurai/Spaghetti Western fusion a present day facelift.

Too Gory? The gore isn’t really “gore” at all the way I look at it. It’s over-the-top and completely stylized. The blood is water thin and shoots out like a geyser. It’s like watching live-action Anime! “Fist of the North Star” “Ninja Scroll” and “Blood” are a few examples of this type of “gore.” I absolutely loved it.

Unrealistic? Yup. It sure was. Everything about this movie was exaggerated, pulled, squished, and molded into a finished product that oozed slick. That oozed cool. That oozed style. Uma "willing" her legs to function. Hellz yeah she did! And she'll do it again if she has to. Uma on the plane with her “steel” sitting beside her. Come on! That just screams bad-ass! Without the Katana she’s just a passenger on a plane. With the Katana she’s a modern day Ronin out for revenge. O-Ren chopping that dudes head off with one swoop with a five foot high blood shower coming out of his neck. I’ll take two please! Actually...make that three. Uma against 50 highly trained Yakuza assassins. Bring it on!! Ya'll ain't got nothin' on Uma!

In the end. Yes, I would’ve paid twice as much to watch “Kill Bill” but I’m glad I only spent $9.50. That just means I still have $9.50 to watch it again! And rest assured that not only will I, but I’ll also be waiting with extreme anticipation for Volume 2.

Lastly...
Nice new sig ZZBootleg! :D

You know a lot of QT’s ideas are not his. Much of his earlier work is really a collaboration of him, Elmore Leonard, video store fellow employees, etc. He takes most of the credit...and he can have it.

PULP FICTION wasn’t that good. RESEVOIR DOGS was shocking...but not that good. TRUE ROMANCE is my favorite QT treatment. JACKI BROWN has the great Robert Forester driving it. My other favorite is NATURAL BORN KILLERS, which he had a little bit to do with.

This thing borrows much from LONE WOLF & CUB, which is the quintessential revenger. Especially in tone. LW & Cub is proof that Asians do Asian stuff better.

I’m still a story man, and I don’t think he does that well.

I also think he’s sick. A sick man. Hahahaha.

Thanks jamiii! :D

I agree with you about Kill Bill as well. I watched the movie and came out of the theater in awe! I think the bloody scenes were funny, stylized, and exaggerated, the anime was cool, and the black and white/silhouette transitions made it even better! Uma Thurman gets my vote for Best Actress, if she ever gets nominated. She successfully pulled off the "samurai warrrior chick" and she kicks arse! I loved this movie! Sonny Chiba did a good job too! Tarentino is a great director. I personally liked Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs was okay. Some of the filming from Reservoir Dogs was in my town! Oh yeah, the humor and references were very noticeable for me, haha. I enjoyed this movie! :clap: I have to watch Jackie Brown and True Romance too.

What surprised me is that Sonny Chiba was funny in this movie. He is usually way to serious in his movies, like Jet Li.

Miramax would have released it here in the States. There’s a lesson there, I think. Haha. I think Miramax knows what Americans want to look at.

I thought Kill Bill would do a little better at the box office. You have to wonder what word of mouth will do for it. Seems like people love it or hate it...like CTHD.

Most of the viewers who’ve seen it want everyone to see it.

Originally posted by Brainchild
Maybe if HERO was a little more over the top..

I hope you're being facetious. "HERO" was one of the best movies of 2002...plain and simple. 'Nuff said. The fact that there are only two scenes that even physically show blood is a testimate to Yimou's artistry. Those two scenes are powerful and hold more weight because of the use of blood.

If it's true that most Americans don't want to watch this type of movie, or at least if Miramax thinks that's the case, then screw them both. I respect Yimou for making the movie HE wanted to make and I wouldn't want to have seen "HERO" presented in any other way. "Kill Bill" is an incredible experience because of what it is, and vice versa. Taking aspects of one and fusing it with the other would've been catastrophic.

Ziyi’s HuLi in RH2.

QT would have seen that and liked her.

I liked her voice. Her voice was perfect. I think that mace wasn’t scary at all. I would have given GoGo a pair of pink, pearl handle 45’s. Like that guy had in FACE OFF.

Go Go Yubari had that kind of behavior Hu Li had in RH2, except she didn't have a chain with a ball on it and razor blades :laugh: I've read the script to Kill Bill and they cut several written parts off from the movie to prevent from being too violent.

Instead of having "The Bride" smash a wooden leg w/nails on Go Go's head (causing her eyes to bleed and collapse with the leg stuck in her head), QT wanted The Bride to take the ball and chain and smash her face open. That alone sounds a bit too graphic to show on film.

Just watched Battle Royale last night. Actually, it wasn't as bloody as I expected. Interesting movie though. Definitely entertaining and I found it a unique twist on "Lord of the Flies."

I just bought the novel of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. Now I have 600 pages to read :D

Be sure to let us know how it was after you finish reading the book.

Sure thing! It will take me at least a week to read the whole thing, that's if I want to read 200 pages a day or less. I couldn't put the book down when I read the first 10-20 pages... I'm going to read it now :D

Oh yeah, about Kill Bill: You Zhangsters should watch this movie! It's great!

How appropriate; KILL BILL got thumped at the box office by none other than THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Now we need a film called THE SALINAS VALLEY PTA SLAUGHTER to knock off TEXAS CHAINSAW.

What’s the film world coming too? Hahahahahaha.

sicko.

And Britney Spears sold 12 million albums once. When will you people learn, its not how many like you, its who likes you.

I’m mystified. I can’t seem to see her talent.

Her syncronized dancing is out of sync. Her buzzy little voice has no dynamic at all.

Bless her, she seems a bit chubby.

Is she still a diva? Is it me? I thought she was cute in the Pepsi ads. Now...I dunno.

She is a talentless mediocre looking chick. What was the big deal? 1998-present, what a sad state of music.


However, look at this site, what a hottie hey. Remember The Crying Game?

http://mirrored.flabber.nl/britney.lookalike/

I agree that Britney Spears has no talent; she just has the looks, sort of. That link was scary, that girl does look like Britney Spears.

Since I don’t think she’s (Britany) very pretty, he doesn’t look any more appealing to me.

I would hope he could sing...or shake his booty a little better.

Kill Bill is going to be released in Japan tomorrow, the 24th. Now I can imagine Japanese teens dressed up in tuxedos and masks or any garb of some sort :laugh:

http://www.ziyifilms.com/zpost/data/523/19a_uma.jpg

Umm...what movie is she in? Hahaha. She’s well trained.

Speaking of hands. Uma has the most beautiful hands I’ve ever seen on a woman. I want her hands to bind my wounds. Can’t say the same for her feet. She has monkey feet.

A-ha, she mastered the sword! That's a pic from Vol. 2 am I right? She does have nice hands :D

is it kung fu? Both? Niether? What exactly is she doing there? Hahaha. Check out that kung fu hand signal...(left hand.)

I suspect this is Tarrantino-cinema-bushi-fu. Let the blade fall where it will and on whom.

I wouldn’t mind if she lost her feet in one of those Yakusa battles.

LAST SAMURAI.

I think I’m seeing some pretty authentic looking Samurai fighting techniques.

I was doing some research on Japanese firearms of WW2 and found a place where they described training techniques for officers where they would use their swords in close combat instead of their unreliable Nambu pistols.

I always thought those swords were ceremonial in WW2.

It will be Cruise versus Crowe at the Oscars next year. My money is on Tommy.

but he looks exactly like a rough and ready version of RAINMAN Tom Cruise. I hope that isn’t an impediment to his winning.