Kill Bill Vol. 1

Oh yeah... and the soundtrack is absolutely killer👍

To felt like twenty bucks down the drain... someone told me when I left the theater, "That's just Tarantino for you. You either love him or you don't." Apparently, I'm not a fan. 👎

And I honestly don't get the hype... if you all think it's brilliant that the foundation of a samurai showdown in Japan is actually a Spanish musical—fine, be my guest. It makes zero sense to me... just give me one example of those "artistic" ambiguities you keep talking about.

Douglas Phillips4 said:I honestly don't get it... if you guys think having Spanish music playing during a samurai showdown in Japan is some stroke of genius... just say so. It makes zero sense to me. Just give me one example of these "artistic nebulas" you're talking about.

"Artistic"? Good Lord, save me. It’s not like I went to see this movie looking for deep artistic value. The reason I thought the Spanish music was cool during that samurai showdown in Japan is simply because hearing Spanish music during a samurai showdown in Japan is cool. That's it. I wasn't looking for anything more than that.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 😎
and the same goes for madness, art, and entertainment...
That’s just my take on it, and I have no desire to debate it any further.😉

Honestly, Tarantino should stick to writing dramas instead of action flicks—just pure dialogue. It’s like how Almodovar takes twenty years to drop his masterpiece, maybe something like Talk to Her, while Tarantino just breezes through it in thirty seconds. 😁 😁
And where did those legendary dialogues go? You know, stuff like "Pigs are filthy animals"?
He’s basically the American Dušan Kovačević, but he’s messing around with action movies now. You guys are being way too soft on him—probably because of Foxy Brown. Like critics have already said, this would’ve been an incredible film if he hadn't made Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction first; right now, it feels kind of formulaic.
I get it, though—Hollywood probably got to his head, just like it did with Metallica. Back when he was working at the video store and obsessively devouring movies, he had the time to obsess over every little detail. That’s why we got True Romance and Pulp Fiction, but here, those nuances just aren't there.
I don't think Tarantino is trying to reinvent the wheel or make some big artistic statement with this one. He just doesn't want to waste time digging deep for that old Tarantino vibe—because honestly, even this version of him is good enough to pay the bills and live a comfortable life.
I've seen True Romance about 20 times, and Pulp Fiction maybe just as many, if not more. But how many times am I actually going to sit through Kill Bill? That is the question.
Quentin totally played you guys, and you swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker.
You people... who can't see... you'll eventually realize...
😁 😁 😁

The movie is phenomenal, obviously, obviously, obviously
but the enthusiasm is totally scaled back to just being impressed by a fastball (though it’s still massive enthusiasm)
and besides, Tarantino is just a man; you can't escape Hollywood

Mystikal said:Watched the movie today... honestly, just pure boredom, especially that scene where that typical girl gets jumped by a hundred people in a hall and then naturally defends herself... all that nonsense. The plot itself was dull, barely any excitement. Total trash, a huge disappointment.👎

I'm with you there. The plot feels disjointed and it’s just way too kitschy. Definitely not my cup of tea.

I said I was done posting here—but 😁
this actually gave me a laugh.

The most hyped movie out there: it practically has to carry the title "Kill Bill, Vol. 1." Look, we all know Tarantino is good, but the sheer excess of it is just too much. You couldn't even crack open a jar of pâté without Uma popping out of it in that yellow tracksuit.

😂
link

Mallik said:This movie is living proof that Tarantino's prime is officially behind him.
Throwing in some references to this genre or that one, splashing blood everywhere, cutting in pieces... honestly, I could come up with at least 15 better ways to pull off that kind of mockery.
So, if the whole point of the flick is just to mess around, then in my book, the messing around is just plain lazy.

Maybe he can scrape by with a sequel.

Hear, hear. Why does everyone act like mixing genres is some kind of valid argument for a positive review? Since when is that a sufficient reason for actual quality? An homage to Bruce Lee movies?? Okay, sure, but where is the actual substance in this film?? It’s got a few decent bits and that's about it... everything else is just pure filler. We all love watching a good fight scene, but after a while, you just get fed up. It's true that Tarantino parodies whatever pops into his head, but that doesn't mean the parody actually lands. Ugh, "I've outdone myself"—what a total cliché. IMHO, the only thing he's outdone is his own decline.

Oh, and yeah, Lucy Liu is gorgeous. (But wow, what a shocker, right?)🙂

To me, the quality of Kill Bill boils down to the fact that I actually enjoyed the movie. That’s really all there is to it. There's no deep science involved here, and I have no interest in forcing a rationalization for my own subjective experience. For me, the film was about two hours of humorous action—nothing more, nothing less.

I get this impression that people nowadays are desperately trying to manufacture some kind of logical justification for what is essentially a purely personal reaction. They try to frame their opinions as if they were universal truths. "Tarantino has lost his touch," "He's on the decline," "Where is the cinematic quality?" It seems rather absurd to pose such serious questions about a film that isn't meant to be taken seriously in the first place.

I honestly don't understand why everyone is getting so worked up over this. Why can't you just go to the theater because the pacing and the dialogue feel good, watch it, and then simply state your emotional response? You shouldn't need heavy-duty analysis or an attempt to decipher exactly what the writer intended to say and whether or not he succeeded. Granted, there are movies where that kind of analysis is vital, but out of all the intellectual cinema out there, how did we end up debating *Kill Bill* like this, for heaven's sake?
Anyway, to each their own.

<shrugs>

So, I finally sat down and watched the movie today (am I just some prehistoric caveman or what?), and honestly? I was pretty indifferent. It wasn't exactly a masterpiece, but it wasn't total trash either—it just didn't hit the mark for me, especially considering how much hype the studio pumped into the marketing campaign. The cast was great, though. Specifically Madsen—he didn't have a ton of screen time, but man, that face just rules!!

It looks like after all these posts, the audience has split into two camps: people who had a childhood like QT's, and everyone else who just settled for whatever other entertainment was available...
I definitely fall into that first group. Back when the Garibaldi theater in Rhode Island was still a thing, I’d go see every possible martial arts movie imaginable with a friend and my old man (whenever he was bored)... man, I grew up on that kind of shlock... read every ninja novel out there, fell in love with Japanese culture and all that, and then eventually grew up and forgot most of it...
...then I go to the movies with a girlfriend to see Kill Bill and walk out feeling totally enlightened...
That whole poetic vibe during the final showdown between The Bride and O-something... with that dedication to the samurai duel, I haven't seen anything like it in any movie... not even in Japanese cinema. That moment where Lucy Liu gets insulted by Uma and she snaps because of the disrespect? That is the absolute peak of the movie...
To all you "intellectuals" whining about exaggeration—did you even notice that none of the fights Uma leads against any enemy, no matter how many are surrounding her, last more than three or four strikes or blocks?... QT respects the rules and codes of a samurai—ninja duel...
The way the master hands over the sword and how she takes it shows that QT hasn't just watched stuff, but actually studied the culture of the blade, because they depict the sword transfer ritual perfectly. The whole scene, including the master's dialogue with God, basically implies that seppuku is coming next...
...QT turned out to be a genius again... he paid attention to the tiny details... he used kitsch as an artistic form (intentional overkill) rather than accidental kitsch, which is just unintentional, bad, gross, and desperate.
He pulled it off through framing, color, and camera work (which hasn't always been his strongest suit), putting us in a spot where we're sitting on the edge of our seats for nearly two hours, wanting to grab a katana ourselves and jump into the screen like a bridesmaid...

Don't get me wrong, QT isn't my favorite director—I respect his cynicism and those editing twists in the story. He's a true postmodernist (mouse-mouse house). But now he's made something that borders on poetry; it's brutal for the aunties, stupid for the naive types, and absolutely genius for the open-minded crazies.

My only real gripe is with Anima—the drawing, or rather the framing, feels a bit too modern, leaning more toward Western cartoons or comics... but I'll forgive him.
...and honestly, you guys are starting to annoy me with this endless chatter about the soundtrack--- this is a movie, not a pair of headphones. As a standalone album, the soundtrack is mediocre because it lacks the visual context, making it feel boring and unorganized... but in the movie, it hits perfectly, as always, because music is huge for Tarantino and he uses it so well to add psychological depth to the situations and characters...

...now I'm just dreading the sequel because I'll end up forgetting parts of the first one while waiting for a miracle that never happens... the creators should have stood up to the producers and the studio and just released the film in a shed. Screw the Americans and their nonsense about how a movie shouldn't run longer than three hours...

Frank Baker2 said:It looks like after all these posts, the crowd has basically split into two groups: people who had a childhood shaped by QT—and everyone else who just settled for whatever other entertainment was out there... right?
I’m definitely part of that first group. Back when the Garibaldi theater in Rhode Island was still actually running, I used to head there as a kid with my buddy and my old man—whenever he was feeling bored—just to catch whatever random karate movies were playing... man, I basically grew up on that kind of shlock. I devoured every ninja novel I could get my hands on, fell in love with Japanese culture and all that stuff, and then... well, grew up and forgot it all.
So, I head to the theater with a buddy to catch Kill Bill—and honestly? I walk out feeling enlightened.
The poetry of that final showdown between the Bride and O-something—with that whole tribute to the samurai duel—is honestly like nothing I've seen in any movie... not even in Japanese cinema. That moment when Lucy Liu takes those hits from Uma and she just snaps at him with that total disrespect? That’s the absolute peak of the film for me.

If you think that fight scene is basically the peak of Japanese culture or whatever, then you’re pretty easy to impress. I see you think you’re one of the rare ones who grew up on kung-fu movies—but honestly? I was born in '75. I feel like everyone born in '75, or even a bit earlier like back in '70, was basically forced to spend their childhood watching kung-fu flicks. It warms my heart just thinking about those days, sure—but that doesn't mean I think Tarantino is some genius artist just because he dedicated a movie to them.
Maybe if Jarmusch hadn't filmed the put samurai—well, I don't know—but after that one, I doubt anyone could ever actually fascinate me with the whole samurai thing again.

dustyscout53 said:I was born in 1975. I assume everyone born in '75, or even a bit earlier—say up to 1970—was basically forced to spend their childhood watching kung-fu movies. It warms my heart just thinking about it, but I don't think Tarantino is some transcendent genius just because he dedicated one of his movies to them.
Maybe if Jarmusch hadn't filmed the put samurai... After that movie, I highly doubt anyone could actually fascinate me with the whole samurai theme again.

But dustyscout53, not everyone was born in 1975. As someone who was (unfortunately) born a few years later, I don't quite "get" kung-fu movies in that way where they "warm your heart" while watching them... Honestly, Tarantino is the only one who managed to "warm my heart" when it comes to kung-fu and stuff like that.
It’s not that I didn't watch those movies as a kid, but they never really did anything for my soul.

boldeagle3 said:Look, dustyscout53, not everyone was born in 1975. Personally—to my own misfortune—I was born a few years later, and I just don't get kung fu movies the way they apparently "warm your heart." Tarantino is pretty much the only one who’s managed to do that for me when it comes to the whole martial arts vibe.
I'm not saying I didn't watch those flicks as a kid, but they never exactly "warmed my heart."

I think he was actually talking about the guys. I don't recall girls ever being particularly into kung fu movies, aside from the usual crowd of teenagers hanging out by the theater sidewalks.

banderas said:I think he was actually talking about the guys... I don't recall any girls ever getting worked up over kung fu movies, aside from the usual group of local kids hanging out in front of the theater waving around their snack bags and being loud.

Well, I wasn't talking about "girls"... I was talking about myself. 😛

Visually, the guy absolutely nailed it. He took that stripped-back, minimalist aesthetic you see in Japan—you know, the motifs, the clean scenes, that specific vibe—and mashed it up with Western pop-glitz, all those loud colors and heavy contrasts. It’s such a smooth way to blend two totally opposite worlds.

Also, if you've read even a single page of actual Japanese samurai literature, the dialogue hits home. It’s a super sharp, precise reflection of the put samurai...
The choreography? Man, it shows how much he actually respects the ritual of the duel. Like, the whole thing with taking off the sandals—kind of a nod to that scene with O-Ren in the ninja flick, but here he keeps that true samurai discipline in the fight itself. (Classic QT, honestly... always stitching together things that shouldn't work together). Even that moment where O-Ren apologizes for being so arrogant...

See, the put samurai is a completely different animal. He’s actually questioning whether a samurai can even exist in a modern ninja role as a hired hitman...

Meanwhile, QT is just playing around with all these visual and dialogue clichés—all that karate movie stuff they shoved into our heads—but he looks at them through a lens that isn't just some cheap imitation. Like, why the sudden shift from red to blue in the color palette? Why the Japanese garden? There's more to it than meets the eye...
You basically have to be a total idiot not to start seeing these elements in a whole new light. And Tarantino definitely is... he's the kind of guy who crafts intentional, stylized trash just to pull off this deep artistic interrogation of old tropes... or, hey, maybe you can just watch it as a straight-up, linear, bloody good time with over-the-top fights...

Frank Baker2, man, I love responses like this. 👍
Now, if I actually wanted to go toe-to-toe with you, I’d have to sit through the put samurai ten times just to figure out what parts of it really hit—you know? Honestly, it feels like Jarmusch took a much bigger bite out of that whole samurai vibe in his version than Tarantino did. Not that that was ever Tarantino's intention, obviously.
Tarantino loves playing with genres—just mashing things together that shouldn't work... To me, that seems way easier than the path Jarmusch takes.
If Tarantino and Jarmusch went head-to-head? Jarmusch wouldn't stand a chance. Tarantino would just pull a hidden pistol and end it. Way easier than mastering a katana, right?
And back to that linearity thing—I mean, you can't really watch a movie non-linearly. For me, that hospital scene is pure Tarantino, the Pussy Wagon is Tarantino, maybe a few other bits... but there's just not enough of him left in this one. It's missing those iconic scenes and those killer monologues. You see, Tarantino usually tells a story from the end to the beginning, but it looks like he's doing that with his career too. He should probably start making movies in reverse order.

Look, sorry, but that hospital scene? T. was definitely paying homage to Almodovar, and he basically admitted it. He just cranked up the theme and the colors to make it extra, you know? But that gut feeling stays the same. It all plays out for maybe 5 or 10 minutes. Honestly, who did it better? I don't even know. I love Spanish cinema, but damn, this hits pretty close to home regarding stuff happening today...

And the way people talk in a Tarantino flick isn't linear at all. It’s not beginning to end; it’s more like jumping into the middle, moving forward a bit, then looping back... that’s exactly why Pulp Fiction won over the critics along with so many other movies...

T. isn't exactly the type to shoot deep philosophical masterpieces like Van Trien or Bergman, Tarkovsky, or Woody... but hey, if you view him through that postmodern lens (which, unfortunately, is kind of the dominant worldview right now), then it totally works.
Basically, it's one big beautiful mess... as long as it smells good and looks great, hopefully it tastes good to at least some people...

;-)

All I'm trying to say is that this isn't some stupid or bad movie. It actually holds up and feels really intentional... though I'm keeping the possibility open that he completely screws it up in part two...

Buck: Well, aren't you exactly the little cutie everyone promised me. Well Ma'am, I'm from Longview, Texas, my name's Buck, and I'm here to fuck.

The bride: Your name's Buck, right? And you came to fuck, right?

One word: G E N I A L. 👍