Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (10/10): Tarantino's Masterpiece.

“Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest, And like a forest it's easy to lose your way... To get lost... To forget where you came in.”

The year was 2003, my friends and I wanted to check out a movie and despite not knowing much about film back then, we decided Kill Bill seemed like an interesting choice. I’ll never forget what an amazing experience I had that day as I was being introduced to Quentin Tarantino’s wacky and bizarre characters. I had only heard of his other films but had never watched them so this language was new to me. No one writes characters like Quentin Tarantino does and perhaps that is why I have more affection for this film than I do Pulp Fiction (although I absolutely love it as well) since it was my introduction to his mind. It’s hard to put into words how I feel about this film. It was impossible to shake off the unique experience of witnessing the Bride’s wrath unfold as she awoke from her four year coma only to find out that she’d lost her unborn baby and her soon to be husband in a church during her wedding rehearsal. Who was this Bill guy and how could he do such a terrible thing? Why would he send his team of personal assassins to kill her? Tarantino decides to take Hattori Hanzo’s own advice about revenge not being a straight line and present this revenge film in non-linear fashion. It’s up to us to piece the scenes together and enjoy the ride. And what a ride it was! The action scenes are highly entertaining and over the top, and the film works as a modern homage of the Japanese films Tarantino grew up loving. Kill Bill is as stylish as it gets. There are very few films that manage to deliver such an amazing visual style and combine it with such an elaborate narrative. Substance and style fit in perfectly in Tarantino’s world to deliver another masterpiece. As much as I was blown away by Volume 1 (and I think it is a much more entertaining watch), I still regarded Volume 2 as the better half since we get more of Tarantino’s wonderful dialogue and everything is executed with perfection. 

“When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other, that not only does God exist, you're doing His will.”

Just like Tarantino’s film, this review is all over the place. It’s hard to organize my thoughts and try to write a coherent review. There is so much that one can say about this film, but there is no way I can leave out the performances. Uma Thurman has never been better and I’m sorry but there is no other female character that stands a chance next to her. Once we are introduced to David Carradine as Bill in volume 2 our hatred towards him begins to shake as it’s impossible not to feel some degree of sympathy for his character. The scene where he sits down with her and begins speaking to her about superhero mythology is fascinating. Our disgust towards Bill isn’t close to the level of hatred we feel for the other villains, like Lucy Liu’s O-Ren Ishii who is a completely threatening one. There is a memorable scene where she executes her wrath towards one of the Yakuza bosses who questioned her. The face off between her and the Bride at the end of the first Volume is also gorgeously shot. Then there is Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver, perhaps the most hateful villain in this film. With her one-eyed patch and her non-stop whistling she was a delight on screen and an excellent match for Uma Thurman.  I still can’t get over that whistling tune she constantly hummed. Both Michael Madsen and Vivica Fox also get their opportunities to shine as part of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, but it’s Thurman who carries the film from beginning to end. There is not a moment in the film where the pacing begins to drag, everything is perfectly tuned and Tarantino’s symphony has been perfectly orchestrated. The soundtrack to this film is simply amazing and it plays a huge role in the story as well.   

   

“It was not my intention to do this in front of you. For that I'm sorry. But you can take my word for it, your mother had it comin'. When you grow up, if you still feel raw about it, I'll be waiting.” 

And I will be waiting for that third volume as well. Bring it Tarantino!

“The lioness has rejoined her cub, and all is right in the jungle.”

My Review: Gattaca (7/10)

“I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body. You lent me your dream.”

In Andrew Niccol’s directorial debut we are invited to imagine a world where humans are categorized according to their genetic make-up. In this world, genetic engineering is not only a possibility, but a very common thing. Society now classifies people according to their DNA, and social classes are determined by it. It is not a future too hard to envision considering over history we have categorized people according to the color of their skin, their race, or their gender. Niccol creates an interesting sci-fi premise by using this sort of allegory of our society and combining it with some action and romance. I have yet to see Niccol’s Lord of War, but from what I’ve seen his debut film has been his best. He had an interesting cast to work with as well. Ethan Hawke plays the lead role, Vincent Freeman, who was born with inferior genes and therefore not expected to live long. He must settle for unimportant jobs, and no matter how hard he tries, he is unable to achieve his dream of traveling to space. Those jobs are only available for humans with superior DNA. Jude Law plays a supporting role as Jerome Murrow, a man born with perfect genes, but after suffering an accident he is left paraplegic. Vincent assumes Jerome’s identity and by deceiving DNA testings he is able to follow his dream and is assigned on a space mission. It’s an engaging premise despite some flaws, but it is much more intelligent than some recent sci-fi Niccol films.

Ethan Hawke gives a solid performance, but he doesn’t really stand out here like he has in some of his other films. The best thing about Gattaca is its sci-fi futuristic premise which manages to thrill and keep the audience in suspense. Jude Law doesn’t add much to the story, but he is always an interesting presence. Uma Thurman plays Hawke’s love interest and gives the plot a romantic side. Her chemistry with Hawke is what makes the film emotionally engaging, because without her Vincent isn’t really engaging on his own. The film succeeds thanks to its strong narrative (written by Niccol himself) and the way it manages to adapt current prejudices in society to a future we don’t want to look forward to. It gets its point across of cautioning us and delivering meaning in a similar way that classic fairy tales did when our mothers read us the stories when we were kids. It has become a classic for some over the years. It’s not among my favorite films, but it was an enjoyable ride and i’m glad I finally got around to watching it.

My Review: Playing for Keeps (5/10)

¨How do you get to meet so many hot women? –I have an accent.¨

Director Gabriele Muccino has been successful in the past (The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds), but in Playing for Keeps he seems to have lost his touch. Everything that can go wrong in a movie goes wrong here with a very formulaic and cliché script, a predictable story, and some over the top performances. Dennis Quaid seems to be playing the same role he played in What to Expect When Your Expecting with a very eccentric approach that hurts the movie even more and presents it in a very cartoonish way. Gerard Butler is another talented actor who seems to have lost his touch as well in the recent years with some bad films. Not even the beautiful and talented ladies (Catherine Zeta Jones, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, and Judy Greer) were enough to save this terrible movie. The main problem was its script which was written by Robbie Fox who hadn’t written a screenplay since 1994 (the terrible In The Army Now) and shouldn’t have even considered making a comeback. What I can say about this film is that despite not being funny it is tolerable. It is not one of those films that bore you to death; but it is completely predictable and cliché. I wouldn’t say this is completely a family friendly film despite the happy ending considering the main character is kind of a playboy. Despite the interesting cast this film is completely lazy and empty.

The story centers on George (Gerard Butler) a successful soccer player who played in important clubs across Europe and ended his career in the MLS. He hasn´t had the same success in his retirement and has failed in a couple of business enterprises. George decides to move to Virginia where his ex-wife, Stacie (Jessica Biel), lives along with their young son Lewis (Noah Lomax). He wants to be a better father and therefore moves close to their home so he can spend some more time with him. Stacie is living with her fiancé, Matt (James Tupper), and they both agree that George be closer to Lewis. While George is trying to find a job as a sports anchor, he begins coaching his son´s soccer team. Since he was a well known player all the parents agree he should coach the team and they are all exited that he has decided to be involved, especially the moms which include Patti (Uma Thurman), Denise (Catherine Zeta Jones), and Barb (Judy Greer). Barb is an emotional recently divorced mother, Denise is a former successful TV anchor who offers to help George in achieving his goal, and Patti is a seductive woman who is married to the rich, but manic, Carl (Dennis Quaid). George´s soccer career might be over, but he finds quite a local fan base as a coach. His success with the ladies continues, but he doesn’t want that to be a distraction as he becomes more and more involved in the life of his son. He also discovers that he has feelings for Stacie, and we all know where this film is heading from there.

There is not much more I can say about this extremely formulaic film. Don’t be fooled by this family friendly film because it is kind of creepy in a way with the main character having all these moms stocking him. The impressive cast isn’t enough to save this film since it has a terrible script and the performances were really lazy. Jessica Biel received a Razzie nomination for her performance in this film along with her work in Total Recall, but who I think was really terrible here was Dennis Quaid. The only believable thing about the film was the soccer choreographies which were done really well. They didn’t seem as fake as in some other soccer movies. This is a very forgettable film, but it was tolerable and some of my family members had a good time.

  

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