Tuesday, October 21, 2003

MOVIE - KILL BILL: VOLUME 1 - Review Rating $$$$$ $$$ (OUT OF 10) STARRING - Uma Thurman (The Bride), David Carradine (Bill), Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver), Michael Madsen (Budd), Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green), Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishii), Sonny Chiba (Hattori Hanzo), Michael Jai White [Alburt (Da Moe)], Chia Hui Liu [Pai Mei (Crazy 88 Fighter)], Chiaki Kuriyama (Go Go Yubari), Julkie Dreyfus (Sofie Fatale) & Samuel L. Jackson (Organ Player). DIRECTOR/WRITER - Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs & Jackie Brown) The fundamental problem with Kill Bill is it's one-dimensional nature. The plot is simply 24/7 revenge. The Bride (Thurman) sole mission in life is to avenge those that wronged her. The beauty of the concept of Kill Bill is that it allows Tarantino to create five unique characters, for The Bride to seek retribution against, providing Tarantino with the opportunity to pay homage to past master's in the process. Admittedly, Tarantino succeeds in this regard and it's one of the reasons that the film is worth seeing. The trap Tarantino falls into is that these five parts of the story are essentially the same. Kill Bill: Volume 1 is a brilliantly executed homage to the masters of film making by one of this generation's best directors. Despite its one dimensional 24/7 revenge story line I'm staying tuned for Volume 2. Running time - 93 minutes FULL REVIEW & LINKS TO ALTERNATIVE REVIEWS Comments by Halo Scan: 12:18:57 AM     | MOVIE - INTOLERABLE CRUELTY - Review Rating $$$$$ (OUT OF 10) STARRING - George Clooney (Miles Massey), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Marylin Rexroth), Geoffrey Rush (Donovan Donaly), Cedric the Entertainer (Gus Petch), Edward Herrmann (Rex Rexroth), Billy Bob Thornton (Howard) & Richard Jenkins (Freddy Bender). DIRECTOR - Joel Coen (Fargo, Raising Arizona & O Brother, Where Art Thou?) It's hard to pinpoint where the Coen Brothers went wrong with Intolerable Cruelty but it quickly becomes apparent, as you watch the movie, that this is not their best effort. One thing that I'm sure of is that the quirky charm, evident in their rich characters in Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, is missing here. Intolerable Cruelty is a very cynical look at marriage that has a few memorable moments but ultimately misses the mark. Running time - 100 minutes FULL REVIEW & LINKS TO ALTERNATIVE REVIEWS Comments by Halo Scan: 12:14:23 AM     |

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