Reviews

One of the best-paced films ever made. Relentlessly hilarious. I have to say more so the database will take my comments, but I just finished watching this and I am truly at a loss for words. This film did not let up. I wouldn't be surprised if the PAUSE function on my DVD player had been disabled. Anyway... the cast is excellent too. Goodman, Cage, Hunter, the late Trey Wilson (who was going to play the Albert Finney role in Miller's Crossing"), the under-appreciated William Forsythe, and in a performance that should have merited some sort of award somewhere, former boxer Randall "Tex" Cobb. If you haven't seen this one yet, I envy you the initial joy you are going to feel.

Quentin Tarantino is to cinema as The Who is to music. While you can call their works art, the truth is both are entertainers who concentrate on creating things that they like to see/hear. Quentin Tarantino is really nothing more complex than the world's biggest Quentin Tarantino fan. That is not a negative - I too am a big Tarantino fan.

One thing I found interesting is there is a children motif in "Kill Bill". Uma's character starts the film pregnant, Lucy Lui's character endures unspeakable horrors in her youth, Go-Go is only 17 and already a world-class killer, and Viveca A. Fox's child is left alive to perhaps avenge her mother someday.

Perhaps the greatest twist is that Kill Bill will at least be nominated for many technical Oscars even though the film and sound editing are at times deliberately bad.

A musical for those who don't necessarily like musicals (like me). Ultimately this is a sad movie, but that's fine - the ending is oddly satisfying. And if you hate it, at least you have to admit it was daring and original.

This movie is NOT about vampires; there isn't a single vampire in it. Instead, it is about a man (played by Cage) who loses his mind and begins to think he is a vampire after an unsatisfying series of one-night stands that make him feel empty. It's a metaphor about relationships, and this is one fantastic black comedy. Check it out and thank me later.

If you're a Spider-Man fan like me, then you doubtless enjoyed this respectful retelling of his beginnings; and more than any character in comics, HOW Spider-Man started is crucial to who he is. A man who made a mistake as a boy, and will spend his life fruitlessly trying to atone. I highly recommend this movie.

This movie worked, but it had to use a lot of tricks to do so. CGI is the least of it; I enjoyed the effects in the spirit they were presented: to me, they looked so unreal precisely because that is how Spider-Man would appear to move. But the real problem is for a character to have emotional heft when you cannot see his face. They solved that THIS time by having his mask shredded in the film's final battle, which was an excellent physical and emotional one. But they can't do that twice without the artifice showing. Toby Maguire will need to convey things much better through his body language next time. Maybe have a mime consult the next film, or a deaf person who has to rely much more heavily on posture for context.

You HAVE to just let this movie take you where it's going. Don't fight it, don't question it. Kurt Russell says on the DVD commentary that this movie only works because all the actors are in the same movie; no one is trying to make it what it cannot be. This may be so, but in my opinion the CHARACTERS are all in different movies, often at different times! We've got romance, adventure, comedy, horror, mysticism, and martial arts, with a big dial that is supposed to point to the overriding mood, but it keeps getting moved. If you agree with this movie, you'll love it. Fight it, and you'll be miserable.