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Kill Bill Volume 2


neo33

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I, too, am surprised more people aren't discussing both volumes of this amazing work. I bought Vol 1 last week, watched it for the first time (missed it in the theatres) and then I went to see Vol. 2 over the weekend - I can't wait to buy Vol 2 on DVD, so I can watch both back to back.

For anyone, like me, whose formative years were in the 70's enjoying watching Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu, and Bruce Lee, and Chuck Norris, et al, I highly recommend these films. Great stuff! It's not just mindless action - it's superb film-making.

I think my very favorite part in Vol. 1 - having watched it a few times - a scene where the cinematography, the acting, and the score mesh so awesomely, is where The Bride first calls out O-Ren Ishii in the House of Blue Leaves. The music builds in intensity, and when O-Ren and The Bride lock eyes for the first time - the look on 'The Bride's' face as she moves out from behind Sophie Fatale - that expression is like a mad, bloodthirsty epiphany - a visual ululation, eager for, and rejoicing in, the carnage to come - met by the cold icy, calculating gaze of O-Ren Ishii..... All the while, the music building! It's friggin' genius!

Probably my second favorite part is where O-Ren and her 'crew' first enter the House of Blue Leaves, and are walking in slo-mo through the hall. O-Ren, Go-Go, and the 88's look so freakin' 'gangsta' and cool at the same time!

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I just saw volume on last night, it was pretty cool. The only thing I have to complain about is the over the top blood effects, I mean, holy crap. I'm used to seeing blood in movies, but not that much. But overall a really great movie. I hope to go see the second one sometime soon.

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I personally loved both movies, with a slight leaning toward the second. Both movies were a geek film lover's dream. Filled with (no so subtle) references and homages, these movies are about as entertaining as it gets.

The over the top blood in the first movie was a tribute to Japanese grind house films and Anime. In fact, the scene where Oren decapitates that guy at the table is a hats off to a similar scene in Ninja Scroll (The same director did both Ninja Scroll and the anime segment in Vol 1)

The list goes on and on, but I personally love them and think they are cinematic masterpieces. These types of films don't come along very often.

BTW, is anyone else excited about Hero? Jet Li AND Donny Yen sharing the same screen?

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dBlue, just so you don't get THAT dissappointed when you see Hero, the movie is not all that the trailer sets it up to be. Expect a fairly stoic drama, intercut with scenes of serene action. You'll understand what I mean by serene action when you see it. The story and message are quite good, but it's just not the crazy action packed movie that it looks like in the trailer. The Donnie Yen and Jet Li fight scene is good and well done, but for whatever reason, it doesn't have the kinetic energy of the stick fighting scenes in One Upon a Time in Chine 2.

It's good, but just don't expect an all out martial arts movie.

And just so you know, I'm a huge Donnie Yen fan. Iron Monkey is still his best.

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Iron Monkey RULES!!!! It's nice to see there are some who appreciate hong-kong cinema.

As for hero, not sure if I was expecting an all out action flick (although the trailer had quite a bit of it). Would you say it's got less action than Crouching Tiger? And regardless of action, how is it as a film?

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On 5/3/2004 4:34:24 PM dblue wrote:

Iron Monkey RULES!!!! It's nice to see there are some who appreciate hong-kong cinema.

As for hero, not sure if I was expecting an all out action flick (although the trailer had quite a bit of it). Would you say it's got less action than Crouching Tiger? And regardless of action, how is it as a film?

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I think it has slightly less action than crouching tiger. Or maybe it feels that way because the action is segmented and told mostly in flashback. It IS a good movie. I liked it. The Donnie Yen Jet Li scene could have been better but it was still pretty awesome by any other standard. It's just that when you have two of the best martial arts performers in the world squaring off, your expectations tend to get the better of you.

Not too many people know Donnie Yen. I wish he would star in more movies. He's now mostly involved in choreography and behind the scenes work. I like Donnie's fighting style more than Jet Li's. It comes off as being very effortless and powerful. He's also flexible as hell and built like a tank. Not to mention he was a martial arts sparring champion in Asia for I don't know how many years in a row.

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As I watch more and more and more films, I think I'm becoming a film snob. How many times can we watch the same plots: "Action hero saves world/universe" or "High school football triumph" or "Bizarre sci-fi/horror teaches us about humanity" ? I mean, we could whip up half a dozen Mad Libs that would cover 90% of all film plots. A lot of films, even ones I enjoy, are so trite: you can guess when they are going to pan the camera, guess what clever quip is coming from the comic relief character next, etc.

Anyway, Quentin Tarantino is a one-trick pony and to some degree you can see where his movies are going too. However, his one trick happens to be something very cool, and he's very good at executing this trick. As a director, he gets the absolute best performances out of every actor he works with and just plain makes great films for film geeks. I haven't seen Vol 2 yet but I'm going into it with high expectations because Vol1 was really just an all around excellent film.

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