Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003)

Quentin Tarantino has made some extraordinary shit, but Kill Bill takes the cake. I have always admired his ability to try new original concepts, and ultimately succeed. He is truly unlike any other film maker in the business today. If I had to sum up Kill Bill with one word, I'd say "Wow." The first volume is easily my favorite, but the second is amazing as well. The two volumes have different feels in my opinion. The first is more gorishly artistic, with blood splatter left and right. But the second is more dramatic, filling in the narrative where the first left it blank. But that's exactly why there are two volumes (besides the length of the film, if they had been combined). And if both were the same thing, we would probably have complained. But on the other hand, if both were as viscerally satisfying as the first, we might not.

I love every Tarantino film that I have seen. Pulp Fiction used to be my favorite of his, then I watched Reservoir Dogs, and watched Reservoir Dogs again, about two more times to get the specifics. That became my favorite of his. Then I saw Inlourious Basterds, and waited for the dvd to see it again (once again, to get the specifics). That one almost became my favorite. Now that I have seen this masterpiece, I do not know which of his movies I like the best. My point is that Quentin Tarantino is one of the most consistent director and writers doing it today. He may not be able to make a bad movie. How he manages to make classics in every different genre is far beyond my comprehension. He is simply a genius. But back to the subject at hand, Kill Bill (volumes one and two combined). Like I said before, this movie is a masterpiece.

Uma Thurman owned this film, in every sense. She gave probably the best performance out of every single Quentin Tarantino film, obviously besides last year's Supporting Actor winner (Christoph Waltz), and my personal favorite, Samuel L. Jackson as Jules in Pulp Fiction. Her energy completely lunged off of the screen. But she was not the only strong link in this chain. David Carradine was fantastic as well. I hated him, then I actually liked him, then I hated him again. Not to mention all the members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Lucy Lui was the best, in my opinion. She earned herself a spot on my "My Favorite Villains" list, with her performance as O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth. I won't spoil anything, but when she proved her authority to that Yakuza boss that questioned her multiple ethnicities, I may have jizzed in my pants. The other members are worth a mention too.

Vivica A. Fox had a very short role, as Vernita Green. She was great, but her role was too short for her to make too much of a lasting impact on me. Daryl Hannah was also great as Elle Driver, the eye patch sporting assassin. Finally, I'm not quite sure if he was a member of the squad, but Michael Madsen did a phenomenal job as Bill's brother, Budd. Besides them, there is a long list of names I do not know, but I do know that no one did a poor job in either volumes of this move. They were all amazing. One thing, besides the actors, that I want to point out is a small segment in the first volume that features an anime-esque cartoon scene, illustrating O-Ren Ishii's life as she grew up. Before I saw it, I kept thinking to myself that this should be a graphic novel. Then after I saw that cartoon, I felt it even more. So in case you haven't realized, Kill Bill is brilliantly done, and everyone should she it. Not volume one, or volume two, both.