Tuesday, August 02, 2011

My Top 10 Thoughts on Kill Bill

I've watched the films a lot lately. I saw them on AMC, couldn't bear to see them all edited, dug the DVDs out, and still haven't put them back.



10. If you're rolling through a parking garage in a wheelchair carrying a keyring that reads "PUSSY WAGON" in your shirt pocket that belonged to an orderly you just killed, and you happen to roll past a truck that has the words "PUSSY WAGON" on the back, why do you need to check the keyring to make sure it's the same PUSSY WAGON?

9. My favorite character of the films is Budd. Or if not my favorite, I feel like his portrayal is the most complex. We never learn exactly why he's left the assassin's life just as we never learn why he's broken ties with Bill. At the same time, it feels like we can infer a lot from the performance and don't necessarily need the specifics. Initially I assumed somewhere between Beatrix's near-killing and her awakening, Budd developed a conscience. The idea makes sense, particularly considering Budd's lines about he and the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad deserving to die. But, then again, the fate he plans for Beatrix doesn't seem to jive with moral redemption. Another thought occurred to me today that, I think, explains his character a lot better. He may have secretly held a torch for Beatrix. It would explain his break with Bill, his disillusion with his work after he helps put Beatrix in a coma, and that strange look he gives her right before hammering her pine box shut.

8. Charlie Brown's wife turning the House of Blue Leaves's lights on and off arbitrarily at the end of the flick is used to facilitate a cool-looking piece of the fight, but makes no goddamned sense.

7. I can't decide whether I think Hattori Hanzo is really flirting with Beatrix when he still thinks she's just a tourist, or if he's just working for a good tip. He and He-Who-Shaves-His-Head-But-Is-Not-Bald have "been together" for a long time.

6. The Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves is perhaps one of my favorite parts of ANY film, but due to things beyond my control, I can't help but feel while watching it now - some years after Kill Bill: Vol. 1's release - that the whole thing happened because Uma Thurman switched to Vonage.

5. I've grown to hate Bill's little thesis on Superman. First, because of when he says it's a comic that "isn't particularly well-drawn." Really? Which of the ka-zillion artists wasn't very good? Second, because I just get a whole "Watch this, Quentin is SO clever and pop-culture-deep" vibe from it.

4. Beatrix vs. Gogo Yubari: just freaking awesome.

3. After recently watching the Elle vs. Beatrix fight scene, I was reminded of the fight between Nicolas Cage, John Goodman, and William Forsythe in Raising Arizona. Then I thought "Hey, I should make a top 10 list of movie battles fought in trailers!" Unfortunately, I've proven unable to remember any other movie battles fought in trailers.

2. She keeps saying she has unfinished business with everyone. I think she's secretly a credit counseling service.

1. Bitch, you don't have a future.

5 comments:

Chris said...

All I thought about that massive fight scene was, "Really? This is the Yakuza and no one has a gun? Seriously?" But then I have kind of a love-hate relationship with Tarantino, and this fell on the Hate side. Not as bad as Pulp Fiction, but close.

Mick Martin said...

Well, I think I also have a love/hate thing for Tarantino's work, but for me Kill Bill definitely falls fairly hard on the love side of things. Mainly because I felt like he stayed out of his own way. There was a minimum of all the scenes with people talking about obscure 70s bullshit no one knows or cares about, all of whom are really nothing more than ciphers for Tarantino's ideal vision of himself.

I had the same thought about the House of Blue Leaves scene, but it didn't bother me. Sure, real yakuza would've brought guns, but the movie doesn't make any claims at realism. You may as well criticize a scene from Hot Shots for not being realistic enough. Tarantino wanted a huge, visually cool swordfight and I think he did it well.

sewa mobil said...

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Another Trailer fight: Walter Matthau and Andy Robinson in CHARLIE VARRICK.

Toby said...

I also hate Bill's thesis about Superman.

He's wrong because Superman wasn't born Superman. He was born as Kal-El, then we humans called him Superman when he reached Earth.