Bill Gets His

Since I enjoyed Volume 2 much more than the first five chapters of Kill Bill, I will actually be speaking mostly of the things I enjoyed in the red Uma Thurman movie (they never really got to why she was all about yellow in the first film).

Kiddo's Origin
I always love origin stories, a la Batman Begins. In volume 2 we get to see the origin of Kiddo's fighting expertise, plus the satisfaction of a conclusion, while skipping some of the boring middle stuff that we endured in volume 1. I loved every second of the crazy old Chinese dude, Pai-Mei. Every time he said something mean and stroked his beard it was gold. Also I love that learning to use chopsticks was part of her training.

Shoot the Chick
All throughout the first movie and during the beginning of volume 2 I said to myself, 'who cares if she's sweet with a sword, when is someone just gonna shoot the broad?' It was extremely gratifying when my boy (copyright Tony Kornheiser) Michael Madsen blew Kiddo away with a shotgun as she opened his trailer door looking for a fight.

Six Feet Under
So the origins story was great to show that her major focus in the training was being able to punch something from three inches away (how often is this needed?), because we see five years later she is buried alive in a casket by Budd. Now sure she can punch her way out of the casket but isn't that the much easier task than climbing up six feet through the earth? How is this feat not the one she needed the background in?

B.B., Bill and Kiddo
Talk about grabbing at your heart after almost four hours of ruthless killing. Kiddo finally gets to Bill, the man responsible for her near death and what she thought was the loss of her child, and she is ready for a massive dual. When she opens the door with her gun, Bill is there with their child playing with toy guns, pretending to shoot 'Mommy.' The four year old girl has been waiting her entire life for her mom to wake up and come home to see her. It got me, did it get you?

P.S.
I love that her name is actually Kiddo, Beatrix Kiddo. The whole time Bill was calling her Kiddo, I thought it was a nice little moniker. You know like pal, chief or buddy. Nice little twist there Quentin.

Reservoir Dogs

As some know I am currently attempting to broaden my movie watching ability with recent viewings of 'On the Waterfront', 'The Sting' and 'Dr. Strangelove'. The first two I thoroughly enjoyed and Strangelove didn't really do it for me. With influence from The Boss and Jay-sone I was turned on to the Tarantino films (of which I had seen none). Last night I threw in 'Reservoir Dogs' and came out of the experience very happy. Not to say that I get happy when everyone in a movie dies, but it was a great flick.

Thoughts

The beginning was fantastic. With a cold open that leads into what I like to call a "slow-mo walking with music doing intros" scene, it got me excited for the rest of the film. The cold open was great because I immediately connected with Buscemi's character, Mr. Pink. He didn't leave a tip for the waitress because he doesn't believe in it. He had my thoughts of the past ten years exactly. Why do waitresses deserve tips for doing their job? This leads into my over the top theory that so many thank yous are unnecessary. Why thank the bus driver when getting off? He's driving you because he gets paid to do it. Are you thanking him for not getting into an accident or turning around and shooting you in the head? Also the thank you for someone who opens the door as the leave somewhere and you're entering, unnecessary. They're leaving anyway, they are not opening the door solely so that you don't have to. Ridiculous.

Anyway where was I, oh yes, the movie. Other unbelievable moment was when the rest of the crew leaves and Mr. Blonde, played by Michael Madsen, is left with the hostage of a cop. When he puts on 'Stuck in the Middle' by Steelers Wheel and starts dancing it really got me going. I fell in love with The Matador all over again. And then there is the ending when everyone shoots each other. With some discussion with Jay-sone it seems that Mr. White got off two shots, killing Joe and Eddie, before he hits the ground. Now according to Chris Penn something went wrong with the stunt and he began to fall to the ground before White got his second shot off but in the fast action of it, I couldn't tell any of that. I loved the fact that Mr. Pink snuck out and got away scott free.

Top Reservoir Dogs

1. Mr. Blonde- Michael Madsen
2. Mr. Pink- Steve Buscemi
3. Nice Guy Eddie- Chris Penn
4. Mr. Brown- Quentin Tarantino
5. Mr. Orange- Tim Roth
6. Joe- Lawrence Tierney
7. Mr. Blue- Eddie Bunker
8. Mr. White- Harvey Keitel

Spoiler Alert
Ending showdown scene