Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (IMDB) (Netflix)
The cinematic descendent of movie violence stylist Sam Peckinpah has to be Quentin Tarantino, whose Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction made him the "it boy" director in the early-mid 90s. After some lesser efforts, he went on silent running for six years, but is making up for the absence with this two-parter. Volume One opens with Uma Thurman as the only survivor of a wedding-day hit squad, wanting payback and traveling the world to get it against Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu and the aforementioned Bill.
Peckinpah used slow motion and bits of hamburger in the fake blood squibs to give The Wild Bunch that little extra tingle, and Tarantino takes him one further, the predominant element being spurting, lots of spurting. Certainly not most people's brand of vodka, but there's also a fair amount of comedic leavening, and a heavy Japanese martial arts tone that somehow keeps this from becoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Thurman is one tough cookie, carrying all the action against a horde of Yakusa swordsfolk, and conveying an intensity heretofore lacking in her portfolio. Where Reservoir Dogs was overly sadistic and squirm-inducing, "Bill" is intentionally cartoonish, but still very messy, and the bouncing between gore and laughs is mostly, but not always, successful.
Those who abhore graphic violence won't be mollified by any of this analysis, nor should they, but the many who've acquired the thirst for "Q" will be happy he's back, and in form. Just don't ask for much in thematic take-aways.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Intolerable Cruely (IMDB) (Netflix)
The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, wrote this originally as a work for hire and it bounced around Hollywood for awhile, but when George Clooney expressed interest they brought it back in-house. Clooney is Miles Massey, a divorce lawyer non-pareil and creator of the Massey Pre-Nuptial Agreement, which "has never been penetrated." Catherine Zeta-Jones is major league golddigger who encounters Clooney across the negotiating table and in the courtroom. Their mutual interest quickly becomes clear, but not their motivations, and sorting those out consumes the back half of this screwball comedy, complete with Coen touches of slightly macabre humor.
It's been fun watching Clooney expand his portfolio from two-dimensional TV star (ER) to one-dimensional action figure (The Peacemaker) to comic performer (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) to well-rounded dramatic actor (Solaris), and "Intolerable" continues this progression with an open kimono performance that could have been embarrassing had it not hit the mark. Zeta-Jones goes very much the other way, focusing on her character's calculating side, which makes for an enjoyable contrast if not the most noteworthy role. As noted by fellow filmgoer Peggy Folz, the pace flagged in the middle, which tends to take the screwball out of the comedy, and many of the best lines are in the commercials, but there's more than enough left to surprise and sustain interest. The wide assortment of offbeat character actors, another reliable Coen element, rounds out an enjoyable 100 minutes. Coen aficionados might find this too mainstream, others will see it as a sign of maturity.
The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, wrote this originally as a work for hire and it bounced around Hollywood for awhile, but when George Clooney expressed interest they brought it back in-house. Clooney is Miles Massey, a divorce lawyer non-pareil and creator of the Massey Pre-Nuptial Agreement, which "has never been penetrated." Catherine Zeta-Jones is major league golddigger who encounters Clooney across the negotiating table and in the courtroom. Their mutual interest quickly becomes clear, but not their motivations, and sorting those out consumes the back half of this screwball comedy, complete with Coen touches of slightly macabre humor.
It's been fun watching Clooney expand his portfolio from two-dimensional TV star (ER) to one-dimensional action figure (The Peacemaker) to comic performer (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) to well-rounded dramatic actor (Solaris), and "Intolerable" continues this progression with an open kimono performance that could have been embarrassing had it not hit the mark. Zeta-Jones goes very much the other way, focusing on her character's calculating side, which makes for an enjoyable contrast if not the most noteworthy role. As noted by fellow filmgoer Peggy Folz, the pace flagged in the middle, which tends to take the screwball out of the comedy, and many of the best lines are in the commercials, but there's more than enough left to surprise and sustain interest. The wide assortment of offbeat character actors, another reliable Coen element, rounds out an enjoyable 100 minutes. Coen aficionados might find this too mainstream, others will see it as a sign of maturity.
Saturday, October 04, 2003
The Rundown (IMDB) (Netflix)
Former pro wrestler The Rock is in the retrieval business, in search of Seann William Scott (Stifler from the American Pie series, and one of the dudes who didn't know where he left his car). Finding him is easy enough, it's the getting him home part that proves problematic, with obstacles such as an evil goldmine operator (Christopher Walken) and an indominatable guerrilla leader (Rosario Dawson). Scott also claims to have found a mythical object that could change the fortunes of Dawson's oppressed people, so of course they have to find that thing.
The Rock is a pretty good actor/action star, which might not be a surprise to anyone who follows the WWF shenanigans. Scott's "what, me worry" charm is well-suited to the movie's tone, and Dawson's developing some decent acting chops. But casting Walken is a bit of a coup, bringing his offbeat sensibility to what often can be a thankless role, and giving the flick a little more depth than you'd expect. The action scenes are pretty inventive, with one of the longest rolling-down-the-hill scenes in cinematic history. Easy fun.
Former pro wrestler The Rock is in the retrieval business, in search of Seann William Scott (Stifler from the American Pie series, and one of the dudes who didn't know where he left his car). Finding him is easy enough, it's the getting him home part that proves problematic, with obstacles such as an evil goldmine operator (Christopher Walken) and an indominatable guerrilla leader (Rosario Dawson). Scott also claims to have found a mythical object that could change the fortunes of Dawson's oppressed people, so of course they have to find that thing.
The Rock is a pretty good actor/action star, which might not be a surprise to anyone who follows the WWF shenanigans. Scott's "what, me worry" charm is well-suited to the movie's tone, and Dawson's developing some decent acting chops. But casting Walken is a bit of a coup, bringing his offbeat sensibility to what often can be a thankless role, and giving the flick a little more depth than you'd expect. The action scenes are pretty inventive, with one of the longest rolling-down-the-hill scenes in cinematic history. Easy fun.
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