Kill Bill Volume 1

     Kill Bill Volume 1 is a terrific thrilling joyride from start to finish. I really, really liked this movie. I think its hard to dislike this movie, unless you absolutely detest action and the slight gore that this film has. The main thing that I like about this movie is that's all about a woman, a blonde woman vs a Japanese female crime lord. That's not really what its about but that's what I liked most about the film. Just the idea of hot chicks battling it out for revenge and domination. It was pretty cool. The film sort of explains itself backwards and we don't really learn the whole meaning and story until nearly the end. But the film is basically about how Uma Thurman playing the blonde is out for revenge because this guy named Bill (David Carradine) used a hit squad to kill Thurman and her unborn child. The fucked up part of this movie is that they tried to kill her while she was pregnant, which is unforgivable! I'll talk about some of my favorite parts of the movie first.
     I really enjoyed the part where the movie turned into an anime, with edgy sort of graphics. This was the part where they explain the female Japanese crime lord's backstory. She was a kid and watched as her parents were cut up with swords. But by the time she was 11 she killed the crime lord who killed her parents and eventually grew up to take his place. This part was gory, as a lot of animes are. I really enjoyed the cartoony segment, I didn't want it to end too fast, and it didn't. It's a bit gimmicky but it was done very well and was entertaining.
     Another memorable segment was when the female Japanese crime-lord was talking among the other crime lords and one guy was all like how can we listen to this bullshit woman who's half Chinese? Then the Yakuza Boss, O'Ren (her name in the film) takes out her sword and decapitates the guy. Then she says in English something like anyone want some? It was pretty gory but nothing that will frighten anybody who's seen other martial arts movies. This just shows you how badass O'Ren is. She doesn't take shit from anybody.
     And finally, my favorite part of the movie was when the Bride (Thurman's character) finally approaches O'Ren and her whole squad of Yakuza. She ends up killing like tons of dudes and a hot Japanese girl that fought with this weird weapon that was like a ball and chain. She was spinning it around super fast and when it hit the Bride, it looked like it hurt like hell! The fight between the Bride and teenage girl was intense but that was just the beginning. O'Ren called in what seemed like 100 dudes, all running in with swords in hand. The Bride dispatches with all of them really easily and its like damn, they didn't even hit her.
      Eventually the Bride and O'Ren fight and its like the perfect fight in an anime or something. Like Kenshin versus Shishio. It was that epic! They have a good conversation with each other, complimenting each other, and O'Ren even apologizing to the Bride. O'Ren gets in a really good cut on the Bride's back and the Bride says something like,"Come at me with everything you have." And then shit gets real. They have some nice sword play but in the end the Bride cuts off O'Ren's head, and you can see a little bit of red brains, super gory, but again, nothing that any hardcore anime fans haven't seen before. But this is just the beginning of the Bride's journey for revenge because she has more people to kill.
     The thing I liked most about this movie is that it legit reminded me of the great martial arts movies and Japanese anime that I'm so fond of. Its full of action but the story is also pretty legit as well. Revenge is a dish best served cold, I really liked that line when it was shown in the film. That explains what this movie is all about, and perhaps what Volume 2 and 3 are about as well. I don't know how I missed this movie, it must've been because when it was released in 2003 I was still a kid and didn't know much about martial arts movies and anime. I'm looking forward to watching Volume 2, which I'm going to watch tonight. I hope it's as good as the first one. Lately, I've been watching a lot of stuff that involves Japanese culture and stuff, its pretty cool. I think it would be awesome to visit Japan one day. My favorite guitar player, Marty Friedman actually lives in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese. Maybe I could become like him haha. Anyways, this movie was amazing. I would say this is my favorite Tarantino film, with Reservoir Dogs being a close second. Lately I've been watching a lot of Tarantino's films and I heard that he has a new one coming out soon. The guy is a legend but he really hasn't made anything great lately. He had his heyday back in the day though. Watch this space.