Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

Quentin Tarantino is a film geek (not unlike yours truly) who is massively influenced by the films he has seen and is a master at mixing those influences coherently. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is a perfect example of this. Additionally Tarantino is a master at non-linear storytelling. In this case we start at the beginning and move into the end of the story and Tarantino, as he did with Pulp Fiction, manages to tie everything together by the end through his near-perfect writing. He frequently places "Macguffins" (something that the audience finds inconsequential until much later on) that help to reinforce the need to pay attention.

The film centers around a woman known only as The Bride (Uma Thurman) who, four years after being shot in the head at her wedding, awakens from a coma and decides it's time for a little, or a lot, of payback. Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his squad of deadly international assassins (Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Lucy Liu) she goes on a quest to exact her revenge and much like any movie about that subject the quest is messy. Lots of "innocent" people die along the way because unfortunately that's the story of revenge. It never works out quite the way the avenger wants it to.

The violence in the film is extensive. A lot of it is so immensely over the top that it borders on camp. I am reminded of Peter Jackson's Dead Alive simply because of the massive amount of blood. A lot of people ask how I can give this film a pass and hate the violence in a film like Kick-Ass. The answer is simple. The violence in this film is not gruesome or unpleasant. The fight scenes in this film are highly choreographed and interesting to view just from a stylistic standpoint.

The film is well-written and carries with a sense of style that was evidently influenced by the Martial Arts films of the seventies and eighties.

It's refreshing to see a woman in a role that is so often reserved for men and Uma Thurman is immensely perfect in the film. I'm not sure if women will be empowered by a character that is a female warrior and not simply just the girl walking around tee-heeing about stupid things but who knows?

★★★★

Our Idiot Brother (2011) Review

The title of this movie is misleading. One would expect a raunchy film about an infantile slob who goes to live with his family and wreaks havoc on them with his stupidity. In reality it is a rather bittersweet film about a laid back kind-hearted man named Ned (Paul Rudd) who, after selling marijuana to a uniformed police officer, lands in jail. He is released early eight months later (named model prisoner four months in a row) and due to his pacifist girlfriend kicking him out has to go live with his sisters. Each of the sisters has a problem that they tell Ned about expecting him to keep it a secret. Liz (Emily Mortimer) is a highly conservative mom married to a weasel of a filmmaker (Steve Coogan); Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) is an ambitious writer who hopes to work for Vanity Fair magazine, and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) may be a lesbian but isn't sure if she wants to move in with another woman. I won't go into what each of the sisters respective problems are suffice it to say that the majority of them are their own doing. Ned tells all the wrong people but that's not for malicious reasons. It's because he simply assumed that everyone knew what was going on. One by one the sisters start to hate Ned because he is "ruining their lives".

One of the things that I liked most about the film was how nice it was to watch. Ned is almost a saint and is so friendly to everyone he meets. He has an almost constant smile and nearly never loses his temper. There is only one scene where he does and it is quite a well-done scene and completely justified. It was refreshing to see a character that isn't cynical or paranoid that people will betray him. He is an idiot in the sense that he is wholly honest and trusting. Why did he sell that officer the weed? Because the cop told him he had a bad week. Ned didn't even want to accept money for it.

Due to his roles in other films like Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin I expected to be annoyed with Paul Rudd's performance and instead was pleasantly surprised at the great range he exudes in the film. He truly did a good job here and I wish that I could be like Ned.

Perhaps the film is not worth the rating I'm giving it but since it is a nugget of nimble wit and intelligent humor in an era of unfunny gag comedies I am regarding it rather highly.

★★★★

Straw Dogs (2011) Review

In the wake of her father's death, Amy (Kate Bosworth) returns to her rural Southern hometown with her screenwriter husband, David (James Marsden). Her goal is to put her childhood home on the market while David works on his latest screenplay. Meanwhile, David hires Amy's high school boyfriend Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård) and his crew to rebuild the roof on the secluded country home. But the more time Charlie's work crew spends working on the roof, the greater tensions begin to grow between Amy and David. Every time Amy walks outside, the work stops and the ogling begins. When David attempts to avert confrontation by firing the crew before the job is finished, former high school football star Charlie snaps, deciding that if he can't have Amy on his own terms, he'll take her by force. Later, when a mentally disabled presumed rapist or child murderer kills a high school student her father, only called Coach (James Woods) swears revenge and Charlie and his crew decide to help. Amy and David take in the murderer to protect his life from the angry mob and all hell breaks loose as Charlie and company break into their house.

One of the many things I could say about this film is that it is a tense, well-structured thriller that doesn't need to rely on exorbitant amounts of constant violence to be effective. Don't get me wrong. The film is very violent but much of that is in the last fifteen minutes and if you look closely a large portion happens off-screen and in shadow rather than harsh fluorescent light. What you do see is so quick that, if you blink you might miss it. One of the more disturbing scenes is a scene in which Amy is raped by Charlie and his "second-in-command" Norm. It is disturbing in the sense that it is rape but there are the same types of scenes in other films I could name that are more uncomfortable to watch. I was more moved by the intimidating performance by Skarsgård and the frightening work done by Woods than any other roles in the film. When Charlie chastises David for leaving a church sermon early I nearly said, "Yes sir". Woods has portrayed some fairly evil characters in the past but this is by far the scariest one.

On a completely separate note when I saw the film the reels were mixed up which led to me being removed from the feelings I was having during the intense moments in the house and put into events several hours earlier. If they had been in the proper order I would have enjoyed the film more. Sure it's not as good as the 1971 original but I prefer to look at this as its own film unlike some critics.

★★★

American History X (1998) Review

Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton), the charismatic leader of a group of young neo-Nazi white supremacists, lands in prison for a brutal hate-driven murder. Upon his release he is ashamed of his past and pledges to reform himself. Derek realizes that his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) is headed for a similar fate and so Derek attempts to save his brother from the teachings of a manipulative white supremacist (Stacey Keach) who also was the one who convinced Derek of his pre-prison beliefs after his father was murdered by a black man. I refuse to give away what happens to Derek in prison that makes him change because it is such a powerfully disturbing moment but not excessive.

Derek is a character of many multiple dimensions. During the black and white flashbacks we see a man consumed by rage and hate and when the film transitions to color for the present day events we see a more reserved although by no means timid version of Derek. Edward Norton plays both these with a scorching intensity that is perfection in its complexities. We believe that the character would transition the way he does. There is no moment of insincerity in Derek's attempts to change.

There is quite a bit of racist language in the film. It pulls no punches with showing the film through white supremacist's eyes. One scene in particular drives this home. There is a basketball game between Derek, his fellow neo-Nazis and a group of black teenagers. Derek manages to make the game winning shot and we get the general "hero" theme as the white characters celebrate their victory. We don't know anything about the black characters they played against, who they are as people, because neither does Derek. He has no desire to. With all these trappings (the music, the "hero" shots, a strong charismatic character) it can be hard not to root for him on a visceral level. There is, at the same time, a lot of irony in this scene. The successes are not borne out of joy but out of hate. The film is extensively subtle in the way it teaches the lessons it does and is, without giving spoilers, a heartbreaking picture.

★★★★