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[doomonfilm]

Favorites : Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

It’s basically established fact at this point that Quentin Tarantino is a master of his craft, and it’s widely accepted that the Kill Bill films are Tarantino at his best.  While many have the tendency to split the films into two separate pieces of work, those of us in the know when Kill Bill was just a rumor knew that Tarantino originally imagined it as a nearly four hour epic.  When taken in that original context, I find Kill Bill Vol. 2 to be one of my personal favorite films in the Tarantino catalog, explicitly because of how much I love Vol. 1, and how well Vol. 2 pays off the time invested in the series as a whole. 

Black Mamba (Uma Thurman), real name Beatrix Kiddo, has killed Oren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and a large portion of the Crazy 88, as well as Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), marking two of the five names off of her kill list.  Of her former group, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, Beatrix now has three targets left to take care of : Budd (Michael Madsen), a.k.a. Sidewinder, brother to main target Bill (David Carradine) (Snakecharmer), and Bill’s new girl, Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), a.k.a. California Mountain Snake.  With the knowledge of her targets’ locations thanks to an interrogation of Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), Oren’s former lawyer, Beatrix’s forward momentum is inevitable, leaving her the time to dwell on her past, especially the massacre of her remaining friends and husband to be in El Paso at the hands of her former colleagues, as well as what her life would have been like as a mother.

I would describe the second installment of this saga as a well-balanced blend of a western and a martial arts film.  In this film, most everyone except Beatrix Kiddo wallows in desperation and despair, save for Bill, whose cannot allow him to see himself as anything but superior.  The closer connections to Beatrix’s enemies equal up to gradually more sadistic and personal encounters, each forcing Beatrix to dig deep into her well of memory and experience to manage her way out.  For as much as the film does lean towards its western aesthetic and tone, including Pai Mei in Vol. 2 is a stroke of genius writing and story integration, providing enough of a connection to Vol. 1 and the genre of martial arts films as a whole.

While the more reserved nature of this film turned some fans off, it was a smart choice not to try and top the over-the-top nature of Vol. 1.  The film relies more on the use of planting narrative seeds that pay off down the road, appealing to viewer emotion and intellect more so than what feeds their adrenaline needs.  Of the two films, Vol. 2 is a reserved, much more intimate film in terms of the world scale... it’s almost a Texas film in many aspects and in spirit, though much of it takes place in Barstow, California.  The payoff of mother and daughter reconnection is endearing and deepens our connection to Beatrix, which is well-earned for those making it through the course of the two film journey. 

The second installment is an extremely well-paced movie, like a Sergio Leone modern-day western.  There are subtle western stylizing of previously used score elements, giving callbacks to moments from the first volume.  There is a continuation of great sound design, as well as bold switches between unique shot framing and visual styles.  The vignette-based presentation of the chapters plays more focused in Vol. 2, giving a clear separation between the many flashbacks and the extremely rapid journey of Beatrix’s final steps to revenge.  The inclusion of the famous opening monologue from Shogun Assassin echoes the crux of the Kill Bill saga, and is a nice button at the end of the film.

David Carradine embraces his role as the ‘Snake Charmer’, deriving his power from an even, measured tenor, where his danger lies more so in potential than it does prowess.  Michael Madsen plays a tragic antihero... a man who has made all attempts to sever himself from his past, only to use every tool at his resource when that past catches up to him.  Gordon Liu channels the whimsy, wisdom, mystery and skilled ferocity of Pai Mei to a tee.  Daryl Hannah plays the most stereotypical in terms of villainous qualities, particular in her snide manner and her unkillable drive.  Uma Thurman continues her inspired performance, going above and beyond with her actions while keeping her performance grounded and as believable as possible.  Wonderful guest appearances by Samuel L. Jackson, Larry Davis, Sid Haig, Bo Svenson, Helen Kim, Stephanie L. Moore, Shana Stein, Caitlyn Keats, Chris Nelson, Perla Haney-Jardine and a return casting of Michael Parks in a new role round things out.

As mentioned at the close of the Vol. 1 article, I hold my hopes that these films will one day find themselves on the release date end of a Director’s Cut, ideally thanks to an organization such as the Criterion Collection.  In the meantime, every once in a blue moon, I set aside four to five hours and indulge in Tarantino’s finest work.

[grandtheftaural]

Grand Theft Aural 145 - Caitlin Keats, Special Guest!

👩🎨

A frank discussion with actor Caitlin Keats including surprising news on our old apartment building, The Villa Carlotta, EMF care, pac-man bacteria, beauty, Michelle McNamara: true crime: E.A.R (Golden State Killer), Street Justice, Nightstalker, doxxing, Cecil the Lion, Yelp, swearing, hindsight regret, Diane Keaton, Trophy Hunting, the human condition, Stephen Hawking, UFO abduction scenario with E.T., India Segment: Stories from the Ashoka Deluxe, foreign accents, free three, cartwheels and handstands, cross-fit, confronting fears, rock climbing, belaying, Tammy Jo, Sully, Twilight Zone, Louis CK, Jello Pudding Pops, Fudgesicles, ice-cream SMASH, old school friends, wedding engagements, Doctor So-Tso, Slutski-Lipshitz and Roboto, Styx, high heels, dogs and docs, Ganglion Bible Cyst, Dr. Pimple Popper, Chiropractors and Acupuncturists, neck cricks, novocaine, gold grillz, root canal stories, ceiling world, HQ Trivia App [seekeats, pauly_a, rice_new], cute dancers, appropriate words, Inuits and Gypsies.

Listen more than 75 minutes: ▶️ Grand Theft Aural 145 - Caitlin Keats, Special Guest! ◀️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ RATE US ON iTUNES FOR 🔥 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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