Movie Reviews - Kill Biil, Vol. 2, and 28 Days Later

It was a couple weeks ago. wadE and I had watched Kill Bill, Vol. 1 the night before, so we decided what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than by going to see Vol. 2? Unfortunately, it was already gone from all the megaplexes, so we hit one of the local old-school, non-stadium-seat venues around 4 in the afternoon... walked up to the ticket booth... and took notice of the guy inside the booth: head totally rolled back, mouth wide open, absolutely fully asleep. As there were about six cars in the parking lot, total, this wasn't wholly surprising. Suppressing both the giggles, and the urge to yell into his microphone, we retreated to the parking lot to laugh it off. Good times. Then another set of folks rolled up, Mr. Ticket Man awoke, and we were in...

To be honest, I'm not really sure what to say about this movie. Vol. 1 had the epic fight scenes. Nothing here even comes close. There are some decent little fight bits, and some great Tarantino side stories. The ending was predictible, but right in line with the film's genre. It was a lot of dialogue, and I think maybe there could've been about a half hour completely cut from the movie.

That said, I liked it. I think part of it was the carryover from seeing part one the night before. I'd almost go so far as to call it necessary viewing before you see part two. (Or else wait for the super DVD set, as if you have any doubt that one is coming.) Anyway, it's a good movie. We finally learn Kiddo's full name, and she sets out to finish off her Kill List. Budd, played by Michael Madsen, is frankly, boring. Plus he fights dirty. Then again, that's in his character's character. Elle, played by the lackluster (wadE covers this at length) Darryl Hannah, has some interesting moments, and her fight with Thurman is good for both a laugh, and a cringe. And finally, Bill. The last showdown throws a few plot twists at you, but nothing you'll be surprised at (unless you're like me and completely forget one of the obviously already stated ones).

I think I would've liked to have seen this as one whole movie. Both volumes combined check in at a little under 4 hours, and I think with a little creative editing the whole shebang could've been put out at a little over 3. It would've been nice. It also wouldn't have made as much money. Ah well. I just can't muster the energy to talk at length about this one, but it's good. I'm gonna give the whole movie (both included) a ranking of:

One-point-five Trents. Come to think of it, I saw the first movie with Trent. So that's gotta count for something.

Let's move on.

I bought 28 Days Later, to the best of my recollection, some time in March. Maybe February. wadE and I watched it last Friday. I didn't forget about it, not really, I'm just that slow these days. Frankly it's shocking that I've been publishing anything at all.

In any case, this is a really good movie. wadE's gone on record as saying he would've preferred it to really pick a genre, but I kinda enjoyed the fact that it covered a lot of ground. It kept me from trying out out-think the movie, resulting in my just sitting back and enjoying the ride. I compared it to Memento, and while I'm not going to put it in that echelon, it's a good movie.

28 Days Later stars a bunch of British actors who you've never heard of, with the possible exception of the guy who played Hamish from Braveheart. The quick synopsis: a group of PETA-type folks break into a research lab, and unwittingly unleash an epidemic on England. Jim, your protagonist, awakens from a coma 28 days later, to find a post-apocalyptic country waiting for him. He ends up meeting a handful of other survivors, and together they try to reach a place that's been radio broadcasting that they've got the cure.

(No, not the musical group The Cure. This isn't a ransom story.)

This movie is directed by the same fellow who brought you Trainspotting, which I haven't seen, and The Beach, which I have seen. For the moment, disregard what that tells you about me (As I recall, The Beach was the compromise choice for Kate and I, although what we couldn't agree on that led us to that, I can't fathom. We're also the same two idiots who went to see Reindeer Games, though, so maybe we were just cursed.) and just note that it's another solid effort from a good director. Say what you will about The Beach, I kinda liked it anyway. And the guy who wrote the book 'The Beach', is the same fellow who wrote this screenplay, which means that I may have to go track down a copy of that book. We'll see...

In any event, as noted, 28DL crosses a bunch of genres to bring you some different movie moments. The beginning paints a very surreal picture of a post-apocalyptic England, with a very nice use of silence from the soundtrack. Then there are some jump-from-your-seat moments, a la any horror flick you'd want to name. Then some nice suspense, where you wonder what's going to attack/happen next. Then the movie really throws you for a loop for a while, and you wonder how it's gonna all work out. Then there's the resolution and ending.

Can you tell I don't want to give anything away?

Basically, I like this movie. It doesn't trap itself into being just a horror movie, or a post-apocalyptic warning, or anything... it's just got a good story, that keeps you guessing. It's what I like to call Good Times.

We'll give it a solo Trent. Not quite a Big Fish, but still real good.

The DVD also has some interesting extras. The featurette on the 'making of' is decent enough... two of the three "alternate endings" were yawners, but the third one was really cool. It's just a storyboarded plot (sketches, for those of you who don't know what storyboards are), with the dialogue read by the director, but it gives you an idea of where the plot might have gone with a different idea. There's also a nice moment interjected in there where the director points out the gaping plot hole that essentially eliminated this ending from consideration. There are some cool photo galleries with commentary, which is a nice touch. Just thought I'd mention some of that.

Alright, I'm done. Peace.

6/22/2004