Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Oops I did it again. I went to see "Kill Bill" for a second time in two days. When I bought my tickets it seemed necessary, because it was claimed it would never be released on disc. Quentin Tarantino has  changed his mind, fortunately. But it was still good to see the film again.

One recent change to the complete film that wasn't in the 2011 version shown at the Cannes Film Festival is a 12-minute after-credits scene, called "Kill Bill: The Lost Chapter". It's a fully animated sequence featuring Gogo's sister Yuki. It doesn't really belong to the film, especially not at the end. When I own the film on disc I'll probably watch it separately, not tagged on to the end.

One thing that amused me tonight was the man sitting in the seat next to me. I always respect people who go to the cinema alone, like me, not with their partners or friends. It shows that they take films seriously. This man was different. During the fight scene in the House of Blue Leaves he covered his eyes every time a head or an arm was chopped off. Someone should have warned him that it would be so violent.

Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Finally! I've waited 22 years to see this film. "Kill Bill" was originally released as two films in 2003 and 2004. Quentin Tarantino re-edited the two films into a single film in 2011, but it was only released in Japan. In December 2025 it was finally shown in America at a few select cinemas and minor re-editing. Conflicting statements were made, possibly deliberate misinformation to raise expectations among film fans. First Tarantino said the film would only be shown in cinemas and not be made available for home viewing on disc or streaming. That was depressing. Then it was said that it would be released on Blu-Ray, but not streaming. Ideal! For me, at least. Then I was surprised to see that it was dropped onto Amazon Prime today, without prior announcement.

My local cinema was only showing the film twice, today and tomorrow. I bought tickets for both days. Then, last Monday, they announced that it would be lengthened to four days, probably because both days were sold out.

The main changed are

1. Oren Ishii's origin story is lengthened.

2. The fight scene in the House of Blue Leaves is in colour throughout, not partially black and white.

One small change that I noticed immediately was that the Klingon proverb was missing from the opening scene. I've read theories why Tarantino edited it out, but I miss it.

The official name of the film is "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair". Giving it that name makes it sound like two films that have been stitched together. I prefer to call it "Kill Bill", which emphasises that it's a single film that was chopped in two.

Reservoir Dogs (5 Stars)

Michael Madsen is dead.

I heard the news late last night. It saddens me, because he was an outstanding actor. I have about a dozen films in which he appears, most of them directed by Quentin Tarantino. I wasn't sure what film of his to watch today, and then I read that he's best known for his role as the psychopathic Vic Vega in "Reservoir Dogs". After a few minutes thought I agreed with this statement, but actually he's hardly known at all. He's an actor that only dedicated film fans know. When I mention him to my friends the reaction is "Michael who?" It's only when I mention a few films that they say, "Ah, so that was him".

In case you're one of the people who doesn't know him – which I doubt if you're reading my blog – he's the man who dances to "Stuck in the middle with you" by Stealers Wheel while torturing a policeman. I'm not a fan of the song, fortunately, because the scene has ruined it for me. Every time I hear the song I can't help thinking of Michael Madsen dancing with a knife.

"Reservoir Dogs" is a milestone in the history of cinema. It was an independent film that proved that independent films could have great artistic value. It took a few years to be recognised, but now it's a cult film which has a lasting legacy. There were many famous actors in the film, but Michael Madsen, relatively unknown at the time, contributed to its success.

The film opens with a scene in a restaurant in which eight men are sitting at a table discussing popular music and tips. Mr. Pink refuses to tip and complains that waitresses have to pay taxes on their tips. That was 1992. Now Donald Trump has passed a law that tips are no longer taxed. Good for him. His opponents claim that he's only done this to gain favour with lower paid voters, but I think it's something he always had on his mind. I too have always considered it somehow immoral to tax tips. Tips are a gift that I give a waitress out of the goodness of my heart, so the IRS shouldn't take part of it. Mr. Pink thinks it's wrong, so do I, and so does Donald Trump. That's one of the few good laws that he's passed since becoming president.

Farewell, Michael Madsen. You'll be missed by your friends and fans.

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The Doors (5 Stars)

This is the May 2024 selection for the "Best Of Cinema" film. It definitely belongs to the selection of films, unlike some others which have been announced for the coming months. I shan't name them now. Although there are differences in opinion about the quality of the film. I have a friend who's a big fan of the Doors, so much so that she even visited Jim Morrison's grave in Paris. A pilgrimage? She told me that the film is awful because it's so inaccurate. When I hear words like that I'm confused. I like the music by the Doors, especially their earlier music, but I wouldn't call myself a fan. My only knowledge of the band's history comes from this film, so I have no way of knowing how accurate it is. All I can say is that it's a good film, as far as the story is told.

Even though the film is called "The Doors", it's really a film about Jim Morrison. The other band members aren't fleshed out, they're just background figures. The film could just as well have been called "The Rise and Fall of Jim Morrison". He begins as a charismatic wild boy, and a few years later he's descended into drugs and alcohol. He makes Mick Jagger look tame in comparison.

I like the way he's portrayed in the early scenes. I see a lot of myself in him. He's a lot like I was in my mid teens, 16 to 18. It's difficult to explain what I mean. I didn't take drugs, but I still had a feeling for the world that was delirious. It's like I was high without taking drugs. I always felt that I was a hippy born too late for the hippy era. I often walked barefoot in the Walsall town centre for no other reason than to be different.

The film takes place in a different era, 1963 to 1971. Society seems so primitive. The police are always fast to step in when Jim says or does something offensive. Today people would just tut and look the other way.

I've listed Jennifer Tilly in the credits, but her scene was cut from the film. You can find it online.

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Reservoir Dogs (5 Stars)

Today I finally saw "Reservoir Dogs" in the cinema, 30 years too late. I just have one question:

Who shot Nice Guy Eddie?

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Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Today I watched "Kill Bill" with my friend Alex and his girlfriend Anna. It's always a pleasure to watch films in a group of like-minded film fans.

There's nothing I want to add to my previous reviews, apart from a few words about the film's two four-year-old girls.

Nikki, the daughter of Vernita Green aka Copperhead, is played by Ambrosia Kelley, who was seven years old at the time. She appeared in a few television programmes after "Kill Bill", but her acting career fizzled out in 2012. I haven't been able to find out what she's doing now.

B.B., the Bride's daughter, is played by Perla Haney-Jardine. She was five years old at the time. She's had a more successful acting career, including films like "Spider-Man 3" and "Steve Jobs". I hope to see a lot more of her in the future.

As you can see, some child actors have success that continues into adulthood, others don't. An early start in acting isn't an automatic guarantee for a long career. There's no replacement for talent and hard work.

Success Rate:  + 3.6

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Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #15

Even though it was released in two parts, I consider "Kill Bill" to be one film. I've heard discussions whether "Kill Bill Volume One" is better than "Kill Bill Volume Two", but I refuse to compare them. It's just one film. It's perfect as it is.

The story's chronology jumps backwards and forwards, but it's never difficult to understand. The Bride's numbered Kill List tells us what order things are happening, even when a scene isn't explicitly marked as a flashback. I once asked myself the question whether the film would be better if everything were shown in chronological order, and I eventually came to the answer No. Things are ordered just as they should be to tell the best possible story. I'd prefer a single four and a half hour cut as a single film, omitting the recap at the beginning of the second part, where the Bride speaks directly to the camera. That's the only change I'd make. Quentin Tarantino promised a complete cut 15 years ago, and I'm still waiting. I'm sure the film studio has blocked it as financially unviable. I'm hoping that the 4K remastered release will have a single cut, when it's finally released.

I mean a single cut of the official films. I'm not talking about the Japanese version, which has several differences to the international version. It would be interesting to see the two versions side by side, but they'll never be released in a single box set, because a different studio holds the rights to the Japanese version.

Beatrix Kiddo, usually called the Bride, was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. It's never stated what their aims were. Mercenaries for hire? Probably. Their leader is a man known only as Bill. When she found out she was pregnant, she spontaneously decided to quit, even though Bill was her child's father. She didn't tell him she was leaving, she just went into hiding. She changed her name and fell in love with a record shop owner in El Paso, Texas. Bill located her and took revenge by executing her and everyone else invited to her wedding rehearsal.

From left to right.....

Elle Driver (code name California Mountain Snake).

 Vernita Green (code name Copperhead).

Budd, Bill's brother (code name Sidewinder).

O-Ren Ishii (code name Cottonmouth).

Sofie Fatale wasn't a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, but she was trained by Bill, and she was present at the El Paso massacre as a witness.

The Bride (code name Black Mamba) survived the massacre and lay in a coma for four years. When she woke up the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad had broken up, so she had to search for the former members. She set out to take revenge on the four assassins and Bill himself. She spared Sofie's life, merely cutting off her arms.

The Bride was also carrying out revenge for the death of her child, but she discovers that the baby was born while she was in a coma. The girl called B.B. is living with her father.

The Bride becomes the Mother. And they all lived happily ever after.

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Thelma and Louise (5 Stars)

Déjà vu? Didn't I write about this film yesterday?

Yes, I did. To be precise, I wrote about it just over three hours ago.

So why am I writing about it again so soon?

The answer is simple. It's because I watched it twice in a row. Technically speaking, my blog isn't a film review site. It's a film diary. Since September 2010 I've been recording every single film I've watched. There are a few off topic posts scattered in between, but if you remove all of them you'll have a list of every film I've watched for the last ten and a half years. If I've counted correctly, that's 3,634 films. That's not quite one film a day. In my first three years I watched films less often (because I watched more television series). For the next three years I watched two films most days. For the last five years I've settled into a rhythm of one film a day, with very few exceptions.

But the question remains why I watched "Thelma and Louise" twice in a row.

I have a good excuse. My ex-wife walked into my room just as the film was coming to an end, the last five minutes. She sat and watched it with me. She told me that she'd watched the film with our daughter Fiona a long time ago, and she'd enjoyed it, so she wanted to watch it again. That was all the reason I needed to go back to the start. There's one thing about me that you should know. I watch the vast majority of my films alone, but I enjoy films much more in company. The occasional sideways glimpse to see another person's reaction to a scene is magical.

This is the first film I've watched twice in a row since September 2010, but there were other films before then. Only two. The first was "Inland Empire", which I bought from Amazon in October 2007. I was excited when it arrived in the mail, because David Lynch was my favourite director. I sat and watched it, and when it came to the end I didn't understand it. Even though it was a three hour film, I immediately watched it a second time. Three hours later, after six hours in front of my television screen, I still didn't understand it. In frustration I shoved one of the Schoolgirl Report films into my DVD player, I forget which one. That was a film I could understand; it was about schoolgirls having sex. I only ever watched "Inland Empire" again once, in June 2014. I enjoyed it and gave it a five star rating, but I still didn't understand it. Maybe it's time for me to watch it again.

The second was "Downfall", the film about Adolf Hitler's last days in his Berlin bunker. I watched it in my house in Malmesbury Road with Fiona. It must have been some time in 2008, maybe 2009. Those were the magical days when she used to watch films leaning against me. I wish those days had never ended. She was a real Daddy's Girl. But in 2012 she suddenly stopped, practically overnight. I never asked her why. Maybe she'd just grown up. But I'm getting off the point. What I wanted to say is that she liked the the film so much that she asked if she could watch it again. I gladly agreed, which meant another two hours of her sitting with my arm around her shoulder.

"Thelma and Louise" is now the third film that I've watched twice in a row on the same day. (I didn't finish the second viewing until after midnight, but I started watching it on the same day). This second review gives me a chance to start earlier in the film rather than just writing about their spectacular death.

It's difficult to say what the main theme in the film is. Is it a pro-woman film or an anti-man film? It's been called both. It's been called neo-feminist (which I presume is a compliment), and it's been called misandric (which is definitely not a compliment). The two women rise from weakness to strength in the two hours of the film, but only as a result of all the men around them being despicable. Apart from Thelma's husband Darryl, the men all make an initial impression of being perfect gentlemen before their true nature is revealed. Harlan Puckett behaves perfectly, until he hits Thelma and tries to rape her. J. D. (played by Brad Pitt) seduces Thelma with his southern charm, but he robs her before leaving. Louise's soft-talking boyfriend Jimmy has himself under control most of the time, but when he's in a bad mood he throws things across the room. This turns the women from timid little mice into aggressive killers.

Boys will be boys, men will be men. When the traffic cop stops the girls, he looks at more than their license and registration. To be fair, Louise does push her shoulders back to distract him.

The distraction stops him noticing Thelma sneaking up behind him with a gun.

In the past I've compared this film to David Lynch's "Wild at Heart". That's still the strongest similarity I see, but the barren scenery also reminds me of Russ Meyer's films, especially "Supervixens".

Doesn't this scene remind you of "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill"?

Woman is approached by man. Is Woman scared?

No. Woman knows she has all the power.

Woman looks man straight in the eye.

Woman is united and will never be divided.

This is a beautiful film. We fall in love with the two titular characters. We don't criticise them as they descend into crime, because we can see that they're also rising in strength. They're not evil. They're just doing whatever they can to survive in a world filled with evil men. The film teases us, giving us hope that they'll escape the police in a happy ending. Instead of this, their death itself is the happy ending.

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Thelma and Louise (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #46

"You can only die once, so make sure your death is a good one".

That's something I used to say a lot when I was younger. Nowadays I say it less often, but I still stand behind it. I invented the saying myself, but I've found out that others have said similar things. Their words are almost identical to mine, but they mean it differently. The others who speak paraphrased versions of my words mean that you should die for a good cause, i.e. the purpose of your death should be noble. It's something that soldiers might have as a motto when they march into battle. That's not what I mean. I mean that the moment of death should be accompanied by great pleasure. It would be a wonderful experience to die by being strangled during sexual intercourse. To anyone who says that I'm being weird, consider the alternatives. You could die with your body being mangled in a car crash, or you could die a long, lingering death while your body is being eaten away by cancer. I'm not weird, I'm the one talking good sense.

When I was young I wanted to die before I was 30. Then I said I wanted to die before I was 40. Then I said I wanted to die before I was 50. Now my life is slowly trickling away, day by day, year by year. By the time I die I'll probably be too weak to enjoy my death. If death is the ultimate goal in life, I should have planned my death when I was young.

That brings me to the film. Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer are living dreary lives in a small town in Arkansas. Thelma is in a dead end marriage that gives her no pleasure. Louise is single and in a dead end job as a waitress. They have nothing to live for. The only thing that keeps them sane is their friendship.

But they have a good death.

After an adventure together which culminates in a high speed car chase, they meet their death by plummeting into the Grand Canyon. That's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It's one of the most beautiful places to die.

What a wonderful way to die! It's not quite up to the level of death during intercourse, but it still looks like a splendid experience. Flying through the air for endless seconds, before the car finally hits the ground with such velocity that an instantaneous death is guaranteed. It's notable that the film doesn't show the moment of death. The film ends while the two friends are flying through the air. It's as if the moment of ecstasy never ends.

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Reservoir Dogs (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #61

It's difficult to define what a cult film is, but if any film is a cult film it has to be "Reservoir Dogs". It's an independent film that was made with a (relatively) low budget. It went almost unnoticed when it was released in 1992, and it wasn't fully appreciated until it was released on videotape in 1995. Critics went overboard with praise, some calling it the greatest independent film of all time. Video rental stores could hardly keep up with the demand.

The film is deliciously minimalistic. With the exception of flashbacks, the whole film takes place in an empty warehouse. The film is about a jewel robbery, but we don't see the robbery itself. The robbery is described in detail in the conversations in the warehouse. We don't need to see it. It's possible that the reason for omitting the robbery was to save money, but it gives the film greater artistic value.

The flashbacks show the planning for the robbery, although the robbers spend more time talking about other things than the robbery itself. The conversations are what make the film. This is the trademark of all films written by Quentin Tarantino, whether he directs them or not.

Nina Siemaszko didn't quite make it into the film. Her only scene was deleted.

It's a shame. She seems like a fun character. Quentin Tarantino probably decided that she didn't fit the film's style. He wanted to make an all-male film.

"Reservoir Dogs" is a perfect film. I can't fault it in any way. I can only fault myself for putting it so low in my top films list.

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The Doors (5 Stars)

It's been a long time since I last watched this film. More than 10 years, since it hasn't been mentioned on my blog. The title of the film is "The Doors", but it's really about Jim Morrison. The other band members hardly get any screen time, and their characters aren't fleshed out enough for us to get to know them.

I enjoy the film a lot (as should be obvious from my rating). Val Kilmer was an excellent choice to play Jim Morrison. He's fascinating from his early years (1965) until his death (1971). He was doubtlessly a genius, based on the poetry he wrote. Were the drugs that he took (mainly LSD) an inspiration or a hindrance for his poetry? They were probably both. LSD opened his mind to new thoughts, but as he continued the drugs took control of him and stifled his creativity. Added to the problem is that he mixed drugs and alcohol. There may be different opinions on the harm or benefit of several recreational drugs, but one thing all experts agree on is that alcohol and drugs shouldn't be mixed.

The film has a dreamlike quality. Jim Morrison's trips repeatedly bring back memories of a dead Indian (Native American) that he saw in a car crash as a child. He considers him to be a shaman. I don't know whether this actually happened in his life, but it makes the film more fascinating.

Today, after watching the film, I read that the film has been heavily criticised by those who knew Jim, in particular the other members of the Doors. They think that he was portrayed too negatively in his later years. I can't comment on this. I just know that the way he's shown makes a good film. It could have been called "The Rise and Fall of Jim Morrison". In his 27 years he lived more than most people live in a hundred years.

I might have written more about this film, but the bugs in the new Blogger interface take a lot of the joy out of writing. How long will it take for Google's Blogger team to fix the critical bugs, let alone the minor bugs?

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Once upon a time in Hollywood (4½ Stars)

I gave this film five stars when I saw it in the cinema last year, but I've decided to lower the rating after watching it again today. The film is disjointed. In 2017 it was announced that Quentin Tarantino was going to make a film about the Manson Family murders. As the release date came closer, it was reported that the film was about Hollywood at the end of the 1960's. It's actually about both. The first two hours are about the golden days of Hollywood, while the last half hour is about the Manson Family murders. Both parts of the film are perfect in themselves, but it looks like the second part has been tagged on as an afterthought. It's true, the Manson Family also appears in a scene in the first part, but the Family doesn't seem to have any great importance, along all the other things that are happening.

There's a lot that I could write about the relationship between the actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). I'll leave my thoughts on them until I watch the film again. In this review I'll concentrate on women's feet.

Margot Robbie is sitting in the cinema watching "The Wrecking Crew" with her feet up. I have no problems with that. When I went to see "Emerald Green" there was a teenage girl with her legs up sitting next to me, and I allowed myself a few looks. The problem is that Margot's feet are dirty. I've heard that some men like dirty feet, but not me! I find them revolting, not sexy at all.

This is Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) hitching a ride from Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt).

Pussycat has beautiful feet, and even more beautiful legs, but I have to offer her some advice: when she's hitching a ride, she shouldn't lay her head on the driver's lap. It's not safe.

Dakota Fanning plays Squeaky, the Manson Family member keeping ranch owner George Spahn as a sex slave. The other recent film about the Manson Family, "Charlie Says", goes into more detail on their relationship, but only Quentin Tarantino shows us Squeaky's feet.

"George is that way, Cliff". Why should Squeaky point with her finger when she can use her toes?

I don't know who these two girls are, but they have nice feet.

I have difficulty rating Quentin Tarantino's films in order, but this film is easy to rate. Out of his nine films, I put this in eighth place. (His weakest film is "Hateful Eight"). Apart from the film being disjointed, I have two other slight criticisms. The first is the portrayal of Bruce Lee. Why is he so arrogant? It's also shocking that a random stunt man is able to beat him in a fight.

My second criticism is the rewriting of history. When Quentin Tarantino rewrote history in "Inglourious Basterds" it didn't bother me. It had a purpose that suited the movie well. The rewriting of history in "Once upon a time in Hollywood" is puzzling. Is there a purpose behind saving Sharon Tate's life? She's saved by the random meeting of Cliff and Tex in the first part of the film. Does Tarantino want to say that random events, however minor, can change history? That's the message of "Run Lola Run". If he's ever commented on this in interviews, please let me know in the comments box below.

Success Rate:  + 2.2

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