williamknott

For the intelligent and reflective movie-goer, there is much to appreciate about this film. To begin with, the opening narration, although fantastic, is just about the best opening line to any story out there. It immediately draws one into the world of these weird, wonderful people. And that fantastic aspect is maintained throughout the film, like a fairy tale that provides a surprise around every corner. It is a pleasure to be taken into this kind of world for the 100+ minutes of the film.

I strongly disagree with the comments, which the IMDb is currently (as of March 13/04) displaying as being "representative," which states:

"If you hold dear the innocence of children, respect God and those who serve Him, and hold dear what is beautiful in a spiritual sense, you will probably dislike this film."

That's one seriously narrow-minded opinion the IMDb people have selected as being representative. There was a time when the IMDb was more discriminating in what they allowed through to the site. That they allowed *this* posting through *and* chose it to represent the average response to the film is bad a sign; the ship is sailing but there's nobody at the wheel. Reading those comments, one could easily conclude that there are a great deal of sadly unimaginative people out there who just don't get this film.

It isn't surprising that someone with the kind of insular view of the world as expressed in those "representative" comments wouldn't enjoy this film. I never thought of it this way, but I suppose "Antonia's Line" is not for the polite, ultra-conservative, easily-offendable religious folks out there who, it seems, are more apt to feel threatened by fantastic stories like this than to appreciate them for what they are. "Antonia's Line" is the kind of story that give us permission to *imagine* how things might be if they were just slightly eschew. This film is not a picture of the real world, but, like a good fairy tale, provides one an opportunity to reflect on a variety of human conditions and experiences that everyone in some way can relate to.

In this regard, "Antonia's Line" is a wonderfully rich and rewarding film, and a beautifully well-told story.

It should not be dismissed so easily. (And the IMDb ought to get their act together.)

I thoroughly enjoyed "Kill Bill, Vol. 1" for what it is and plan to see it again before it leaves my local theatre, and I'm looking forward to `Vol. 2.' It's a shallow movie with nothing underneath the surface, but the surface is so lovingly made--I just ate it up. It was a fun ride. A good ole fashion revenge flick. Uma Thurman going out to get everybody, and she gets 'em good. And that's it.

Criticizing the movie according a to more complex criteria than that seems foolish.

Which seems to be the case for most of the negative criticisms I've read about the movie. James Berardinelli's review of the movie, for instance, is a perfect illustration of a movie critic taking himself, as a movie critic, too seriously, and the movie, as a `film,' much too seriously--and judging the movie all wrong. (http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/master.html)

For example, the protagonist in a revenge flick is defined more by their ability to kick *ss than their ability to carry on witty conversation. As entertaining as it might be to listen to two gangsters discuss the deeper meaning of a foot massage, that kind of extended dialogue would most likely slow down the kinetic energy of the all cool kung-fu that's going on in `Kill Bill.'

So the movie doesn't have a lot of memorable dialogue. So what? `Kill Bill' isn't `Pulp Fiction,' nor do I think it is meant to be. It is a wonderfully crafted kung-fu, Samurai, kill-em-all and kill-em-good, revenge flick.

When I hear criticisms like `it was too bloody and too violent,' it reminds of something I inadvertently heard Kathy-Lee Gifford say about `Pulp Fiction' one day while I was flicking as fast as I could through the channels: `Did it really need to be so violent?'

That's like asking, `Does a musical really need to have so much singing?' Yeah, it does. It's called `The Sound of MUSIC.' What did you expect?

Quentin Tarantino's latest movie is called `KILL Bill.' Kinda tells you what you're in for, don't you think?

If you don't like gory and violent revenge flicks, you won't like the movie. That's it. Don't go. But for what it is, it is extremely well made, stunning and amazing at times, and--I hate this phrase--but a pure cinematic delight. It's like Homer Simpson discovering triple-chocolate ice cream. Kung-fu revenge flicks don't get any better than this.