cyril1974

Adapted from a Jules Verne novel, this TV series : "Deux ans de vacances" is one that I saw when I was young on TV and that, more than 25 years after, I still remember with great nostalgia and great pleasure. The greatest about this show is the music : the intro sailer song and also all the ambient music. There is also something about childhood and pirate stories : some kids who have to fight against pirates, find themselves on a treasure island. As Jules Verne concludes in the novel : the kids started the adventure as kids and ended it as men. Some of them start as very competitive school fellows and become friends for life at the end. Great story about friendship. Saw it several times on french TV when I was young...that was a long time ago. I wish I had a DVD copy of it. To discover.

All the attendant of a wedding, including the pregnant bride (Uma Thurman), have been killed by an assassination squad. The sheriff and his son think that this has been done by professionals. Although she was shot in the head, the bride is not dead but is in a coma. Four years later, the bride wakes up. She realizes that she has lost her child but also the husband she was going to marry. Since she knows the name of all the murderers (they were former assassination squad fellows), she decides to seek revenge by killing them one after the other. The first is Vernita Green aka Copperhead who lives in a suburban house. The second is the terrible O-Ren Ishii, boss of the Japanese mafia, who is protected by the 17-year old Gogo Yubari and the crazy 88 bodyguards.

In fact, Kill Bill vol. 1 is not a movie but half of a movie as its title obviously indicates. You can't be satisfied watching this one only (especially since vol. 2 is much better and contains the entire plot). In this first part, Uma Thurman is taking her revenge on those who killed her baby, her husband and almost killed herself. This movie is a tribute to Samourai movies. It is very violent but very well directed. It is probably Kill Bill Vol 1 that is, to this date, the best technical achievement of Quentin Tarantino as a director. The manga sequence is great, even if it is hardly watchable for those who don't like to see blood on screen. The whole fight sequence in Japan is a masterpiece of action movie and a lesson of cinema. Among the two main components of Tarantino movies (that is: 1 violent fight scenes and 2 funny talkative scenes), this volume 1 contains 80% of component 1 and 20% of component 2 (it's the opposite in volume2). This first part is just an appetizer to the second. Don't miss volume 2. I give this one 8/10.

The bride continues to take her revenge on those who killed her baby, her husband and almost herself. After having killed Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii in volume 1, she runs after Budd (Michael Madsen), Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). And `she's gonna kill Bill'. To do that, she'll have to remember all the lessons of her master, Pai Mei. But a surprise is waiting for her before she accomplishes her revenge.

Kill Bill volume 1was just an appetizer. The whole plot is in the volume 2. Among the two main components of Tarantino movies (that is: 1 violent fight scenes and 2 funny talkative scenes), this volume 2 contains 20% of component 1 and 80% of component 2 (the opposite in volume1). This volume 2 is rich in funny scenes and dialogues, violence and –yes– emotion. Like in Jackie Brown, Tarantino is good at creating strong woman characters. The bride is determined to go to the end of her revenge, and she won't let go even if that includes resuscitating a second time (a tribute to the Night of the living dead). The soundtrack is great as usual, and as usual, you can try to find the influence of hundreds of directors and movies in this last Tarantino opus (the most obvious one being Sergio Leone). However, you can enjoy the movie (good plot, good dialogues) without any cinema culture. I give this one 8/10.