Genre: Action

*This review is for both volumes*

Kill Bill is a stylish, mesmerising and epic revenge thriller. 4 hours of style, emotion and gallons of blood! The two parts, when viewed close together, form an amazing, gripping and enticing thriller that will have you captivated.

This film is like no other, not even the martial arts films it pays homage to. This is on a whole different level. It is written and directed brilliantly by Quentin Tarantino who has crafted his most stylish film to date. It is full of Tarantino-isms including his use of camera angles, his astonishing script and a giant, powerful ensemble cast.
Uma Thurman, in her iconic role of The Bride has never been better. Not in Pulp Fiction, not in anything. She brings everything to the performance with lines delivered so perfectly and none said better than "Your name is Buck, right? And you're here to fuck, right?". If anyone was born to play a role, it would be Thurman for The Bride, the most badass female character ever to grace the screen. Chopping her way through The Crazy 88 in Volume 1, we witness a character being the centre of on of the greatest scenes of all time. In Volume 2, Thurman shows a much more sympathetic side of her character with wonderful, flawless talent.
Thurman as The Bride is the best character from a Tarantino film since Jules Winfield, played by Samuel L. Jackson, in Pulp Fiction. Jackson also pops up in the short role of a piano player in Volume 2, which I was very happy to see.

The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad:

Lucy Liu is outstanding as O-Ren Ishii playing an interesting character with an emotionally strong back story, presented in Volume 1 in glorious anime, another fantastic point that I will get to later. Her performance really brings her character to vivid life. A scene where she chops of a man's head and stands there, seething with subtle anger as the neck and head of her victim gushes with exaggerated, realistic blood is the highlight of her performance.

Vivcia A. Fox, as Vernita Green is an awesome, kickass character used to brilliant effect in the scene that really sets the epic into motion.

Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver is an interesting and probably most hateable part of the assassins. Her character is one you love to hate.

Michael Madsen as Budd is no Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs but that doesn't mean he doesn't do a top notch job here as Bill's brother. Budd is a character that really helps form the film and he is involved in some of the best and most memorable scenes of Volume 2 and is a vital part to the film and its events.

David Carridine as Bill, the title character, is the best of the entire male cast. Due to a genius move by Tarantino, we first see him as a mysterious character whose face we don't at first see. In a scene where we see his faceless persona play menacingly with a sword as he talks on the phone is both memorable and full of meaning. It signifies his danger, his importance and the mysterious man he is. Carridine plays Bill in both volumes in two ways. In one way we see him as a cold, heartless villain and in another we see a man with depth. Carridine carries his character with his involved performance throughout the epic story and he made one of the best characters of all time become his own, and one he will always be remembered for, especially after his death.

Other performances include those of Chiaki Kuriyama, as Gogo Yubari a young but heartless assassin who works closely with O-Ren, with Kuriyama being nothing short of amazing, Samuel L. Jackson as Rufus, the previously mentioned piano player, Gordon Liu in two differing roles, one, his best, as the tough kung fu instructor Pai Mei in Volume 2 and the other as the leader of the Crazy 88 in Volume 1, Michael Parks, who, like Gordon Liu, plays two roles with his most distinctive being Esteban Vihaio, an aging pimp in volume 1. There are other amazing performances throughout both volumes.

The film appears so fluid on screen. Each shot links well to the next due to the superb editing by Sally Meneke. The editing, paired with the camera angles chosen by Tarantino, allows the film to dance on screen with captivating power. I can see why Meneke is always employed to edit Tarantino films.

The screenplay by Tarantino is exceptional. A script that only Tarantino could write. It is truly mind-blowing and is one of the greatest features of the film. Tarantino has created one of the best plots in the history of cinema. A revenge story told from the view point of a female is both different and refreshing. The story he conjured up is phenomenal whilst the actual screenplay is fantastic. It involves depth, emotion, violence (how could there be a Tarantino film without it?), both realistic and giddily unrealistic moments and, of course, many homages to many genres.

The competent directing by Tarantino is yet another magnificent factor of the film. He translates the screenplay to the screen with the same talent he used for all of his other 1990's works such as Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and, obviously, Pulp Fiction. Aside from the latter, this is probably his second best screenplay to screen translation. The plot points and the significance of scenes and the actions of the characters all appear clearly on screen. His use of angles is, as I have said before, astonishing and his Tarantino traits all shine here.

And shine they do, literally, as the cinematography is breath-taking.

The cinematography is crisp and pristine in both the colour and black and white sections. The black and white is beautiful and in a marvellous contrast, does wonders in various gory sequences. The colour photography is also beautiful and is used to create many different moods in the film. The bright colours show off perfectly the extreme violence and watching the blood fountains spewing in such glory is enough to inspire awe in anyone. A dark, colour drained hospital scene is very atmospheric. The scenes with The Bride being taught by Pai Mei involve spellbinding cinematography that shows off the surrounding China locations masterfully. Robert Richardson, who also did the fantastic photography for Natural Born Killers, did a perfect job here. Kill Bill has the best colour cinematography I have ever seen, just topping American Beauty and the black and white cinematography ranks very high on my black and white cinematography list, but it doesn?t beat the brilliant photography on Sin City.

The scoring is an absolute pleasure to listen to. Robert Rodriguez did a top notch job on the scoring work. What is good here is that there isn't just one score, but many and all of them being perfect for a scene or sequence. It is a worthy part of the film for sure.

Another good part is the use of songs. The very fitting "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Nancy Sinatra was a perfect choice for the opening credits. It hints straight away at the themes that will occur in the film. Getting the real life band The 5.6.7.8's to perform songs in the "Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves" scene was also a brilliant decision. In fact, all song choices were great.

Another genius part of Kill Bill is the use of Anime in Volume 1. It is artistically impressive and helps tell the story of O-Ren in a great, unique style all the while being a just as relevant towards the Japanese style that features so prominently throughout the Volumes. I am not really an Anime fan but all the time it was displayed on screen I could not take my eyes off it. It is spectacular and one of the things that strikes you the most about Kill Bill. It manages to be completely out of the blue and an unusual addition to the film as well as being perfect for the film and its narrative. I also like how typical Tarantino camera angles were featured in the animation, successfully showing Tarantino's presence and reminding you that it is his film all over.

The costumes used in Kill Bill are great. The iconic, instantly recognisable yellow suit for The Bride was a great costume for her to wear as it shows the danger she possesses but also allows us to know that she isn't a horrible person, just a woman seeking revenge.
The Crazy 88 wear the suits with black ties, a notable Tarantino trademark featured in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction for example. All the costumes mirroring old Kung Fu films were also well researched and chosen.

The settings in the film were also good. A scenic China is shown off to great effect in the "Cruel Tutelage Of Pai Mei" chapter in volume two and a desert landscape for scenes involving Budd glisten in the photography. Indoor sets, like the The House Of Blue Leaves and the home of Vernita Green were also very well chosen.

The structure of this film is imaginative, like that of all Tarantino films. The mixed up chronology of the film works extremely well to the advantage of Kill Bill and makes it different and even more enjoyable to watch.

In conclusion, Kill Bill is a spectacular, fast paced, bloody, sentimental masterpiece. Scenes of outrageous violence and moments of real character development and sorrow, along with the perfect splicing of both in the Anime sequences all contribute towards the brilliance of the film.
You are gripped by the all action beginning, and are left feeling a large range of emotions at the bitter sweet ending; this film is a rollercoaster of emotion. Real edge of your seat moments mean that there is a nice balance between emotions and thrills too.

Kill Bill is an epic, flawless masterpiece that is a definite favourite of mine, topping other Tarantino masterworks Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown but not quite topping the ultimate of his films, Pulp Fiction.

Batman. The definitive, un-beaten superhero film.

An excitement packed, wonderfully executed action/thriller/adventure that is definitely not a kid-friendly superhero film.

Tim Burton directs the whole film with amazing style but doesn't hold back on the story. Not all action films have a strong plot. This does and is all the more enjoyable because of that. I want an action film with a plot, not just explosions and car chases, and this delivers.

Firstly, Jack Nicholson was born to play The Joker. His insanity is shown vividly on screen and Nicholson becomes the villain. Michael Keaton is the best Batman there has ever been, giving us a sympathetic character aswell as just a kick-ass hero.

I think this is by far the best Batman film created and will always be remembered as more than just a super hero movie.

Now, for the comparisons between this and The Dark Knight, which I really must write about to get off my chest.

The Story: This has a much better and more intriguing story, with more characters to sympathise with, compared to the Dark Knight which lacks that.

The action: This holds back on the action and allows for more story to evolve, but still includes some very great action scenes. That is what I prefer over The Dark Knight.

Batman: Michael Keaton portrays Batman much better than Bale. Keaton, here, is given more to work with. He spends more time (or equal amount) out of the suit, and so we can see an in depth character. Whereas with Bale, although good, is mostly shown in the costume, with a disguised voice. I think if Bale had more to work with, he would have lit up the screen much like Keaton did here.

The Joker: Call the lynch mob! I've decided (better find a hiding place) that Jack Nicholson is better, much better, the Heath Ledger as The Joker. Nicholson, as I mentioned earlier, was born for this role. He already has the grin, which is used to such good effect here and his unique voice really works well with the character. Jack makes The Joker come to life in the way only he can and gave a quirky but terrifying performance as the famous villain. With Ledger, however, he simply plays a crazy psycho. Sure, anyone can do that. Nicholson is a whole level above him because he is what The Joker should be. Oddly funny yet repulsively evil. Ledger just breeds a whole villain, and not the type that should be holding the town captive. Although Ledger was good in his role, and really was scary, I cannot find him even a possible match to Jack's Joker.

Right--better change my name and move house after what I've said...I'm probably not safe now..!

Anyway, as much as I loved The Dark Knight (which I really did, just not as much as others), I just found that this film is a whole class above it.

For this film, all I can say now is that if you want to see Batman at his best, then this is what I would recommend.

As much as I love this film, personally I disagree with the claim that this sequel is better than the original horror classic.

Much more action packed and gory and a much thicker plot is great, but this just didn't have the atmosphere the original held. Maybe this is because there are much more locations used instead of just the ship like in the original and therefore this didn't have the claustaphobia factor.

However, this still remains a 5 star film because it is still stunningly good. Well done James Cameron, but sadly you didn't quite top the first film.

Tense, brilliantly acted and an un-denialbly fantastic plot, Collateral puts the Great into "Modern Great". Michael Mann's exellent direction stays strong throughout, making a fun film to watch in the first place, visually fun to watch at the same time.