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You know how I feel about Tarantino.
He's a very smart guy, obviously. Reservoir Dogs proves two things to me: He has an excellent taste in actors (Keitel, Buscemi, Roth are all great!) and he has seen lots of good movies (A Better Tomorrow, City on Fire, The Killer, etc.). I know I give him a lot of shit but really, even though he clearly ripped off a lot of parts of other movies, he was able to infuse it with a lot of creative directing and some awesome dialogue. Also, he made it for very cheap. A very simple and great concept and one of my favorite films ever, no matter what.
So, Tarantino has my respect. I think everything he's done, aside from Death Proof, has some good stuff in it.
But honestly I think the dialogue, his most "respected" element, is absolutely atrocious in the Kill Bill films. The action is fucking great, especially in volume 1, but the "storyline" is hard to take seriously and the characters are just... well... I mean, I don't like a single character in either one of those films. It's hard to enjoy a movie when the characters suck, the story sucks, and the dialogue sucks. And since volume 2 is almost solely characterization, story, and dialogue... well...
Still, again, Tarantino has good tastes. He used some Fabio Frizzi music from "The Beyond" in vol. 2, which made me smile. He used Chiaki Kariyama (BONER!) after seeing her in the excellent "Battle Royale". This guy knows great films (didn't he use some music from "Blow Out" in Death Proof? I think I remember that.. if so, then.. well, Death Proof still sucks.. but cool!). I will always respect him for bringing Sonatine and Chungking Express over here.
Still, I think the best elements of Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 could have been merged together to create an amazing film. As it is, at over 4 hours (maybe 5 hours?) between both of them, it's just a bit much. Just not my thing. Here's my take on it: Tarantino is a clever guy, but he's not THAT clever. The "Superman" speech at the end of Volume 2 might be the worst thing I've ever heard in a film by a big-name director.
You gotta respect the guy for his love of cinema. He's even turned me onto some great movies that I would've never heard of if he wasn't for him (All About Lily Chou-Chou, which is one of my all time favorite films... so thanks, Tarantino! Also, Thriller: A Cruel Picture I'd never heard of before he mentioned it). Also, I he's apparently producing Tetsuo III. I mean, the guy has all kinds of cool shit going on, so I don't hate him. But his films are a bit... all over the place for me.
......also, has anyone ever seen the movie SIX STRING SAMURAI? I love that movie so much.
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