my 2 cents

Well color me surprised. It was a kick. Really. (However, very glad I opted not to see Vol 1 as it seems that's where the worst violence was and as much as the Q-man is defined by his love of violence, that is not what I enjoy about his work. In fact, I would be interested to see what he could make if he had to make a film without any violence at all--that I would pay top dollar to see).

So, what I find most fascinating about watching a QT movie is how it feels like a folk art or found art piece. It's like the guy was bathed in nothing but 70's television, kung fu movies and spaghetti westerns. He takes all these elements (and all the details, it's killer-- he must have seen the tv shows a thousand times to capture just the exact nuances of the stuff), which on their own are pretty junky bits of pop culture, and weaves them into something all his own. Familiar yet oddly, original.

The sub-title of this film must surely be When A Man Loves A Woman because no actress since Grace Kelly had Hitchcock drooling his big, blubbery British lips after her has had a more worshipful, devoted director than Uma Thurman. QT is in freaking love with her which does wonders for the film.

I don't know anything about cinematography (including how to spell it. Did I spell that right?), but I know whatever he did with the lighting and the colors etc I really liked. Also loved his stylist. Yum.

Soundtrack-- this is where I think he distinguishes himself. The soundtrack is a cut above which is what I would say for Pulp Fiction, too. He's got a very, very cool way choosing and laying out the tracks. That's not to say this is a soundtrack I would listen to for pleasure. It's a soundtrack that actually is all about each scene in the film and works to layer inference and meaning as opposed to another marketing strategy to make more money off the film.

How fitting that he would choose David Carradine to be his alter ego-- in fact, the actors he chose across the board just rocked. Rocked. So, soundtrack and actors I think are two of the best parts of this film-- Madsen was so so so good.

Loved during the Face to Face at the end where Uma was in pale blue with a bright orange shawl. uh, yeah-- love that orange and blue combo.

Favorite line? When, in the midst of a major all-out battle, Uma throws the chew spittle at Darryl and Darryl stops to say, gross like they were two squabbling teenagers. That was awesome.

In short, I was very apprehensive cause the violence is just too out there for me, but the power of the feminine ROCKED. And it's fun to see someone be idolized the way QT idolizes Uma.

Vivid, creative entertainment. We followed it with dinner at Wendy's and dessert at the Dairy Queen-- a perfect ending (and y'all know how I am about fast food, but that's what felt most right after this movie and it was gooood).

updated: April 23, 2004

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