Kill Bill, Round 2.

With Kill Bill, Volume 1 out on DVD yesterday and Volume 2 in theaters on Friday, Quentin Tarantino's epic B-movie is splitting the critics and fans again. So far, it does seem that those who hated 1 also hate 2, maybe even more, while defenders are calmly comparing and contrasting the two volumes. J Hoberman, for example, in the Village Voice: "What's surprising is the atmosphere of sweet reason - relatively speaking - that distinguishes Kill Bill Vol. 2 from its bloody precursor.... Call it the ethereal yin to Vol. 1's visceral yang."

Andrew Sarris in the New York Observer: "Actually, people who stayed away from Vol. 1 because of its genre-dictated violence may find Vol. 2 so much fun that they'll want to catch up on Vol. 1."

The New York Press's Armond White doubts that: "The pop referents in Kill Bill might as well be product placements congratulating viewers on the mindlessness they bought in their youth. When Pulp Fiction came out, that neo-nostalgia seemed a sign of cultural development; some of us have been waiting for QT's next cultural advance, but he doesn't have it in him."

Writing in the City Pages, Terri Sutton wonders, "If I didn't catch the rush, what was the point of it all?"

Meanwhile, the New Republic has been launching online columns left and right now that they've got their blogs going. Chris Orr's "Home Movies" almost looks as if it were launched to smack QT and then... what? In the meantime, "Kill Bill, then, is less a movie than a dare, and like most dares its outcome is unfortunate." If that's too polite for you, "It is also pitifully thin, morally repulsive, and boring as hell."

The Cinecultist collects QT quotes she finds pitifully thin, morally repulsive, and boring as hell. Well, that may be a bit much, but QT is stomping on nerves over at Like Anna Karina's Sweater and Out of Focus, too.

Assuming a monster special edition is in the works, Drew warns against buying the Vol. 1 DVD (though renting it, we're sure, would be just fine).

Interviews with director and stars abound, but Stephen Hunt's with David Carradine for the Globe and Mail is one of the better reads.

Posted by dwhudson at April 14, 2004 3:04 PM