K-L Movies
Kill Bill Vol.2 (2004)
I’ve been waiting to see this second part to Quentin Tarantino’s Kung Fu roots bloodbath two part series. In the first movie we see a bride killed at the alter with all of her wedding party by four assassins. She used to be an assassin, and was trying for a new life, but her former friends killed her in cold blood and now she is out for revenge. The first movie saw her kill two or three of the perps. Then at the end we find out that the baby she was carrying at the time of the event is still alive, and the guy who orchestreted it all, Bill, has her.
Vol. 2 was so much less campy violence, and more what I would call kung fu. There is a lot of slow sequences of back story, but they seem to be necessary for some point or another. Since Quentin was going for a certain effect, that is why the drama is drawn out. But this movie, two more people die, but not legions by a sword. A black mambo snake bites one guy in the face three times killing him, and another our lead character, the bride, Uma Thurman, kills by the exploding heart technique. She is the only assassin we find out that was taught this technique, and the whole group was taught by one teacher. Then there is one part that is kind of graphic, when Thurman plucks out the only good eye that Darryl Hannah has left.
So, Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Vivicia Fox, and others round out the cast for these two movies. It wasn’t a bad movie, I just wouldn’t watch it a bunch of times. But, there is one part that I have never seen before. Thurman gets buried alive, and you get to see her punch her way out of a flimsy coffin and dig herself out in a semi-humorous scene.
So, if you saw the first part you’ll like this. I can’t even say if you like Tarantino movies you’d like this, because he did such a different idea with these two movies that it’s not a guarantee you’ll see his old style here. But, it has some cool action scenes, so if you can handle campy over the top bloody violence, you may check these out.
Lemony Snicket’s – Series Unfortunate Events (2004)
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Turned off by how incredibly childish the Harry Potter Movies are, I watched this movie largely in part to see Jim Carrey. But soon I was taken in by the imagination and the life the story possessed.
The three Baudelaire children are orphaned in the beginning of the movie, and sent away to live with their peculiar and very evil uncle Count Olaf. They then exchange the hands of two other misanthrope relatives as Count Olaf chases them around in hopes of expiring them. Each time, the children are resourceful and witty enough to come out on top. My favorite child being Sunny, the little baby biter, and the increasingly funny dubbed over sounds that she makes throughout the movie.
Another role that was particularly fitting for Carrey, he isn’t over the top, but I imagine plays the part perfectly, as well as two other great disguises. But, this does have a distinctly Carrey feel, so if you enjoy his acting, check this flick out. But, I can’t really figure out who wouldn’t enjoy this movie, even just a little bit. If you don’t have an imagination, then pass. But the cool animals, the peculiar characters, and the “Hardy Boys” approach the children take to getting out of sticky situations is particularly entertaining.
Oh, and this series, blows Harry Potter out of the water.
Ladder 49 (2004)
I am not sure what I really thought of this movie. It stars John Travolta and he does an excellent job like usual, but it also has Joaquin Phoenix who I haven’t ever really liked in any movie I have seen him in. He was pretty strong in this movie, but there was something else about the movie that buggs me.
Maybe it is the fact that any movie that deals heavily with Firefighters I always compare to the great Backdraft with Kurt Russell and Robert Dinero. This movie, the predictable kind of happens throughout the movie. The development of Joaquin’s character is created backwards, after an accident early on in the movie has him recollect on his time as a firefighter. There are deadly accidents that occur to some of his friends, and there is happiness with him getting married and starting a family.
But it is the end that is very sad, and actually, not particularly shocking but at the same time, the movie doesn’t fulfill your desire to have the good guys always win, and they aren’t infallible.
See this movie for John Travolta and the incredible 100 story fire that Ladder 49 has to battle, but don’t expect anything that hasn’t already been done, and anything that will come close to Backdraft from 14 years earlier.
Lord of the Rings : Return of the King (2003)
It had been almost a full year since I had last seen this movie, and was fortunate to borrow it over the long weekend. But I remember loving it, and wondered why for each of the three movies, why it took so long to see them again. (I always seem to wait a year). Maybe it makes them better.
I have done a bunch of movie reviews on movies I love lately so I will try to not repeat myself here. A fantastic movie in vision, direction, and staying true to the original work, this is truly the penultimate chapter in the story.
My favorite, while silly part of this movie, is how story of Frodo and Sam. As gay as it gets some times between the two of them with the crying, it is touching to see how Sam actually is the hero in the end. All of the three characters including Gollum make sure an incredible transformation along their trip. Sam into this great leader and savior, Frodo into a possessed and burdened bearer of the ring, and Gollum, evil incarnate with split personalities. Then in the end, how Frodo can never be the same. Sam and he return home, but nothing is ever the same for him and how really that delves into the feelings of and after effects of such a life changing event. For all of the hobbits, they share this knowledge of something so terrible that everything else seems trivial.
Of course, there is only the best battle scenes and characters in the history of movies in the attack on Minas Tirith. I can’t even go into how much that battle doesn’t even compare on a small TV to the big screen. It is just a wonder.
Congratulations to Peter Jackson, for taking 9 years total to get the rights, and to have such a strong vision to execute three of the greatest movies ever. That is truly an accomplishment he will always be enshrined for.
Looney Tunes Back in Action (2004)
As I have gotten older, I have developed a fondness for the old looney tunes cartoons. This movie, is nothing like that. But it is crazy to watch. With tributes to old movies, tongue in cheek humor and a seamless blend of live action, 3-d animation, and 2-d animation, this was a visually cool movie. It was kind of a fun one too. Looking for something fun to do and wanting Daffy to finally get a "starring" role in some sense, then watch this one.
King Arthur (2004)
This movie started out slow, with Clive Owen not initially convincing as Arthur. As I watched I realized why this movie had such a dismal showing at the theaters. Unlike Pirates, Jerry Bruckheimer’s success last year dealt with a long removed subject matters, pirates. But this movie is another war between some powerful history group of people Romans, vs outlandish types.
The great thing about this movie, and any Bruckheimer is that is always asks, why can’t this be done. Why can’t we reinterpret this, and do it in an intelligent way so we don’t just retell the story for the heck of it. The end battle was inventive, the idea of more realistic stories of the amount of nights, their appearance, and their interactions, and the love story between Guinevere and Arthur and her history were all more realistic views and interesting insight into these beloved characters.
