Kill Bill

As a tribute to classic martial arts films, Quentin Tarantino transforms this classic genre into a contemporary cult favorite. The film expressed series of action, comedy, drama from scene one to the closing credits.

 The story began with “the bride”, Uma Thurman waking up from a coma. She did not desire to be treated. Her main objective was to get out of the hospital to “Kill Bill” and the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (Lucy Lui, Vivica Fox, Darryl Hannah). Abruptly, the scene shifts to the foundation of the story. Uma no longer desired to be an assassin. Therefore, she made a decision to retire from the DIVAS and marry her love interest. Bill (David Carradine) was not happy about her decision so he decided to assassinate Uma Thurman’s character. The “DIVAS” shot up her wedding. It was reminiscent to famous gun battle scenes within classic western films. The movie returns to her recovery. She creates a hit list to kill everyone involved in her assassination attempt. One by one, she kills each member of her former co-workers. She assassinates Vernita Green (‘Copperhead’ – Vivica A. Fox) in front of her child, Elle Driver (‘California Mountain Snake’ – Daryl Hannah) in a trailer park by removing her eye after a grueling fight scene, and finally O-Ren Ishii (‘Cottonmouth’ – Lucy Liu) was beheaded in a wintery wonderland scene. One question went unanswered throughout the film. Who and where was Bill (who was later revealed in Kill Bill 2, played by actor David Caradine)? The expectation of finding Bill was my final thought. I hate cliffhangers and desperately wanted to know when Tarantino would reveal the true identity so Bill would be killed. There was one strange thing about the movie. Uma Thurman’s character was not given a name. She was referred to as “The Bride”.

It was a visual masterpiece. The costumes, mixing of colors within the scenes, set design contributes to the contemporary martial arts fantasy. I felt like I obtained a glimpse of the Japanese culture. The fight scene within the school was inspired by the film, “Enter the Dragon.” The martial arts choreography was spectacular. Uma Thurman wore a classic yellow leotard similar to Bruce Lee. There was no stone unturned visually, jumping from black & white scenes, to breathtakingly violent fight sequences, and finally a climactic battle bathed in blue.  

If you can stand the blood soaked fight scenes and constant film transitions. You will love this movie.

The Help

The Help was an emotional and heart wrenching movie about the way affluent people treated African American maids in the south.  Emma Stone plays Skeeter, who in her quest to become a great writer, wrestles to gain understanding and truth regarding the lives of help. She attempted not to rock the boat with her friends including Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) but her quest for the truth leads her to become an outcast. She could not understand why the help was treated with disdain. Also, she identified there were secrets within her family regarding their maid, Constantine (Cicely Tyson). Skeeter enlists several maids including Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer) to reveal their experiences with the families they served. During the process, she discovers the help was treated as if they were a piece of property. She empowered the maids to expose the injustices within their profession. As a result, the women became confident and took a stance against their employers, abuse, and their past. Also, Skeeter obtained the truth about Constantine. The love and bond the women shared triumphed and they were vindicated in a way that was not just physical but spiritual.    

Film critic, Jason McKiernan states, “Clearly, prejudice and subjugation were common threads during this period of ignorance in our country's history.” This may be true but the hidden prejudices were at the forefront of this film. Although the women were called maids, they were slaves to the wives. Truth be told, the wives were enslaved to a family image. They were so busy trying to portray a perfect life they lost themselves. However, one of the wives, Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain) was considered an outcast. She embraced Minny as not just a maid but a human being. The bond of respect improved their relationship and she became a great wife to her husband. The ultimate vindication was Minnie making a chocolate pie (filled with stool) and watching her former employer eat it. I don't recommend anyone to this but it made for good entertainment.

The overall design of the film was spectacular. Director, Tate Taylor felt it was very important to capture this moment in time. The color of the maid uniforms were a simple gray color, short balloon dresses, bouffant hairstyles, houses, and cars were a reflection of 1950’s and 60’s. However, there were a few mishaps. Emma Stone’s hairstyles and costumes were not reflective of the decade. She looked very contemporary for the time period portrayed in the movie.

Overall, I loved this film and will view it for sheer entertainment next time.

I am caught in the Matrix

"The Matrix"

Wow, I am caught in the Matrix.  ''The Matrix,'' is a special-effects phenomenon. Brothers, Andy and Larry Wachowski created a ground breaking cinematic masterpiece. In an imaginative computer generated world, the Matrix explores the psycho-analytic question, do we live in our present reality or are we caught in the Matrix. This movie captures the complexities of cyber escapism and a post-apocalyptic world. The film’s main character, Neo (Keanu Reeves)

The film presents complexities naked to the regular eye. The religious undertones were a significant part of the mystery of the movie. The film has many biblical inferences, The character name, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Fishburne's Morpheus, plays a God-like figure and attempts to protect Neo at all costs, the red pill, the rebirth, the ship, Nebuchadnezzar, the reprogramming of the mind, the spirit transference of the men in black from one body to the next share common themes within the bible. Neo discovered he was being watched by the trinity. This may imply one being watched by the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Neo had a choice to take the blue or red pill. One may infer the red pill represented the blood of Jesus Christ. The incubators may signify a rebirth of some sort. The men dressed in black attempting to kill Neo and the others represent the presence of evil. The many tests and trials within the movie represent the life of a believer in Christ to conquer the battles presented through faith, patience, and preparation to overcome all obstacles.

''The Matrix'' has a strong identity of its own. The martial arts choreography, the acrobatic flying stunts and inventive slow-motion action tricks were a one of a kind and would be a staple for future action films. Future films such as Wanted, Final Destination, Harry Potter, and The Twilight Saga bear similar action sequence resemblances to “The Matrix”.  The color black was a significant color throughout the film. Most of the characters within the film wore the color black. In addition, many scenes were very dark. Sunglasses are an integral part of sleekly staged fight scenes. This added to the contemporary style of the film.

Mr. Reeves plays a computer hacker whose terminal begins telling him that he has been chosen to save the world from complete and utter destruction. This film is very complicated and it takes a while for the viewer to grasp the overall meaning of the film. These computers have subverted human beings into battery like energy sources confined to pods, and they can be stopped only by a savior modestly known as “The One”. Through a series of trials, he began to believe he could do anything.

I love this film. It has become a staple for future genration action films. Scenes within this film have not been duplicated as successfully portrayed this film. It is definately a first of its kind.

The Bride of Frankenstein

The Bride of Frankenstein is not a realistic title for a movie surrounded by alternative meanings, sexual undertones and a complex storyline. The movie begins with a summary from the first film, Frankenstein.  Unknowingly, the monster survives in the first film. The second film presented the monster as a misunderstood individual.  Dr. P presents an idea to Dr. Frankenstein. Initially, Dr. Frankenstein did not seem interested but in a peculiar fashion decides to place another experiment over his priority as a husband. Dr. Pretorious seems to act as a stalker. Eventually, he persuades the doctor into assisting him with his experiment to recreate life.  

However, the roles reversed. While the doctors appeared psychotic, the monster was portrayed as a misunderstood human with feelings. His relationship with the blind man mirrors the perception beauty is vain, a man should be judged by the content of the heart. He responded to kindness, care and concern. He felt the blind man was genuine. However, when the blind man was taken away, he returned to his defensive mechanisms and became enraged.

One of the few things that hold the film back is a lack of proper transition. The film seems to jump from one scene to another. Whatever happens in the previous scenes seems to be forgotten about, leading to the film to almost be a group of 5 minute segments stitched together. This lack of fluid transition pulls you out of the film.

The special effects were stupendous for their time. In a time when rockets were science fiction, it is quite impressive to give the effects of small people in jars. Makeup was also well done, from the distant scenes of the monster; he really did look like an amalgam of several bodies.

Although there are definitely hidden meanings beneath this film, reviewers and analysts attempt to find a meaning that is not necessarily there. These films were cranked out like comic books and there was little to no time for a director to delve to deeply into a film. Different meanings in the film are not that large or apparent. To me this film was truly about a monster trying to gain acceptance, with possible signs of repressed homosexuality to be mostly coincidental based on the acting of the main characters.

The creation of the bride appeared to be an after-thought. The bride was created within the last 20 minutes of the film. More insulting, she rejects the monster. In the end, the monster decides to save Dr. Frankenstein and his wife but commit murder suicide. It’s baffling to name a title of a movie after a character that appears insignificant to the movie’s principle meaning. The meaning of the film was lost in the various plots.

This movie is has a mixture of hidden agendas, comedy, and individual meaning. I recommend this movie for its sheer entertainment value.