Kill School, Volume 2

Just a quickie update before I go to another meeting. My EE 115AL lab was absolutely killing me, so this morning I killed it (i.e. I dropped it), and replaced it with EE 103. Another type of poison, no doubt, but at least I took the pre-requisites for that class, the material looks a little more familiar, and I know two benevolent souls already, so I feel like I have a fighting chance.

Speaking of fighting, I took a nice break last night and caught Kill Bill, Volume 2. I really enjoyed this film, but there are some places that could have been tighter. The one piece of advice before going to this film, DO NOT EXPECT THIS MOVIE TO BE A COPY OF VOLUME 1. The fighting is much less frantic and not as awe-inspiring, the story is driven by much more dialogue than visuals, and the plot moves at a much slower pace than the almost relentless violence that graced Volume 1. Not that I mind that there is less fighting, but I did expect that the fighting would be much more climactic than what was presented. Practically the entire second half of Volume 1 was dedicated in building up to the final showdown with O-Ren, and it delivered. I was expecting that same kind of care when setting up for the showdown between The Bride and her rival, Elle, and especially with Bill. Maybe Daryl Hannah's and David Carradine's age prevented those battles from being more elaborate (I certainly wouldn't expect either one to move quite like Vivica A. Fox), but the showdown with O-Ren was not all that physically demanding either, and yet that battle was much more satisfying than any battle in Volume 2.

I also wished that Volume 2 went into more background of Budd, Elle, and Vernita Green. Again using the O-Ren story as a model, we don't ever quite get into the other characters as much, not even with Bill. I think it was our personal attachment with O-Ren that made the battle with the Bride so much sweeter, and was what essentially made Volume 1. You never quite reach that same connection with any of the other DiVAS members, which prevents Volume 2 from going to that next level.

But since I really did enjoy Volume 2, I will end on some things that it does right. Gordon Liu steals the show as Pai Mai, ornery, white-haired Kung Fu master that trained the Bride and Bill. I also like the coffin scene, where Tarantino's expertise in mixing visuals and ambient sounds to create that feeling like you are right there in the movie. I also enjoyed the return of that Tarantino-jibe through the voice of David Carradine. And just to put some icing on the cake, the voice who plays Fernando on the radio in the Grand Theft Auto series makes an appearance... woo hoo!

OK, it's approaching 4 pm, so duty calls. Let me know what YOU think of Volume 2...