Film Review by Sedai

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Thanks for the excellent review. I still have to wait another couple of days until it's released here, and I hope that there'll be a back-to-back screening of Vol. I and II somewhere nearby.
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Let us go, Through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells


From The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S.Eliot



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Very impressive review of Kill Bill Volume 2. You have an interesting writing style thats never makes me bored. Thank you for the great review, and keep spitting them out please.



Originally Posted by Sedai
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah




Overall
Great review Sedai, I haven't even seen No 1 yet, must get out the whip
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Lets put a smile on that block
Great Killus Billus review. Cannot wait much longer for the final volume over here in the UK. Watched Volume 1 last night to wet my appetitie, and, oh my, I think im drooling...
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A system of cells interlinked
Oi, I shipped and incorrect version to Yoda for the main site. Can a mod please replace that version with the corrected one in my thread. Uggg, embarrassing.

Thank you

Cheers

Sedai
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



Originally Posted by blibblobblib
Great Killus Billus review. Cannot wait much longer for the final volume over here in the UK. Watched Volume 1 last night to wet my appetitie, and, oh my, I think im drooling...
Not are you only drooling, but actually, OMG, you are bleeding, must stop biting down on that long tongue of yours



Registered User
good review sedai on kill bill and hellboy. i like that your sticking to recent movies reviews.

I saw kill bill volume 2 already 4 times. i think its a superb job well done by tarantino. its the pure dialogue and charcter development of this movie that makes it more superior to its predesccor. I LOVE THAT MOVIE.

PS bill is the most likeable villian ever, man he reminded me of Frank from what else but once upon a time in the west



You ready? You look ready.
Wonderful review. I laughed, I cried, I stuck a needle in my eye. Lol. I loved it keep up the good work.
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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza



I am having a nervous breakdance
Nice review of Kill Bill Vol 2, Sedai. It sounds to me that I will like this one better than the first one. The first film was very spectacular and neat looking but shallow and almost entirely without character development and in my opinion Tarantino's least good film to date. But you're review of the new one gives me hope for the sequel and I might be enjoying that one more.
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The novelist does not long to see the lion eat grass. He realizes that one and the same God created the wolf and the lamb, then smiled, "seeing that his work was good".

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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but
now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.



A system of cells interlinked
Thanks for the support folks. While we are on the subject of Kill Bill, I found this great interview with Mr. Tarantino. It is quite lengthy, and chock full of wonderful tidbits of info.

Read it here.



Great review for Kill Bill Vol 2 ... ... I still haven't seen the first one though... and at the rate I am catching up on movies... I might just have a Kill Bill double feature on DVD...
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AiSv Nv wa do hi ya do...
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Mother! Oh, God! Mother! Blood!
I'm putting all Kill Bill V. II reviews on hold until I see it. I'll get back to your review, Sedai, hopefully, soon.
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Good reviews, Sedai... I like how yours are long and extensive... I'm trying to write one like that for "The Brotherhood Of The Wolf" right now.



Great review! I saw the movie last night and loved it - especially the Elle / Bride showdown and the Pai Mei segment.

Garrett - I would love to read a review of Brotherhood of the Wolf, really enjoyed that film.
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Great movie, Great Review



Lets put a smile on that block
Finally managed to see Volume 2 last night. I peed it was so good. Lot more talking than i expected, which is perhaps why i liked it so much.

Originally Posted by WelshBint
Great review! I saw the movie last night and loved it - especially the Elle / Bride showdown and the Pai Mei segment.
Definalty the best bits! I think i was actually wobbling off my seat when Elle was talking to the Bride about her and Pai Mei. Shes soooooooooooo evil i love it!!

Originally Posted by nebbit
Not are you only drooling, but actually, OMG, you are bleeding, must stop biting down on that long tongue of yours
Too late my dear, for now i can only communicate via the medium of typing or blinking.



Man, I've fallen so far behind on everyone's reviews lately. Great job as usual, M'man! Still working on a classic movie review?
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A system of cells interlinked
Originally Posted by LordSlaytan
Man, I've fallen so far behind on everyone's reviews lately. Great job as usual, M'man! Still working on a classic movie review?
hmmm, was I doing one? I think I was talking about Sunset Blvd. which I did end up doing. Not sure what is next, I have been watching Solaris quite a bit lately, but don't think I need to review that one. By Sunday night I should have something up though

_S

Thanks for the comments all



A system of cells interlinked
Saw

James Wan






Saw, a new hard-core thriller from up and coming director James Wan, follows a familiar road set by earlier films such as David Fincher’s Se7en, with little deviation into unknown territory. Derivative origins aside, Saw does offer up a few new twists, some clever set design, and some very intense scenes that some viewers might not be able to handle. Overall, the film has quite a bit going for it, but a couple of glaring weaknesses keep this from being what it could have been.

First off, the acting is incredibly uneven. Elwes, in my opinion miscast in this role, has never been one to play complex characters, tending to stay on the lighter side of the fence and rely on good screen presence and good comedy writing to help carry his performance. His character here, Dr. Gordon, is a crucial cog in the machinery of this film, and Elwes doesn’t quite pull it off. Waffling from over-the-top and melodramatic, to deadpan and distant, Elwes fails to lock down a clear path of development and left me wondering just what he was going for in this character. No clear moral standing is ever made clear, but this character’s morality plays a massive role in the film. Alas, at least this man can act to some degree, which cannot be said of Leigh Whannell.

Saw features an interesting concept of two men trapped in a room, each with a few scant clues as to why they are there. A serial killer, who uses intricate traps to kill his victims, has given Dr. Gordon a choice: Kill the other man in the room, or lose his family to the killer. Now, any two men in this situation would be at least somewhat out-of-sorts, emotionally. Elwes, uneven performance aside, manages to get this across to the audience. Whannell, however, can’t seem to convince even the other man trapped in the room that he is concerned. Aside form a small outburst right at the beginning of the film, Adam (Whannell) seems relatively calm about the whole situation. There are a number of instances where I assume the director had instructed Whannell to become upset and irrational, but his performance is so unconvincing and lame, that I could hear chuckles sporadically throughout the theater. I found myself questioning the credibility of the director multiple times, wondering if he had even seen the cut while making the film. Glover’s ho-hum performance as the obsessed cop, Tapp, reinforced this conclusion.

The screenplay is actually rather clever, and had me guessing for most of the film. I did figure out who the killer was by the end, but I most certainly didn’t have the whole mystery figured out, as it is hidden quite well. The director also tosses red herrings at the audience quite liberally to throw the viewer off, and is successful for the most part.

The set design, although again somewhat derivative of Se7en, was well thought-out and executed, and had a level of detail I really enjoy seeing in films. Directors like Terry Gilliam use detail as a trademark, and this filmmaker seems to follow the same school of thought when conceptualizing for his projects. Kudos to the folks who put this together. The lighting design and photography are also a few rungs above average, setting mood quite well, and creating some very interesting deep focus compositions. I really enjoyed the sound design and engineering, as well.

I liked Saw, all warts aside, and had to grade on a curve, considering the genre, and the usual fare (save Se7en) that is served up in films of this sort. I will also keep an eye on this creative new director. If you are a thriller/horror/shock buff, this is one you probably don’t want to miss. If you are a sensitive viewer that has trouble digesting hard-core violence and grotesque situations, you may want to skip this one.



EDIT - I saw this again recently - Saw is terrible. Don't see it. I must have been on glue or something when I wrote this review...