Kill Bill VOL. 1

I watched Kill Bill VOL. 1 last night with a couple of friends (one hadn't seen it before).

Uma Thurman is ... amazing. And Quentin Tarantino is just masterful.

I think my favorite chapter changes each time I watch this film.

Last time, it was "Chapter Three: The Origin of O-Ren" (I'm a big fan of I.G. Productions' stuff); this time, it's "Chapter Four: The MAN From OKINAWA".

I like so much about the chapter. I like how it's so subtly bookended by the same dialog. I like the interplay between Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba) and "Bald Guy (Sushi Shop)" (Kenji Ohba) and between Hattori Hanzo and "The Bride" (Thurman). I like how Chiba dots the "i" with Japanese script-style while writing in the dust.

I like the set dressings for the sword room, which -- to me -- is one of the most brilliant set dressings I've seen. The Japanese aren't trying to be these dressed up objects of Western fetish they so often become -- they're just living. And this set dressing shows that so well. The wall of master craftman's swords. The silk makeshift curtains. The underwear hanging from a cheap, Wal-Mart-esque hanger. The translucent plastic storage containers. The TV in a corner. It just feels authentic, lived in, and non-pretentious.

Anyway, now my favorite chapter is "Chapter Four: The MAN From OKINAWA".