Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - #94

Empire top 301: #94
IMDb top 250: #153

Rating 10/10

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Vivica A. Fox & Lucy Liu

"This - is what - you get - for fucking - around - with Yakuzas! Go home to your mother!"

What better time to watch this movie than the 10th anniversary of it's release. Quentin's 4th film Kill Bill, is the story of The Bride and her mission to seek out and kill the members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad who attacked her and left her for dead on her wedding day. KIll Bill is just another classic on the list of flawless films made by Mr Tarantino. The movie is beautifully shot and written and edited and acted and scored. 

As with all Tarantino films the writing, especially the dialogue is outstanding; instantly quotable and perfectly delivered by his actors. His direction is beyond superb, each and every shot you can imagine was thoroughly thought out and is executed brilliantly. It just looks so damn good. His homage to Kung-Fu, Spaghetti Westerns and Anime is done perfectly, right down to the smallest detail. Yes it's excessively violent and a bit sick and twisted but the beauty is it's done with such a great sense of humour! QT has given us a gorgeous, intelligent action film and I love it more after each and every viewing. 

The cast are outstanding; Uma Thurman carries the movie brilliantly and I truly believe her efforts should have been rewarded with an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress. She is amazing in her dialogue filled scenes and that blood-curdling scream she lets out when she believes her baby is dead would have been a perfect clip to play at the Oscars. Uma is just as believable in her fight/stunt scenes and gives it everything she's got, a great assassin. Whilst Vivica A. Fox doesn't have a lot of screen time, she certainly packs a punch when she is on screen, her "chat" with The Bride is fantastic and has provide my friends and I with enough quotage to last a lifetime. Lucy Liu is fierce as O-Ren Ishii and her head waving scene is just classic Tarantino! My favourite supporting character is Daryl Hannah's Elle Driver but more on her later!!

Again, as with all Tarantino productions the soundtrack is AMAZING and every song chosen fits it's scene perfectly. I love Tarantino's way of having the song play at just the right time. There are various techniques used in this movie and they're carried out exquisitely, the Anime used during the Origins of O-Ren Ishii is beautiful and fits the feel of the movie and the use of black and white to colour is great. The Showdown at House of Blue Leaves chapter is just EPIC in every sense of the word and looks just as awesome now as it did 10 years ago. It's classic QT!!!

I would have put Kill Bill: Vol. 1 higher up the list than it actually placed but it totally deserves it's place on both Empire's & IMDb's greatest movie lists. It's exceptional filmmaking. Now Quentin, it's been 10 years, how long do we have to wait for Nikki Bell to exact revenge on The Bride?

Blade Runner (1982) - #11

Empire top 301: #11
IMDb top 250: #124

Rating 10/10

Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Hampton Fancher & David Webb Peoples
Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos & Daryl Hannah

"All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

Blade Runner is a timeless, Sci-Fi classic and is certainly in my top 10 list of greatest films ever made. It's a treat for the eyes and the ears and in my opinion it is the greatest movie Ridley Scott has ever and probably will ever make. I've seen every version of the film but last night I watched my favourite, the 2007 Final Cut version. I was never fond of the happy ending in the original theatrical cut and I hated the narration, not just because Harrison sounds like he couldn't be bothered but for me it just didn't work. 

Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, a detective who specialises in the retirement (killing) of Replicants (a bioengineered being). He is called upon to retire four Replicants who have escaped from the off-world colonies, one of which is a new, improved and dangerous Nexus 6 Model. Ridley Scotts Blade Runner, based on the novel Do Androids Deam of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick is such a beautiful movie. His dystopian Los Angeles looks as amazing today as it did 31 years ago and has been copied in so many different movies it would be a chore to name them all. 

The production of this movie is stunning. Everything from the sets, to the clothes, to the vehicles have all been beautifully made and no detail is too small. The streets of Los Angeles look grim, and unpleasant and absolutely amazing. The Tyrell Corporation Pyramid building is still stunning as is the Bradbury Building.

The music perfectly encapsulates the feel of the movie, it's a combination of classical music and synthesisers that really fits the retro yet futuristic tone of the film. The piece playing over the closing titles is superb and the perfect way to end what I believe to be a perfect movie. 

Harrison Ford plays Rock Deckard a bit distant and emotionless but the part calls for this. At the end of the day Deckard is a killer and needs to be this way, however his scenes with Sean Young are great and he plays them well. Sean Young is great as Rachael and has never looked better; her outfits are works of art and she wears them beautifully. Rutger Hauer is brilliantly scary and chilling as Nexus 6 Model Roy Batty; even though I've seen the movie about 100 times my heart still beats fast during the climactic scenes in the home of J.F. Sebastian. Daryl Hannah is so gorgeous as Pris and I love her character. 

Not only is the movie a delight for the eyes but the story is great as well and really makes you think. For the most enjoyment watch the 2007 Final Cut with the ambiguous ending, it is the best. I cannot big this film up enough. It is an absolute classic and a MUST WATCH!!! I Love It!