Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003)

Stunned.  Mesmerized.  Nothing will be "cool" for the next 3 days!....I liked it.  I even decided that if I were a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad my code name would be "Water Moccasin".  I'm going to have to write in greater detail about the technical reasons why this movie rocked.

1.  The Soundtrack:  The fact that the movie starts with Nancy Sinatra singing "Bang Bang" was clever, cool, and deliciously old school.  Additionally, the sound/song selection was critical to creating the general mystique of the film.  The flight to Tokyo and chase down of Sophie would have been boring without the crazy trumpet of Al Hirt.  I found that one musical selection did break my euphoria, but I forgive it.

2.  Character Entrances/psyche up sequences:  Oh man, does Tarantino know how to set the mood.  O-ren Ishi ii and the Crazy 88 are nothing without the sequence of them just walking badassly through the restaurant.  The track "Battles Without Honor or Humanity- incidently the title of a sweet movie in and of itself" just makes me want to prep for a fight.  I also adored the final fight sequence between Lucy Liu and Uma not for its truth to amazing sword play, but for the way it inter-played music with anticipation and temptation.  Silly Rabbit.  Tricks are for Kids.

3.  Sonny Chiba is in this movie!!!

4.  Allusions to classic Japanese Ji dai geki:  The Crazy 88 embody all the different styles of sword play and stances that are classic tropes of the genre.  I would personally carry my sword over both my shoulders to look like a thug and Toshiro Mifune.  Additionally, the shadow section of the large scale fight is an allusion to "Sword of Doom" and other classics.

5.  60's/70's undertones:  Kill Bill vol 1 made a point of capturing the essence of blood, guns, swords in their heyday.  I loved the blood particularly.

Ratings:

Killers:  See it

Silly Rabbits who wished they knew how to play with swords: See it

Cobra Kai students:  See it

School Girls:  See it  (Only with approval of a parent or guardian......I don't want to be responsible for any underage or inappropriate viewership.)

Expecting to see a Rom Com:  See it

On a scale from egg nog on a hot day in traffic to cool lemonade in a hammock by a lake on a beautiful day, I give Kill Bill vol 1 4.19873 out of 5 stars.