Long Dog Day

Had a busy day of the sort, paid some local fees to let the Philippines know I'm living here on its shores legally. The procedure in payment was done rather quickly and painlessly I am amazed to say than last year's usual round of waiting in line for a long while. I guess me and Dad got there at a non-peak time. I cringe enough how last minute applications and fee payments go for those planning to leave the country or pay their registration fees late. All in all that part of the day goes without incident.

The rest of the day went okay. Did some looking around at the Glorietta in Makati for my usual expedition there to scope out new games for PS2 and PC, books at the bookstores and some other neato stuff I consider buying or looking, within my means of course. Also watched Kill Bill the second time today since I failed to watch the earlier 20 minutes due to traffic towards SM Bicutan yesterday. I'll get to what I can say about the movie. Its brutal and bloody, just as much as straight in your face Quentin does with his earlier movies to some degree. I haven't fully finished watching Reservoir Dogs but I've seen how messy and violent and profanity-filled things go in it as much one sees all that in spades in Kill Bill.

Kill Bill is rather a homage/indirect parody with regards to those 70's martial arts movies, especially with the Japanese spin on it. That movie also touched more on the Avenging Samurai road as well like those in early Japanese cinema as well. There was that back-to-basics approach in depicting and handling fight scenes. Fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping gives a hand to this one. A very sought after expert with wire-assisted fight scenes, definitely the man to go to like "Fighting On Wire R Us" kind of thing.

The Crazy 88 massacre scene that happened in the House of Blue Leaves is definitely one up over the so-called fakeness done in Matrix Reloaded's infamous/famous Burly Brawl scene. A long fight scene not to be viewed for the squeamish for sure. I mean even the startup with Sofie Fatale's (played by Julie Dreyfus) arm cut off to get O-Ren's attention. A lot of blood spilt, limbs severed and a lot of maimed Yakuza people fall down to The Bride's (Soon to be revealed as Beatrix Kiddo aka Black Mamba) Hattori Hanzo Original Katana. The ceremony of the katana's handing over to The Bride is very much like those old samurai films as to how samurai or ronin heroes get their well-crafted blades. The way Hattori Hanzo says that the blade he gave to The Bride is one capable of cutting god if she encounters on her path is a metaphorical but also a manner of naming the blade she holds in her hands.

It was a known fact that Quentin Tarantino went through a lot of films (anime and non-anime I supposed.) to put together his own brand of a samurai movie as I see it. He pretty much breaks the conventions in some respects about samurai/martial arts movies though some are keen to say that's its a parody (or stab) at the current crop of action movies that are riding on the wave of innovation and flash that the Matrix set the bar for. Of course, the Matrix movies pretty much saturated the thought of the viewing public as to how martial arts movies are done to some degree since its a phenomenon unto itself.

Technicalities aside, I liked it as an action movie, and occasional martial arts movie junkie. The soundtrack for this movie sounds great to me since I caught wind of one song played on a locally made TV trailer for it. In my case, it was the song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Santa Esmerelda version). Questionable song as it is for some music critics, but I kinda like that pseudo-Mexican flair with the guitars and the lyrics going with it. It also strikes me much that the sounds used makes me also see the movie as one samurai movie with a cowboy western thing to it. Very much how samurais and cowboys go as heroes go.

Enough on the critique of this movie. I'll get around to my review to my watching of Return Of The King soonest.

P.S. Go Go Yubari played by Chiaki Kuriyama is one nasty psycho-bitch of a schoolgirl. I don't want to meet one for sure, kawaii schoolgirl uniform or not. Quickly retreats back into the doghouse.