16
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2004
Quips, calm pervade ‘Bill, Vol. 2’
BY MICHAEL PUCCI
ASSISTANT ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Before we get down to business,
let’s take this moment and share a
quick word about “Kill Bill, Vol. 1.”
Gory, opulently bloody and
downright hilarious, it was pound
for pound the most entertaining
film of 2003. Its only competition
might have been “Pirates of the
Caribbean,” but that’s as long as
you don’t compare soundtracks.
Those who dismissed “Vol. 1” as
a mindless excursion into redun
dant violence missed the point
entirely it was ambitious, clever
and the action sequences were
nothing short of spectacular.
And the cliflhanger? Brilliant.
Finally, half a year later, the long
awaited sequel has arrived, replete
with Quentin Tarantino’s vintage
style of dialogue and humor.
Still, while “Vol. 2” doesn’t pos
sess the same jaw-dropping quality
its predecessor did, it succeeds with
the type of character development
many people fejt “Vol. 1” lacked.
So where were we?
By the end of “Vol. 1,” Uma
Thurman had “roared and ram
paged” through through two-fifths
of her “People to Kill” list, culmi
nating in the astonishing show
down with O-ren Ishii and her
innumerable bodyguards at the
House of Blue Leaves’
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MOVIE VIEW
“KILL BILL. VOL. 2"
★★★★
It’s not giving anything away to
say the remaining targets on her
list also meet their untimely ends
in “Vol. 2,” usually in grisly fashion,
but the fight sequences aren’t as
elaborate and the body count has
been noticeably reduced.
Still, unforgettable scenes
abound, such as Elle Driver (Daryl
Hannah) administering a delight
fully perverted form of last rites to
Budd (Michael Madsen) as he
writhes on the floor.
True to form, the story jumps
back and forth in time, and by the
final confrontation, Thurman’s saga
has been put into perspective. This
isn’t strictly a revenge film anymore.
You also begin to understand
why Tarantino split “Kill Bill” into
two parts “Vol. 2” is much more
deliberately paced than the first.
The highlight of “Vol. 2” is
unquestionably the acting. It
would be easy for these characters,
whose dialogue tends to be the
atrically overwrought, to be
reduced to mere caricatures. But
each actor brings instant credibili
ty to their roles who else but
Madsen could have portrayed the
pathetic, beer-guzzling Budd?
Diversions
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COURTESY OF MIRAMAX FILMS
Uma Thurman, the mysterious "Bride," tries to complete her cinematic
quintet of carnage by capping her remaining marks in "Kill Bill, Vol. 2."
“Vol. 2” also boasts career-defin
ing performances from Thurman
as The Bride and David Carradine
as the elusive Bill.
Carradine’s role in “Vol. 1” was
shrouded in mystery heard but
never seen, his gravelly voice recit
ing lines like “This is me at my
most masochistic.”
He comes into his own this time
around, owning the last half of the
film. We even feel a twinge of regret
following his rather anti-climactic
confrontation with The Bride.
Thurman in particular reveals
facets of her character other action
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films rarely bother hinting at in
their protagonists.
Watch her reaction the moment
she walks into Bill’s house and
finds him playing with their
daughter it’s heartbreaking and
inftiriating at the same time.
With “Kill Bill,” Tarantino has
written and directed his third mas
terpiece, a work that should
cement his legacy as one of the
most consistently innovative film
makers of our time.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
Bob Schneider claims
‘l’m Good’ filthy liar
BY KATE LORD
STAFF WRITER
“Good” must be the most
ambiguous and nonspecific word in
the English language, with mean
ings ranging from “desirable” to
“worthy of respect” to “benevolent.”
Its antonym, however, is easily
defined: Bob Schneider’s lyrics.
While the musicality of his latest
album, I’m. Good Now, is satisfac
tory, the lyrics are utterly elemen
tary and simply baffling. Consider
the album’s first two lines: “Oh
there’s Johnny he’s so sweet/ He’s
booger sugar and devil’s meat.”
Any album that uses the word
“booger” in a serious manner had
better be stellar in every other
respect.
But I’m Good Now isn’t while
the soothing guitar and gentle
drumming blend well with
Schneider’s smooth, deep voice,
the result isn’t great enough to
make up for the “booger” faux pas.
On top of the rudimentary
nature of the lyrics, they’re also
extremely predictable. Schneider
suffers from an addiction to cou
plets seven of the album’s 13
songs are constructed in this man
ner, accentuated by such hack
neyed sentiments as, “You got the
cure for what is ailing me/ Only
your sweet love can set me free.”
At this point, the listener wants
to scream, “Egads, man! Hire
yourself a songwriter!”
Schneider, who is credited with
the album’s songwriting, vocals,
guitar, keyboards, drums, bass, pro
gramming and percussion, is capa
ble in the instrumental portions.
Were it not for his lyrics, his music
would be somewhat pleasing.
He’s at his best on his acoustic,
folksy songs. “A Long Way to Get,”
stands out with a plodding, cheery
theme, complete with a major-key
synthesized back beat and singers
cooing in the background.
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Ytuxwk^ou!
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la 968-2788
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MUSICIEViEW
808 SCHNEIDER
I'M GOOD NOW
★★
The twanging guitar and preva
lent bass of these gladsome num
bers are where he excels. Not all of
the tracks are like these, however.
Schneider seems unsure of what
genre he wants to be associated
with. Acoustic guitar dominates
the beginning of the album, creat
ing a folksy feeling. But slowly, the
music takes on a poppish quality,
including dramatic musical pauses
and lines electronically echoed in
the background.
Suddenly, toward the middle,
Schneider decides he wants to be
an alternative rocker, contrasting
whispering with screaming and
loud electric guitars. His vocals are
not well suited to such fare the
folk rock worked because his voice
is so tranquil.
His yelling attempts just sound
forced and unnatural.
By the end of the album, the lis
tener is clouded with confusion
caused by both the nonsensical
lyrics and the discontinuity of
genre.
Find some better material and
stick to folk rock, Bob.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.