Much killing in ‘Bill,’ no warmth in ‘Cruelty’

JOHN DEPKO

A lot of blood, and it’s not even to Bill yet

A marvelous mixed bag of a movie, “Kill Bill” takes the viewer on

a roller coaster ride through a dozen wild movie themes. Clint

Eastwood, James Bond, Bruce Lee, “Charlie’s Angels” and “Bonnie and

Clyde” would all feel at home in this pulp fiction story of murderous

revenge with a feminine twist.

Uma Thurman has the role of her life as the blood-spattered Bride,

whose entire wedding party is massacred by contract killers hired by

the mysterious “Bill” of the movie’s title. Left for dead, she

awakens after four years in a coma.

Discovering her situation, the Bride sets out on a methodical path

of revenge that rivals anything Eastwood’s “High Plains Drifter”

might have done. The twist here is that all the major players in this

saga are incredibly strong women with weak male counterparts in the

supporting cast.

This movie is startling and brilliant in many respects. The

complex story unfolds in color, in black and white imagery and

Japanese animation. There is great music, sharp editing, outrageous

developments and sudden death at every turn. First-rate special

effects from “The Matrix” and “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” are

clearly evident. There is the potential for a classic here, but there

are equal portions to admire and despise.

The one giant drawback to this otherwise fine effort is Quentin

Tarantino’s juvenile desire to see endless gallons of blood dripping

down the screen to punctuate the necessary carnage. The outstanding

first hour of the movie is overwhelmed by the last 30 minutes of

excess overkill. A preposterous bloodbath drenches the screen in red

as the super women face off in a titanic fight, with death for one of

them the only outcome.

While there is much to admire in the many variations played out in

this epic battle, Tarantino would be well advised to learn that

sometimes, “less is more.” See it only if you can handle gratuitous

violence with a comic book flair and still respect the unflinching

artist at work.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.

‘Cruelty’ has laughter without heart

I laughed and giggled all the way through “Intolerable Cruelty,”

the newest loopy comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen (the team that

brought you “Fargo” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”). The dialogue

had some real zingers, the music choices were witty, the costumes

amazing and all of the players hilarious.

So why did I feel disappointed?

Perhaps because a movie about slick lawyers, bored rich divorcees

and the silly men who gave them all their wealth is in itself just a

shallow facade. It’s funny just for the sake of being funny, which

isn’t necessarily such a bad thing. But what makes a comedy really

stand out is its ability to make us care for at least one of its

characters, find some redeeming quality to make us walk away and feel

all warm and fuzzy at the end of the popcorn and candy. And this

movie, my friends, is ultimately just one big Milk Dud.

George Clooney is Miles Massey, a slick shark of a divorce lawyer

obsessed with his pearly whites (how symbolic is that?) whose “Massey

Pre-nup” is considered the Holy Grail to divorce attorneys and

money-grubbing, soon-to-be-ex-spouses alike. Watching him take a

seemingly doomed divorce case and spin straw into gold in the

courtroom is amazing. He makes Johnnie Cochran look like a shoe

clerk.

Yet somehow, Miles feels empty and unsatisfied (as we soon will

be). There is no true joy in his life -- he does not have anyone to

share his success with. Enter the gorgeous Catherine Zeta-Jones.

As an ice queen who patiently maps out her next matrimonial

conquest and how to best relieve him of his earthly possessions,

Marylin Rexroth is clearly Miles’ soul mate -- if either of them had

a soul, that is. She admires Miles’ showman’s style and ruthlessness,

even when he is besting her out of a huge settlement from her very

silly, train-obsessed spouse. Miles is smitten from the moment he

sees her.

Naturally, the rest of the movie is full of outlandish tricks and

plots between these two while we wait to see them wind up with each

other. But their professed “love” somehow doesn’t ring true, and you

sense these people will still be happily shallow ever after.

All of the cast is obviously having great fun. Clooney is even

goofier than he was in “O Brother,” and Zeta-Jones is riffing nicely

on her diva image. Geoffrey Rush, Edward Herrmann and Billy Bob

Thornton are hilarious as foolish husbands -- how can these men be so

brilliant at making money and so dumb at letting it get away?

The real scene-stealer is Cedric the Entertainer as Gus Petch -- a

private investigator who parlays his talents for incriminating videos

into a hit reality TV show, which, scarily, may very well happen some

day.

* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant

for a financial services company.