Quentin Tarantino – This Had Oscar Buzz

258 – Kill Bill – Vol. 2

Last week we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Kill Bill – Vol. 1, so naturally we had to bring you Vol. 2 this week! Six months after the release of the original (and its shafting at the Oscars), The Bride returned to finish her vengeance list and kill that Bill. Surprisingly, the finale earned stronger reviews and earned praise for David Carradine’s turn as the titular assassin. But even with Uma Thurman’s towering work coming into full focus at the story’s close, Vol. 2 marked one of the last times that Oscar would decide Tarantino wasn’t in their wheelhouse.

This episode, we look at how the two films differ and how some scenes may have played in one long film. We also talk about Daryl Hannah’s career, why we think the film received better reviews than its predecessor, and Beatrix Kiddo’s travel logistics.

Topics also include David Carradine’s position in the 2004 Supporting Actor race, Uma post-Bill, and the most recent Best Picture nominee we haven’t seen.

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257 – Kill Bill – Vol. 1

We’re here celebrating a 20th anniversary for a beloved film this week, listeners! After his longest break between movies to date, Quentin Tarantino delivered a samurai epic while trying to crack the script for another epic, Inglourious Basterds. That ultraviolent actioner, Kill Bill, would also reunite Tarantino with his Pulp Fiction star Uma Thurman, given a major showcase as an unnamed blood soaked bride bent on vengeance. But Tarantino made so much movie, it had to be split into two.

Vol. 1 arrived in 2003 and became a sizable hit, wild mild critical praise that didn’t quite know what to do with its non-stop violence, time-hopping structure, and incomplete narrative arc. This episode, we talk about Kill Bill – Vol. 1‘s excellent female ensemble, its triumph at the MTV Movie Awards, and the all-timer needle drop “Battle Without Honor or Humanity”.

Topics also include first experiencing the film’s cliffhanger, its strong performance at BAFTA, and early aughts trailer descriptions.

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103 – Natural Born Killers

This week, we’re going back to the mid-90s to visit Oliver Stone’s highly controversial skewering of the muckraking, blood-thirsty media landscape. Natural Born Killers arrived in late summer 1994 and immediately started a firestorm of outraged Republicans and a number of copycat killings. While an audacious and uncompromising satire, the violence of its central Mickey and Mallory paired with the bombast of Stone’s vision proved to be too daring for the Academy that previously couldn’t resist the filmmaker.

But the film also debuted in the year of Pulp Fiction, and inspired a major grudge toward Stone from original Killers screenwriter Quentin Tarantino. This episode, we praise the performances of stars Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson, and look at supporting player Robert Downey Jr.’s much-storied addiction issues during the decade.

Topics also include the 1994 Best Actress race, other movies drunk on dutch angles, and Tori Amos.

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