Kill Bill, Vol. 1

Five stars. This is an all-time great.

There's only one word that can sum up this film for me: iconic. It's incredibly violent, but also shockingly beautiful. It's a collection of origin stories, linked by a single revenge story, which is itself yet another origin story. Where it offers sympathy, it also offers doubt. Where it offers mystery and calm, it also offers the certainty of cold steel. Cinematography, choreography, editing, sound design, music...every aspect of the film is lavish and lush. Tarantino is trying to make a statement with every scene, and sometimes with every shot. I know a lot of people are put off by this. It's self-consciously intense, and that can easily come across as self-absorbed posturing. I found it utterly captivating, though; Vol. 2 can't come soon enough.