Kill Bill. And Radio.

After driving to Pittsburgh and back home in two days (well, granted, I was a passenger a goodly portion of the time, but it was long car travel just the same), when 5:30pm arrived yesterday I couldn't bear the thoughts of dragging myself back into the podmobile for a trip to B'burg. So I skipped band last night.

And for a record fourth time this year, I went to the movies. (Yes, 185 movies watched this year, but only four involved leaving a residence.)

I went to see "Kill Bill." "Kill Bill (Vol. 1)" is the fourth film from Quentin Tarantino. I know this because it was right there up on the screen for my subparlysighted eyes to see, "The fourth film from Quentin Tarantino." And even though I knew it anyway, before the announcement, it seems a little hard to fathom. Quentin's been around forever, well, since 1992, which is forever in Hollywoodland. But about five years ago, he kind of faded from the scene and our memories, as snotty wiseacre wundkerkinds sometimes do.

And he is a snotty, wiseacre wunderkind (well, I guess now he's a wundermiddleager). But make no mistake. I like Quentin. I like Quentin a lot. Right from the start of it, which was "Reservoir Dogs," that bloody, violent, profanity-pervaded movie that not only had color-coded characters (Mr White, Mr Pink, etc), but also contained one of modern moviedom's most memorable moments, Michael Madsen mutilating a man's ear, all to the sounds of "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealer's Wheel. It also made 70s music, like "Little Green Bag" by the George Baker Selection, ultra cool.

And on a personal level, "Reservoir Dogs" inspired one of the funniest things I've ever read in a book, in Joe Queenan's "The Unkindest Cut," the story of how Joe sees Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi," supposedly made for $7000, and sets out to make his own film for $6999. And put it all on his credit card. It'd take waaaay too long to set up the joke, but one of the scenes in Queenan's film, "12 Steps To Death," parodies the "Dogs" ear-cutting scene. With such hilarity I'm laughing now as I type this. Go read "The Unkindest Cut." Go on. I'll wait.

And then, Tarantino unleashed "Pulp Fiction" upon the world. "Pulp Fiction," a movie I loved, saw several times, made friends go see, and went to see once totally hammered. It's been about 10 years now, and so many bits and pieces of "Pulp Fiction" have been raped to make other films, so it's hard to realize just how revolutionary that movie was when it first came out. I remember the first time I saw it, after ducking out of band at half-time to go catch it in B'burg (it wasn't playing B'field). I sat in the theater, alone, grinning like a fool, thinking, "What the fuck is this?? It's amazing!" It blew my mind. And yes, I still love this movie, and yes, it should have won the Academy Award that year for best picture, yeah, bend over "Forrest Gump," and take it just like Marsellus Wallace did in the S & M pawn shop.

Oh, and "Pulp Fiction" had its great musical moments, too. Let us not forget the twist contest and "C'est La Vie," and Link Wray's "Rumble," one of the world's coolest songs. Throw in "Son of a Preacherman" and "Flowers on the Wall," and you've got yourself a soundtrack for the ages.

And then Quentin got famous. Really famous. No, you don't understand. Reeeealllly famous. And he made "Jackie Brown," which did nothing for me at all other than make me relatively happy that both Pam Grier and Robert Forster got rediscovered and put back on the screen. I tried to like "Jackie," really I did, and who knows, if I saw it again now, maybe I'd feel differently. But at the time it just seemed to be made under the influence of major fame.

And then QT, who may have just gotten more famous than we, or Hollywood, wanted him to be, faded. Till he came back this year with "Kill Bill," the major epic that was cut into two mini-epics, the second volume of which will be released next year.

This movie is a mish-mash of Samurai tales, kung-fu flicks, Bruce Lee movies, Japanese anime, "the Matrix," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and any number of other things I probably missed.

All things, by the way, that I hate.

But the way Tarantino puts them all together in this movie is incredible. Only he would have the mere audacity to throw all this into a movie and make it work. Uma Thurman was amazing, the past-tense/present tense stuff he used in "Pulp Fiction" works just as well here, and the Japanese restaurant dance floor/fight scene that leads to the "fight in the snow" scene with the everpresent water fountain was a classic.

Oh, and "Kill Bill (Vol. 1)" may hold the record for "number of dismemberments."

And it was a great moment when, near the beginning of the film, Uma pays "Pulp Fiction" tribute and makes a little "square" with her finger on the screen. Cute.

Before the movie started last night, I nipped into the ladies' room for a couple-three hefty shots of Goldschlager. I figured, "What the hell, Tarantino was probably high when he made the movie, I may as well have a buzz while I watch it." It provided a nice loosening up effect that was most conducive. Not that I'm recommending everyone do that.

I am highly recommending the movie, though. Can't wait till Volume 2.

And I know I've rambled on way too long, but on a related note, this is the second time I've been to the movies this month that I've been subjected to a trailer for the movie "Radio." "Radio" will soon be coming to a theater near us.

It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr, in what will surely be an award-nominated performance and a set of really bad teeth, as a retarded boy who hangs around the local high school's football field watching practices till one day the gruff but lovable football coach played by Ed Harris, in what will surely be an Academy Award-nominated performance because every time Ed Harris goes to Paramount and farts he's nominated for an Oscar, sees him hanging around the field and puts him to work assisting the team. Disbelief, scorn, hilarity, struggle, heartbreak, and finally triumph of the spirit ensue.

How do I know this? Because they tell us the whole damn movie in the trailer!

I mean, there's really no reason to see it now. All we have to see is that final shot of Cuba riding in a car, sticking out of the sunroof with his arms raised victoriously, to know this is the heartwarming feel-good hit of the year.

And why do movies insist on showing us the entire movie in a trailer? We'll never know. In any case, they've saved me from going to see "Radio," which is a good thing, because very few movies about people overcoming their mental disabilities sit well with me. I feel like they try to make me feel guilty for not being born retarded.

"Sling Blade." There was a good movie about the simple minded. Maybe because Karl didn't stumble and fumble around like, "Look at me, I'm retarded." Also because Karl gets to kill someone with an axe at the end.