Latest news with #KillBill:Volume1
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Masterful Acting in ‘Kokuho,' a Chronicle of a Fictitious Kabuki Star; Director Lee Sang-Il Demonstrates Ability Again
©Yoshida Shuichi / Asahi Shimbun ©'Kokuho' Film Partners A still from 'Kokuho' What is an actor pursuing when they walk the path of art? The film 'Kokuho,' directed by Lee Sang-il, chronicles the life of a fictitious onnagata, a kabuki actor who specializes in female roles. It is an extravagant film about life dedicated to art, a rarity in the Japanese film scene of late. The film is based on Shuichi Yoshida's novel of the same title, which means 'national treasure.' Bloodline is taken seriously in the world of kabuki. Star quality is usually hereditary, yet the film's protagonist, Kikuo (played by Ryo Yoshizawa), is an outsider who comes from Nagasaki Prefecture. What's more, his father is the leader of a yakuza group. However, Kikuo is blessed with radiant beauty and extraordinary talent. The story asks if his abilities alone are enough for him to climb the ladder of the kabuki world. The film follows his half-century journey from the middle years of the Showa era (1926-1989) to the Heisei era (1989-2019). The story starts in the mid-1960s. Kikuo, then an adolescent, sees his father killed by a yakuza in front of his eyes. He then moves from Nagasaki to Osaka, where he aspires to become an actor under Hanjiro (Ken Watanabe), a big-name actor of Kamigata kabuki (kabuki from the Kansai region). Kikuo trains alongside Hanjiro's son, Shunsuke (Ryusei Yokohama). Kikuo and Shunsuke, who are the same age, form a comrade-like bond. Soon an entertainment company gives them an opportunity to perform on stage together in a big production, and they quickly rise to stardom. Kikuo in particular builds a successful career at an incredibly fast rate for someone coming from outside the kabuki world. He then hits a wall. The film is a feast for the eyes, with the dramatic story intertwined with glamorous kabuki plays and dances. The spectacular production design by Yohei Taneda of 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' fame is appealing, too, including stylized beauty in the opening scene evocative of classic yakuza films. However, the film's main draw is the acting. Kikuo and Shunsuke are difficult roles to play because both characters perform scenes from various kabuki plays and dances on stage. Yoshizawa and Yokohama received a considerable amount of training before working on this film, and their commitment and dedication show on screen. As the story plays out, questions come to mind. Why do actors try to perform on stage even when it requires overcoming major difficulties? What does it give them? What lies beyond their gaze? Viewers are drawn to pursue the answers to these questions in the story of Kikuo and Shunsuke while also looking at Yoshizawa and Yokohama taking on the complicated task of playing their characters. This kind of nested structure adds a special charm to the film, and the audience is led to experience the joy that comes from the power of art, demonstrated by dedicated actors. The director, Lee, is a master at pulling out great performances from actors, which he has done in many of his films, including 'Yurusarezaru Mono' ('Unforgiven') starring Ken Watanabe, a remake of Clint Eastwood's 'Unforgiven.' Lee made the most of this great ability of his in 'Kokuho.'
Graziadaily
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
It's Official, These Are The Coolest Sneakers To Sport This Summer
If you're looking for a new pair of trainers, good luck to you. Seriously, there's so much choice and so many 'trending' sneakers that it will probably take you until Christmas, or maybe just Halloween, to find the right pair and, by then, it will probably have gone off the boil and you'll be right back to square one. Happily, however, there's a runner that not only has cult status thanks to a film made in 2003, but is from the kind of everywhere-but-somehow-under-the-radar brand that people will know but they might not know . You know? Michelle Li wearing Onitsuka Tiger ©@himichelleli It could only be Onitsuka Tiger. The Japanese sneaker brand shot to fame in the early '00s when a specific trainer in a very specific shade appeared in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (although the label was founded in 1949). The Mexico 66 in bright yellow with black stripes has become as synonymous with 'the Bride', Uma Thurman's character, as her sword - and it's this version that you've probably been seeing everywhere, from underneath pub-garden benches to the Tube. Amaka Hamelijnck wearing Onitsuka Tiger ©@ Michelle Li, the stylist and writer based in New York, paired hers with a white tee, baggy shorts and a translucent and pleasingly turquoise mac last summer, adding chunky socks to give the sleek trainer some bulk. Amaka Hamelijnck, influencer and podcaster, styled her sunflower trainers with a butter yellow co-ord, a baseball cap and a leather jacket, which pretty much seems like the perfect outfit formula right now (the leather might be overkill in this weather - and you know and we never get to say that!). Hailey Bieber wearing Onitsuka Tiger ©@haileybieber Of course, yellow is just the first and most recognisable frontier of the Mexico 66. You've also got silver, which is another one you'll start noticing in the wild once you've clocked it, as well as black, white and a host of other neutrals with subtly contrasting stripes (Hailey Bieber repped the black-and-white version on a recent holiday). So if you like a trainer that feels light on the foot and teams with everything from baggy trousers to knee-length shorts, bubble-hemmed skirts, and minidresses (you heard me), what are you waiting for? 1. Mexico 66 Birch/Peacoat Sneakers 2. Mexico 66 Beige Grass Green Sneakers 3. Mexico 66 Black/White Sneakers 4. Mexico 66 SD Cream Peacoat Sneakers 5. Mexico 66 Kill Bill 2023 Sneakers 6. Mexico 66 Silver Off-White Sneakers 7. Mexico 66 Triple Black Sneakers 8. Mexico 66 SD Low-Top Sneakers Natalie Hammond is senior fashion news editor at Grazia. She loves winter, hates summer and can often be found writing about the weather (and what on earth to wear).
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kill the Bill: Elon Musk declares war on Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'
In Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1, the Bride doesn't just seek revenge—she draws blood with elegance, precision, and a katana. , freshly unshackled from his stint inside Trump's government, seems to be channelling the same energy—only this time, the blade is fiscal discipline, and the target is 's so-called 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Wednesday, Musk tweeted to his 180 million followers with a message that could've come straight out of Tarantino's trailer: 'Call your Senator. Call your Congressman. Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.' Attached was a photoshopped poster of Kill Bill, with Trump's face clumsily plastered over David Carradine's and the bill clutched like a samurai scroll of doom. The Bill in question? H.R.1, passed by the House on May 22. A sprawling $4 trillion mega-package that extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts, pumps funds into border security, expands defence spending—and raises the debt ceiling to eyewatering new heights. MAGA Republicans call it 'historic.' Musk calls it 'a disgusting abomination.' From DOGE to Doomsayer Only days ago, Musk was working inside the belly of the beast as head of DOGE—Trump's ironically titled Department of Government Efficiency. Appointed as a 'special government employee,' he spent 130 days trying to trim Washington's flab. Today, he's torching it from the outside. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,' Musk posted on X. 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.' He followed up with a flurry of economic memes, deficit graphs, and that now-viral Kill Bill parody poster, putting him squarely at odds with the very president who once called him 'America's Tech Da Vinci.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Debt Slavery and GOP Dissonance Musk didn't stop at aesthetics. He's gone full Paul Revere with PowerPoint slides. Calling the bill 'Debt Slavery,' he warned that America is 'in the fast lane to fiscal suicide.' By his math, the legislation could blow the deficit past $2.5 trillion and inflate the national debt by as much as $5 trillion—figures echoed, though slightly more cautiously, by the Congressional Budget Office. 'This spending bill contains the largest increase in the debt ceiling in US history!' Musk wrote. 'Congress is making America bankrupt.' Some in the GOP are rattled. Musk was the largest Republican donor of the 2024 election cycle—and now he's threatening to fund primary challenges against any lawmaker backing the bill. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' he posted, turning his money cannon on the very party he helped prop up. Trump's Cool, Congress's Calculus The White House, meanwhile, responded with Trumpian defiance. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shrugged it off: 'This is one big, beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it.' Trump even posted a nostalgic screenshot of Musk thanking him for the DOGE appointment—equal parts reminder and rebuke. House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to reach out. Musk left him on read, then shared a video clip of Johnson's defence of the bill with a blunt caption: 'We need a new bill that doesn't grow the deficit.' Senator Kevin Cramer was less concerned. 'I don't think very many senators are that interested in what Elon has to say,' he told reporters. 'It's amusing. But we're serious policymakers.' Elon and Donald: The Fallout Some men campaign. Elon Musk campaigned on something. What that "something" was, in hindsight, feels like a mix of politics, pharmaceuticals, vanity, and chaos theory. The Ketamine Candidate Musk's drug use didn't begin with the Trump campaign—it simply became more theatrical. While the Wall Street Journal had reported as early as 2023 that Tesla board members were alarmed by his use of Ambien, The New York Times now paints a darker picture. By 2024, Musk was reportedly taking ketamine so frequently it affected his bladder function. MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms followed, often at private parties across the globe. One image reviewed by NYT showed a pill organiser containing around 20 substances—some labelled as Adderall. The effect? Public incoherence, private panic. What Musk claimed was bi-weekly therapeutic use looked, to many insiders, like daily microcosmic meltdown. The Campaign Trail Becomes a Custody Battle Musk didn't just endorse Trump—he practically embedded himself in the campaign. He appeared at rallies, brought his son X into the Oval Office, and travelled with the child on the trail. Grimes, the boy's mother, objected—saying it violated a custody agreement. But that was just one chapter in Musk's domestic soap opera. In February, right-wing influencer Ashley St. Clair revealed she had given birth to Musk's 14th child. She claimed Musk offered $15 million and $100,000 a month to keep it quiet. When she refused, Musk filed for a gag order. Simultaneously, Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis was pregnant with two more of Musk's children via surrogate—reportedly unaware of St. Clair. If his public persona was spiralling, his private life was already in freefall. Governing with a Chainsaw Inside the administration, things were just as unhinged. After Trump's win, Musk helped design DOGE, rented a cottage at Mar-a-Lago, and joined transition calls with foreign leaders. But colleagues quickly became alarmed. He insulted cabinet members, showed up disoriented to briefings, and raised eyebrows at the inauguration with what neuroscientist Philip Low later condemned as a Nazi-style salute. At CPAC, he donned sunglasses, accepted a chainsaw on stage, and delivered a performance that many said looked more like Burning Man than Beltway. His exit in May 2025 wasn't shocking. The only surprise was that it hadn't come sooner. Exit Wounds Musk's departure from government wasn't a clean break. It was a scorched-earth retreat. He arrived as a tech messiah, a billionaire savant here to trim the fat of government. He left as a psychedelic Cassandra—raging on social media, estranged from his allies, and battling legislation he once helped shape.
Tatler Asia
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Female action heroes: 8 women who redefined courage long before ‘Ballerina' pirouetted in
Geena Davis as Samantha Caine/Charly Baltimore in 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' (1996) In The Long Kiss Goodnight , Geena Davis showcased how seemingly contradictory identities can coexist within one complex woman. Her transformation from a sweet suburban schoolteacher into a lethal CIA assassin explored themes of identity and self-discovery through explosive action, predating the amnesia-spy thriller trend by years. Her character's journey from inexplicable knife skills to full assassin mode, culminating in the explosive Niagara Falls finale, showed that female action heroes could be simultaneously nurturing and deadly, domestic and dangerous. Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991) Linda Hamilton's transformation of Sarah Connor remains one of cinema's most dramatic character evolutions. From targeted waitress to hardened warrior, Sarah redefined what maternal protection could look like when the stakes involve preventing humanity's extinction. The character's strength lies in her complete commitment to an impossible mission: her escape from Pescadero State Hospital and assault on Cyberdyne Systems showcase not just physical prowess, but also strategic thinking and determination. Sarah embodies the terrifying power of maternal love channelled into relentless action, proving that mothers can become the most formidable protectors imaginable. Zhang Ziyi as Jen Yu in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000) Zhang Ziyi's breakout performance in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a masterclass in playing a character who is equal parts captivating and infuriating, which is exactly what made Jen Yu so unforgettable. Jen is the ultimate rebellious prodigy: a young woman who refuses to be confined by society's expectations and has the martial arts skills to back up her defiance. Ziyi brought an incredible mix of grace and determination to the role, making every fight scene feel like a dance and every emotional moment hit like a punch. She wasn't just leaping rooftops or slicing through a bamboo forest for spectacle—every move was a fight for the right to choose her destiny. Uma Thurman as Beatrix 'The Bride' Kiddo in 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' (2003) Uma Thurman's Bride transformed personal tragedy into a masterpiece of vengeance. Waking up from a four-year coma to discover the massacre of her wedding party and the loss of her unborn child, Beatrix Kiddo channels her grief into the most stylishly brutal quest for justice ever captured on film. The Bride's iconic yellow tracksuit and Hattori Hanzō sword became symbols of determination. Her single-handed destruction of the Crazy 88 at the House of Blue Leaves delivered spectacular action and illustrated how personal loss can fuel extraordinary strength. The performance is pure cinematic magic—violent, beautiful and unforgettable. Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa in 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015) Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa commandeered Mad Max entirely. In a franchise literally named after its male protagonist, Furiosa became the true driving force, both behind the wheel of her War Rig and as the heart of the story. Furiosa represents defiance in its purest form. Her rebellion against Immortan Joe's tyrannical regime to liberate his 'Five Wives' transforms her from war captain to freedom fighter. Her prosthetic arm isn't portrayed as a limitation but as a testament to her resilience, challenging conventional depictions of disability in action cinema while delivering some of the most spectacular vehicular combat ever filmed. Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt in 'Salt' (2010) Angelina Jolie gives life to Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative who is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent and goes on the run to try to clear her name. What makes Jolie's Salt fascinating is that the role was originally written for a male protagonist, with Tom Cruise initially secured for the lead, before the script was ultimately rewritten for the actress. The film's central question—is Salt truly loyal or is she the perfect double agent?—keeps audiences guessing until the end. But it's Jolie's committed performance and those brutal action sequences that make the movie work. She took a role designed for a male action star and made it completely her own, proving that great characters transcend whoever they were originally written for. Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' (2022) Michelle Yeoh's Oscar-winning performance as Evelyn Wang revolutionised the action hero archetype by proving that extraordinary power can emerge from the most ordinary circumstances. This stressed laundromat owner's journey from mundane family struggles to multiverse-saving hero redefined what strength looks like. Evelyn's greatest battles aren't won through violence but through radical empathy. Her famous 'fanny-pack fight' and culinary combat skills showcase inventive action choreography, but her ultimate victory comes from choosing kindness over destruction. She represents the evolution of female action heroes from warriors to healers, proving that sometimes the greatest strength is knowing when not to fight. Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro in 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina' (2025) Brought to life by Ana de Armas, Eve Macarro in Ballerina promises to be the most elegant yet deadly addition to the action hero pantheon. The ballerina-assassin, trained by the secretive Ruska Roma organisation, isn't just stepping into the John Wick universe—she's poised to steal it entirely. What makes Eve extraordinary is her unique blend of grace and lethal precision. Driven by a deeply personal quest to avenge her father's murder, she represents the evolution of the female action hero: technically skilled, emotionally driven and so formidable that even John Wick himself is sent to hunt her down. Ballerina 's narrative twist positions her not as a sidekick or love interest, but as a force so powerful she becomes the hunted protagonist in her own right. NOW READ These new horror movies prove the slasher genre isn't dead 'Mission: Impossible': 7 stunts that redefined high-stakes action cinema 10 wealth-gap relationships in film that actually worked out Credits This article was created with the assistance of AI tools
