It turns out, I’ve seen four of their five nominees. I like all of them, but I would have to pick the brilliant concept behind Wall-E as the year’s best credit sequence. In these credits, we see scenes from the movie depicted in different styles from art history.

Well, this was not quite that movie. Somehow in this one Godzilla is the evil monster, and Mothra and Ghidora (and some burrowing red monster, Baragon) are the Guardian Monsters. No matter, Son really loved the movie, as did Daughter. They were really excited to see Godzilla emerge from the Sea of Japan and stomp around Tokyo. He asked to see it again.

I was amazed, impressed, deeply moved. I’m not quite sure if I agree with Seitz that it is the defining film of our generation, but I wouldn’t say he’s wrong, either. If you love film, you will regret it if you don’t see this movie in the theater. It’s a big, larger than life story, in which everything stands as a symbol for something larger: civilization vs. wilderness, the nature of self-identity, the beginning of America. It’s a very deep, elemental, spiritual, moving experience.

Matt Seitz on The New World.

Despite a few slow parts, the film definitely delivers. All the press you’ve read (well, that I’ve read) about Kill Bill is just about right on the money. The film is hyper-violent and hyper-stylized. One might carp that QT should have toned down some of the over-the-top moments, but overall I found in Kill Bill that which I find most satisfying in modern cinema: an original voice.

OK, well, maybe he’s not that original. As I’ve read (most notably by my favorite reviewer, Matt Zoller Seitz ), QT borrows from many many sources and the film is ultimately a recycling of elements from other films, mostly Hong Kong martial arts films. But you know what? I haven’t seen any Hong Kong martial arts films (well, maybe a Jackie Chan or two)! So a lot of this stuff is new to me, and probably to most American audiences.

Anyway, what I love about the film — besides the fact that it looks spectacular and sounds fabulous — is that every frame comes off as a personal voice. It’s not a film made by committee, like so many these days (how many times have you read “they changed this or that because it didn’t test well”). Harvey Weinstein gave QT full control over the movie, and it shows. Despite so much of it being borrowed, it’s all channeled through one guy.

That said, there are some disturbing elements of the film that make me uneasy. I’m not so keen on seeing beautiful young women scalped or spiked in the head. The film is more concerned with fashion and coolness than making narrative sense. That’s especially true for the violence, which ranges from funny to “cool” but never has “real” consequences. It’s kind of like a shoot-em-up video game.

Still, I was impressed.