A couple of film critics for the Star Tribune discuss Kill Bill’s Oscar snub:

C.C.: The shutout of “Kill Bill Vol. 1″ is a sad sign of the motion picture academy’s stodgy approach to the nomination process. The film was the coolest of the cool last year, made with a craftsmanship and excitement for the possibilities of filmed entertainment that was matched by only a handful of features. For anyone interested in seeing movies that push the limits, it was the film to beat last year. Ignoring it because its creative roots reach down to disreputable low-budget revenge flicks is unforgivable snobbery.

J.S.: To have nominated “Kill Bill” would have reduced the prestige of winning an Oscar to one step above getting the Key to the City of Omaha. The movie was an exercise in excess and self-indulgence. Yes, some of the imagery was impressive — the first time. But writer/director Quentin Tarantino was operating under the premise that anything worth doing once was worth doing four more times. His biggest accomplishment was convincing the studio that the movie was so brilliant that it couldn’t be cut and, thus, had to be released in two installments. I could have cut it down to about half an hour — including the trailers.

C.C.: Baloney. If “City of God,” a Brazilian ghetto crime drama that’s at least as bloody and wrenching as “Kill Bill,” deserves a best-director nomination, Q.T. was robbed.