Actually, Kill Bill had very little anime influence in it (except for the part that was actually animated); mostly, it was an homage to obscure Hong Kong Kung-Fu movies and Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. (Seriously... my boyfriend can name every movie that each scene was ripped off from, and same with some of the music!) I thought it was good in that respect, but you're right, it's definitely a mindless action movie. ^_^;
As far as the Matrix goes, I can't deny the huge anime influence, but the *source* influence can be traced back to William Gibson's novel "Neuromancer". He's the father of the entire cyberpunk genre, and had invented things like the "matrix" (a virtual-reality version of the internet), microsofts (data chips that plug directly into a person's brain), and web-diving back when a computer covered an entire desk and the general public had never *heard* of the internet. Hackers-for-hire were known as "cowboys", and people could be more-or-less resurrected through complex AI. If you like reading, READ IT! and the books that follow. Anyway, enough of that rand. ^_^;
I do agree with Larry, it's a good idea to give things a try no matter what the reviews are. If it seems interesting to you, go ahead and see what it's like no matter what the critics say! Think outside the box and some such. ^_~
28-Feb-2005