Quentin Tarantino

[little_bill]

Those of us on the Mocha color scheme can see it though. 

You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.

[Brendan]

We're finally going to see the second part of CSI directed by Tarantino this Sunday in Australia.I hope all this waiting is going to be worth it.

Poor tgy. You had to wait a year to see the second part while I'm watching the whole thing right now in rerun.  Crazy Aussie TV.

[Doug]

Here's how I would rank his movies, having just rewatched Pulp Fiction (for the first time in a while, I might add) and Jackie Brown. I do think it's almost silly that Pulp Fiction is automatically rated his greatest movie, just because of its raw, youthful (and perhaps juvenile) energy, and the perfect timing of it release. Certainly it's the movie that put him on the map and it's become iconic, and it's certainly his most influential...but it has its flaws and has aged badly, I think.  So...

Jackie Brown
Inglourious Basterds
Pulp Fiction
Kill Bill (combined)
Reservoir Dogs
Django Unchained
Death Proof

And True Romance I would put somewhere just after Jackie Brown....

[Matt]

It finally happened... I didn't like a Quentin Tarantino movie. It's surprising because I didn't just like all his previous movies, I LOVED them. But The Hateful Eight was over-long, wordier than it should have been, and almost boring -- then the gruesomeness of it was too much.  The thing is, Tarantino is known for all of those things -- long, talky, gruesome, but never boring. Quentin needs to find himself a more talented editor to replace Sally Menke, who died after Inglorious Basterds. Django Unchained was great, but I remember watching it and thinking of how much tighter and better it could have been if Sally worked on it. But The Hateful Eight is in another league. No one is holding Tarantino back, and the man needs to be held back a bit.

This was a major disappointment. I'd been looking forward to it, and almost got to the theater for it, but things kept getting in the way. I don't think I could have sat in a theater seat and watched that straight through. Thumbs down on this one.

[AKA23]

I loathe Quentin Tarantino movies, Matt. They are way too gory and pretentious for their own good. They're also really exploitative.

You know what's funny Matt? You know what REALLY makes me sick to my stomach? I don't know how your taste in movies can be so flawed! You like Clint Eastwood movies, so you're obviously a good judge of what makes a solid film, but you also like Quentin Tarantino, and even worse, Adam Sandler movies. I just can't figure you out!

[Matt]

dafuque? 

Sorry AKA.... I guess I'm just a complicated man.

I don't think they're pretentious, though maybe The Hateful Eight was, a bit. The gore in the Kill Bill movies was purposefully unrealistic, like anime. So, it couldn't be considered really gory, I don't think.  And all the rest were just perfectly perfect.

As for Adam Sandler... you got me there. I know I shouldn't like some of his stuff, but he makes me laugh. And that's all I'm there for... not really thinking, just for laughing.

[Matt]

And nobody.... I MEAN NOBODY... puts ketchup on a hot dog. 

[Doug]

I loathe Quentin Tarantino movies, Matt. They are way too gory and pretentious for their own good. They're also really exploitative.

You know what's funny Matt? You know what REALLY makes me sick to my stomach? I don't know how your taste in movies can be so flawed! You like Clint Eastwood movies, so you're obviously a good judge of what makes a solid film, but you also like Quentin Tarantino, and even worse, Adam Sandler movies. I just can't figure you out!

You do know Eastwood supported Pulp Fiction when he was on the jury at Cannes when it premiered, right?

[Doug]

It finally happened... I didn't like a Quentin Tarantino movie. It's surprising because I didn't just like all his previous movies, I LOVED them. But The Hateful Eight was over-long, wordier than it should have been, and almost boring -- then the gruesomeness of it was too much.  The thing is, Tarantino is known for all of those things -- long, talky, gruesome, but never boring. Quentin needs to find himself a more talented editor to replace Sally Menke, who died after Inglorious Basterds. Django Unchained was great, but I remember watching it and thinking of how much tighter and better it could have been if Sally worked on it. But The Hateful Eight is in another league. No one is holding Tarantino back, and the man needs to be held back a bit.

This was a major disappointment. I'd been looking forward to it, and almost got to the theater for it, but things kept getting in the way. I don't think I could have sat in a theater seat and watched that straight through. Thumbs down on this one.

I mostly agree with you, I felt the movie was flat and self-indulgent. But I will say the two hours and forty minute runtime didn't feel long at all. I liked it better than Django Unchained, which I thought was a mess, and I could barely pay attention to it on a second viewing.  I haven't tried giving The Hateful Eight a second viewing.

[Doug]

And nobody.... I MEAN NOBODY... puts ketchup on a hot dog. 

Better than putting flippin' cheese whiz on a Philly cheese steak.  That should be a crime. (Sorry, I just recently learned that was a real thing. How could anybody...?)

[Matt]

Better than putting flippin' cheese whiz on a Philly cheese steak.  That should be a crime. (Sorry, I just recently learned that was a real thing. How could anybody...?)

I'm with you on that. I read these so-called articles now and then with a title "You know you're from Philly when...." and there's a list of 30 odd things, and they almost always include this little thing about Cheese Whiz on cheesesteaks. (and they say we ordered them "Wid Whiz" (uhhhhh never happened with anyone I know).   I went to the best Cheesesteak places in Philly (and South Jersey, which had places to rival the best in Philly), and no one that I know ever used Cheese Whiz (and would never say "wid whiz"). Provolone or American, though in many places you choose your cheese. When I make mine, it's American.

[KC]

Wait, there's American, er, actual cheese?

[Matt]

Not the stuff that's vegetable shortening and comes in plastic sheets, but the American that they slice fresh at the deli. It might be processed cheese, but it's gooooood and perfect on cheesesteaks.

[Matt]

I mostly agree with you, I felt the movie was flat and self-indulgent. But I will say the two hours and forty minute runtime didn't feel long at all. I liked it better than Django Unchained, which I thought was a mess, and I could barely pay attention to it on a second viewing.  I haven't tried giving The Hateful Eight a second viewing.

And yet, even though I was disappointed and gave it a thumbs-down, I still think it has some great things about it. 

Quentin is a great screenwriter, and this script is no different. The cinematography/lighting and direction are great! They shot this on 70mm, and look at it - the outdoor scenes remind me of Pale Rider. The inside scenes are dark, but lit well enough to see everything, and that lighting and the snow coming in through the ceiling -- I remember watching it and thinking "Damn, he's good" (Quentin):





The acting is always great in a Tarantino movie, because he IS a great director. Look at all the careers he's revitalized in his films -- Samuel L. Jackson was already a big name, but he became a legend in the Tarantino movies. This time it was Jennifer Jason Leigh's turn, but my god, she'd better pick her next role carefully because she may have been good in this, but maybe the ugliest performance of a beautiful actress ever (and yes, I remember Charlize Theron as Monster).  I won't post a picture -- no spoilers here. 

I do have to wonder if Samuel L's monologue in this movie (and there are flashback scenes that GBU fans will recognize as a stylish homage to the desert scenes) didn't make the 3rd act of the film harder to cope with. It was already overly gruesome, and my god that monologue didn't help stomach those scenes.

But, in true Tarantino form, there was also some comedy. Tthe scenes where they bolt the door closed are great for a little bit of levity in an otherwise heavy film.  So maybe I was a little overly critical, but it still wasn't nearly as good as his other films, and I bet it would have been up there with the rest with a better editor to cut through some of the excess.

[AKA23]

You do know Eastwood supported Pulp Fiction when he was on the jury at Cannes when it premiered, right?

I completely get why you'd think this, since he was on the jury when "Pulp Fiction" won, but he actually did not vote for "Pulp Fiction" at Cannes.

On the jury here when 'Pulp Fiction' won, somebody said 'Oh, Clint Eastwood was on the jury, so he voted for the American film.' But my sensibilities are European, here is where my success started. Actually, Zhang Yimou's 'To Live' was my favorite piece, but most of the European jurors seemed to like 'Pulp Fiction,"' he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/arts/23iht-dupont.1.13119662.html

[Doug]

Nonetheless, AKA, he was president of the jury.  Possibly the only other film from that year I've seen is Three Colors: Red, and it's a great film. I've not seen To Live.

[Matt]

I haven't rated the Tarantino films in a long time, and some of the order has changed, so here it is today:

1.   Pulp Fiction
2.   Kill Bill, Vol I & II
3.   Reservoir Dogs
4.   Django Unchained
5.   Jackie Brown
6.   Inglorious Basterds
7.   Death Proof
8.   The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight opens with the words "The Eighth Film by Quentin Tarantino".  Rather than sounding completely pretentious, the reason he's counting is because he plans on retiring from directing movies after ten films.  I saw an interview recently where he explained that sometimes directors just have too many projects, so they aren't as particular with their choices -- and they just move on to the next one. He wants to be limited to only doing ten so that each of those ten is perfect, and to remain highly critical of the films he chooses to direct.  I can't seem to find that interview now, but in this article is a video where he explains that he plans to retire after ten films and move on to writing novels and directing for theater:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/quentin-tarantino-im-going-make-847476

[Doug]

He must be counting the Kill Bill movies as one, because there is also Death Proof. And it is definitely not perfect, if Tarantino wants to imagine all his films as such.

Jackie Brown is still my favorite of his. Followed by Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds.

[Matt]

That's a good point -- I forgot Death Proof. Maybe this means if he does a Kill Bill 3 it won't count either.

[AKA23]

Nonetheless, AKA, he was president of the jury.  Possibly the only other film from that year I've seen is Three Colors: Red, and it's a great film. I've not seen To Live.

In my opinion, your statement was inaccurate so I am just correcting the record. Clint did not support "Pulp Fiction" at Cannes, and from his comments, it sounds like he didn't even like it that much since he said "The Europeans seemed to like it" rather than that he thought it was a strong movie. Although it is possible that he may enjoy Tarantino movies, I am skeptical that he does since Clint doesn't make gratuitously violent movies and his style is subdued. Tarantino makes very flashy movies that are extremely violent, so for that reason, I doubt Clint is a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. A lot of people love his movies though, and that's all right with me. I was just giving Matt a little jazz since we are friends. Everyone has different tastes. That's what makes this board interesting.