Having not posted a pop-culture thread in a little while, and having a short period of time on my hands, I thought I'd put up the following for discussion and/or debate! This was caused by a comment in another thread about Tarantino, and I realized ... I have done Cronenberg. I have done Wes Anderson. I have done the Coen Brothers.
But I have never done Tarantino. Yes, he is well-known for his quirks. Rob "Pouches Everywhere" Liefeld is so terrible at drawing feet, even Quentin Tarantino is like, "Naw, I'll pass."
That said, his movies tend to be ... if nothing else ... violent. So they aren't for everyone. And if they aren't, that's cool! Just like not everyone loves Wes Anderson. But for those who appreciate his work, he has an incredibly solid oeuvre.
As a general rule, I have found that people either love, or hate, Tarantino ... with few people falling into the "meh" category. I am one of those people that definitely fall into the "love" category. In my opinion, he is one of the few directors working that I make sure to see every single new release; simply knowing that he was the director of a film is enough to make me go and see it. In addition, he famously cares about his movies and his overall work- he has said that his next movie will be his last, so he ends with ten (which may or may not be correct, depending on how you count movies).
While I normally have "rules" for these types of things, this is very simple- it has to be a Tarantino movie. It cannot be a commercial. It cannot be a short. It cannot be a very special episode of ER. All movies are included.
Edge cases-
Movies that are anthologies (such as Four Rooms) are excluded. Death Proof, which was originally released as half of Grindhouse, is included, because it stands on its own.
Kill Bill will be treated as two separate movies (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2).
That's it.
This will include all ten of his feature length films, from Reservoir Dogs to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and will be listen in order of awesomeness, with #10 being the least awesome. That said, it gets really hard after the last three; all of the movies are good, and most are great.
10. Death Proof. The chase scene is amazing. This isn't a bad pulp film, in fact, it's a great pulp film. But ... it's little more than the lurid tropes that you see.
9. Kill Bill Vol. 2. As a complete movie, Kill Bill is amazing. But compared to the first part, the second suffers. It's good.
8. The Hateful Eight. A movie that is enjoyably, but doesn't demand repeat viewing.
7. Kill Bill Vol. 1. A controversial ranking; perhaps the most thrilling grindhouse film Tarantino has made. Honestly, from this point on it gets really difficult.
6. Reservoir Dogs. No notes. A movie that helped break the indie movement of the 90s, and for good reason.
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino is clearly wrestling with the passage of time, and what it means to make a movie.
4. Jackie Brown. A movie that seems to be about a heist, but is really about the struggles of people that refuse to acknowledge they are getting old.
3. Inglorious Basterds. If this movie did nothing other than introduce America to Christopher Walz, then that was enough. A movie set in war, but not about war.
2. Django Unchained. A Western that was outrageous in so many ways, it somehow made circled around to being almost responsible.
1. Pulp Fiction. It is hard to explain what an incredible seachange this movie provided; simply put, there was Hollywood before this movie, and Hollywood after it. A movie that opened the door for people to re-examine their taste in movies, and realize the Out of Africa is not what "good filmmaking" looks like.
That's it! Feel free to add your own comments below.
But I have never done Tarantino. Yes, he is well-known for his quirks. Rob "Pouches Everywhere" Liefeld is so terrible at drawing feet, even Quentin Tarantino is like, "Naw, I'll pass."
That said, his movies tend to be ... if nothing else ... violent. So they aren't for everyone. And if they aren't, that's cool! Just like not everyone loves Wes Anderson. But for those who appreciate his work, he has an incredibly solid oeuvre.
As a general rule, I have found that people either love, or hate, Tarantino ... with few people falling into the "meh" category. I am one of those people that definitely fall into the "love" category. In my opinion, he is one of the few directors working that I make sure to see every single new release; simply knowing that he was the director of a film is enough to make me go and see it. In addition, he famously cares about his movies and his overall work- he has said that his next movie will be his last, so he ends with ten (which may or may not be correct, depending on how you count movies).
While I normally have "rules" for these types of things, this is very simple- it has to be a Tarantino movie. It cannot be a commercial. It cannot be a short. It cannot be a very special episode of ER. All movies are included.
Edge cases-
Movies that are anthologies (such as Four Rooms) are excluded. Death Proof, which was originally released as half of Grindhouse, is included, because it stands on its own.
Kill Bill will be treated as two separate movies (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2).
That's it.
This will include all ten of his feature length films, from Reservoir Dogs to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and will be listen in order of awesomeness, with #10 being the least awesome. That said, it gets really hard after the last three; all of the movies are good, and most are great.
10. Death Proof. The chase scene is amazing. This isn't a bad pulp film, in fact, it's a great pulp film. But ... it's little more than the lurid tropes that you see.
9. Kill Bill Vol. 2. As a complete movie, Kill Bill is amazing. But compared to the first part, the second suffers. It's good.
8. The Hateful Eight. A movie that is enjoyably, but doesn't demand repeat viewing.
7. Kill Bill Vol. 1. A controversial ranking; perhaps the most thrilling grindhouse film Tarantino has made. Honestly, from this point on it gets really difficult.
6. Reservoir Dogs. No notes. A movie that helped break the indie movement of the 90s, and for good reason.
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino is clearly wrestling with the passage of time, and what it means to make a movie.
4. Jackie Brown. A movie that seems to be about a heist, but is really about the struggles of people that refuse to acknowledge they are getting old.
3. Inglorious Basterds. If this movie did nothing other than introduce America to Christopher Walz, then that was enough. A movie set in war, but not about war.
2. Django Unchained. A Western that was outrageous in so many ways, it somehow made circled around to being almost responsible.
1. Pulp Fiction. It is hard to explain what an incredible seachange this movie provided; simply put, there was Hollywood before this movie, and Hollywood after it. A movie that opened the door for people to re-examine their taste in movies, and realize the Out of Africa is not what "good filmmaking" looks like.
That's it! Feel free to add your own comments below.
