Once Upon A Time In Hollywood / Tarantino

[Corpsey]

I'm a tarantino sceptic - I loved reservoir dogs and pulp fiction when I was a teenager (I group those movies with grand theft auto) but I didn't like kill bill much at all.

I revisited Jackie brown fairly recently and thought it was GREAT.

But I've not seen his recent films cos they sound a bit ironic and smug to me

Saying all that I'm hearing good stuff about this new one and I am fascinated by the Manson family murders so might give it a go. Anyone else?

 

[IdleRich]

I'm definitely looking forward to it. There is a big Tarantino backlash gathering as well as the anticipation - I can see a huge battle between those who love it and those demanding (as The Guardian did the other day) that he be "cancelled". Incidentally that marks the first time I've actually seen someone kinda unashamedly use that phrase in a positive sort of way. From my experience people normally don't want to embrace it, it's more "I don't endorse cancelling, I just don't think anyone should take any notice of so and so cos they're beyond the pale". But I digress...

 

[baboon2004]

Tarantino has always been a wanker as a public persona, imo - dull, aggressive and defensive about giving reign to his worst instincts (which are grotesque at worst, although he has done some decent things in public too). Can't imagine what a wanker he would be to work for. An excellent filmmaker at his peak in terms of style rather than substance...Jackie Brown is easily his most human film of the ones I've seen, the only one which doesn't feel detached. I liked Kill Bill (1 and 2) a lot as pure spectacle.

 

[Corpsey]

I watched Reservoir Dogs last night. I love the way he plays with time in that movie, and levels of reality in the "commode story" scene. Amazingly confident for a debut movie. Some brilliant performances too, especially enjoy Laurence Tierney ("fucked looks like the Thing"), and the soundtrack is fantastic.

But it does feel very hollow, ultimately. There's no sense of lives being lived outside of this setup, of worthwhile lives, and so the violence is shocking at times but also feels weightless.

Definitely have trouble buying Mr White being willing to shoot Joe for the sake of Mr Orange. I suppose Orange shooting the civilian is what makes him seem "on the level" to White. (I really liked the scene where Mr Pink says "I'm no piece of shit and you're okay and I KNOW [Mr Blonde] is on the level. So who's the bad guy?")

Something I never really appreciated when I watched it before is how the cops are waiting just outside the warehouse the whole time (we hear Pink, who I always thought escaped, being shot by them). That gives it a sort of absurdist feeling.* At the risk of pretention, almost like a Beckett play. They're squabbling over all this stuff and they're all fucked whatever happens.

 

[Corpsey]

(re: 92 premiere of Reservoir Dogs)

When a visibly pained audience member asked Tarantino in the Q&A how he justified the film’s tidal waves of violence, the director almost didn’t understand the question. “Justify it?” he echoed before just about roaring, “I don’t have to justify it. I love it!”

 

[IdleRich]

Ha great.
Anyway, back to the Once Upon A Time thing, yesterday we watched Charlie Says which is yet another telling of the Manson story with Matt Smith and a girl from out of Game of Thrones as the narrator Lesley Van Outen. It was fine and everything but really just the exact same story you've heard before from another perspective - now I dunno what Tarantino is gonna do but I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be that and for me that's a good thing.

 

[version]

He's just announced what he claims will be his last film, The Movie Critic. He's a big Pauline Kael fan and it's apparently set in the 70s and has a female lead, so people think it's going to be about her.

 

[version]

Rewatched Jackie Brown last night. Fascinating De Niro performance as he plays this bumbling loser who just shuffles through every scene. You almost forget he's there at times.

 

[droid]

Jackie Brown is the only good thing he's ever done.

 

[Clinamenic]

Jackie Brown is the only good thing he's ever done.

Yeah this seems to be the opinion of people who aren't tarantino fanboys, i.e. that its his most mature film. What's cool about it is that it still has the primary calling cards of tarantino, but doesn't feel as pulpy or cartoonish as some of his others do (which I do think he usually pulls off, in his own right, but its not for everyone).

 

[Clinamenic]

For example I absolutely love Inglourious Basterds, seen it maybe 8 or 9 times now, and it perhaps makes a bit more sense if you approach it as an homage to “macaroni war” films (like the original Inglorious Bastards by Enzo Castellari I believe, who even makes a cameo in Tarantino version. Different plots though), similar to how Django Unchained is an homage to spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation. One of the guys who played Django in one of the Italian films, yet again, makes a cameo in Tarantinos version.

Someone once described Tarantino to me as a video jockey, and I think that makes sense, especially once you start tracking the manifold references and self-aware cameos his films tend to contain. He is a top tier cinephile, but is different from the likes of most other cinephiles in that he has a pulpy, over-the-top, _____-sploitation style. Jackie Brown arguably elevates this style to a higher level of maturity.

 

[droid]

Yeah this seems to be the opinion of people who aren't tarantino fanboys, i.e. that its his most mature film. What's cool about it is that it still has the primary calling cards of tarantino, but doesn't feel as pulpy or cartoonish as some of his others do (which I do think he usually pulls off, in his own right, but its not for everyone).

Yeah, I think thats true. When I read that Roger Avary wrote all the best bits of Pulp Fiction it made a lot of sense.

 

[woops]

my favourites of his are reservoir dog, django, and ingloriousbastards. those are the ones that work best on their own terms ie as violent tense cartoons. i also recommend the novel version of the Hollywood one

 

[Clinamenic]

my favourites of his are reservoir dog, django, and ingloriousbastards. those are the ones that work best on their own terms ie as violent tense cartoons. i also recommend the novel version of the Hollywood one

Yeah I agree, as usual I like to try to approach works on their own terms, to the best of my ability, and most (if not all) of tarantino's don't take themselves very seriously, but are usually pulpy love letters to cinema.

 

[Clinamenic]

Yeah, I think thats true. When I read that Roger Avary wrote all the best bits of Pulp Fiction it made a lot of sense.

Oh I didn't know that re: Roger Avary...

 

[droid]

Yeah, Tarantino screwed him.

 

[version]

Jackie Brown is the only good thing he's ever done.

That one and Reservoir Dogs. Not fussed about the rest.

 

[luka]

i dont suppose it's compulsory to watch pulp fiction and ive only seen it once but it was a big part of what made the 90s the 90s.

 

[woops]

i dont suppose it's compulsory to watch pulp fiction and ive only seen it once but it was a big part of what made the 90s the 90s.

even the soundtrack was everywhere

 

[luka]

i remember thinking bruce willis felt a bit superfluous but otherwise it's pretty great. uma thurman looks good in her black bob. samuel l jackson is fantastic.

even the soundtrack was everywhere

dick dale and that