> I still have not, unfortunately, just been too busy. Sadly might have to
> wait until the BR. Hate to say it, but I actually wanted to see it much
> less once the (still glowing) reviews came out. If there's anything about
> Tarantino I DON'T like, it's when he's slow, lackidasical, and anything
> like Jackie Brown. But I guess we'll get to that soon here :P

There are a few tangents in the movie that lack payoff, but overall I left the theater pleased with this film.

> Never understood why people seemed to really not care much for this flick.
> I loved it.

I think that despite the great cast, only about 4 of the characters actually leave you with a memorable performance (although the others are good with their shorter time). Nice to see Samuel L. Jackson actually do some acting and not just play his typcial Shft/Nick Fury persona.

> 9. Death Proof -- offensively terrible. Yes, the car chase is pretty
> excellent, but as Ebert liked to say, that was a very long ride for a very
> short day at the beach. I saw Grindhouse in theatres, and I can't tell you
> how badly Death Proof destroyed the mood of the room. The theatre was jam
> packed (odd, considering it tanked), and we were literally all rolling in
> the aisles laughing during the fake trailers and Planet Terror. Then came
> an hour of boring ass, pathetic Tarantino masturbaton where a ton of flat
> boring characters talked endlessly about nothing. Half the theatre left
> before the chase ever started; the rest of us were just completely quiet,
> irritated, and wondering what happened to our 90's hero.

> 8. Jackie Brown -- so I saw this back in high school, again lent by that
> same Tarantino fan down the block, and I hated it so much. Almost fell
> asleep numerous times from it's dragged out dullness. Last month I finally
> rewatched it, assuming I would like it way more, or at least respect it.
> And....no, not so much. I guess I'd raise it from 1/5 to 2/5 now,
> primarily because of the solid performances and a few fun moments (the
> heist, the first murder scene). For the most part though, this is still
> just plain a really boring flick. I don't like the characters enough to
> give a shit about them, and the dialogue almost completely lacks the
> pizazz of other Tarantino efforts. It feels stifled and muted, but not on
> purpose like its (hardcore) fans say today -- more like Tarantino just
> wanted to prove that he could calm down and make a more restrained movie
> than we all figured. Blegh.

Agree with a lot of your points here. I still like these movies, but they're 2 of QT's weaker ones.

> 7. Kill Bill Vol. 2 -- I sure can't combine these flicks, because for me
> there is a huge drop in quality from part 1 to part 2. This one I also
> must admit to liking more on repeat viewings (mostly because I haven't
> been able to run away from it; they're two of my wife's favourite movies,
> with Vol 2 probably placing in her top 10 of all time). Again, it has some
> great moments and a pretty wonderful ending, but like Jackie Brown, it's
> just too damn slow, too many scenes of endless Tarantino rambling where
> you could literally see his boner popping out from the screen about how
> brilliant his writing is.

> 6. Kill Bill Vol. 1 -- whereas with THIS sucker, Tarantino mostly shuts up
> and actually lets the directorial side of him shine. It's a really fun
> action movie, filled with explosive fight scenes and an animated segment
> that was genuinely creative and unexpected. The problem between the two
> flicks is energy; this one is brimming with it, practically overflowing,
> whereas Vol. 2 strips everything down to a calm breeze. Everyone has
> different tastes, but man, I just can't understand how anyone would prefer
> the second chapter to the first.

If I split these up into 2 films, part 1 would definitely rank higher than 2.

> 5. Inglorious Basterds -- These next three flicks are basically tied, and
> difficult to rank. Basters pissed me off on first viewing; the first two
> chapters are wonderful, tense, and fantastic. The last chapter, as well,
> is a cathartic blood splashing good time. The third and fourth are dull as
> dishwater. I've grown to dislike them a lot less on repeat viewings,
> mainly because of Waltz's performance in the third, and where the
> looooooong bar scene ends up as in the fourth. I still think this could've
> been Tarantino's 'masterpiece' (as he literally calls it himself in the
> final shot) if it had been a solid 15-20 mins shorter. As it stands, damn
> good flick, but flawed.

> 4. Hateful Eight -- Solid 4/5 movie for me. The first act is too slow and
> once again the guy relies way too much on the N-word, as if anyone in the
> theatre is still gonna be shocked by hearing QT say it. But I really dig
> the Agathie Christie aspects, the brutality of the violence, the pure
> nihilistic nastiness of all the characters. It's his meanest flick, and I
> dig that. Morricone provides some solid music and the cinematography is
> chilly and beautiful. Underrated movie, in my books.

> 3. Django Unchained -- Like you said, once Leo is blasted away with 15
> mins still to go, the film slowly falls off the rails and becomes
> misshapen (QT's cameo is horrendous and grinds everything to a screeching
> halt, too). However...everything before that is just goddamn fantastic,
> really some of his best and most confident filmmaking. The violence is as
> epic and bloody as we expect, but unlike his, oh, four previous films, the
> build up to the violence isn't overly drawn out or mundane. It's a
> surprisingly funny movie, considering it's content is horrific.

> 2. Reservoir Dogs -- I'll maintain this is also still a flawed movie; the
> flashback scenes for both Michael Madsen and Harvey Keitel, when they're
> told about the job, stop all momentum and are completely pointless in my
> books, except to let Tarantino sneak in a few more N-words. If those
> scenes were cut, this would be in the running to beat Pulp as his best
> work. Everything else is pretty fantastic; certainly I don't think he ever
> got such a wide range of excellent performances in any other flick of his,
> and many scenes are still surprising, shocking, and oddly humorous in a
> very bleak way.

> 1. Pulp Fiction -- Tarantino's masterpiece, by a country mile. Almost sick
> of writing this but I think it too could use a bit of trimming (not sure
> what the point/use of the Bruce Willis dong scene is; all they do is
> repeat what comes before and after). Minor quibbles aside, though, this is
> cinematic perfection. Dialogue is sharp, hilarious, spot-on; scenes go on
> long, but never FEEL long, unlike many of his other flicks. The characters
> are well rounded and believable, even when very unbelievable things start
> happening. Despite all the laugh out loud humour, there are still moments
> (you all know the ones) that make you gasp and deeply disturb. All in all,
> one of the best flicks of the 90's, or any decade for that matter.

Can't argue with putting Pulp Fiction #1. I think you and I have had the discussion before about how great 1994 was for movies. The trio of Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and Shawshank Redemption being nominated for best picture is one of the strongest line-ups of all time. I'd have been happy with any of those films winning. Heck, they increase the nominees to 9-10 and they still haven't had a year with 3 films as strong as those 3.