1. Jackie Brown
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Kill Bill Vol. 1
5. Kill Bill Vol. 2
6. Death Proof
7. Reservoir Dogs
8. Django Unchained
9. The Hateful Eight
9. The Hateful Eight
Showing posts with label Quentin Tarantino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quentin Tarantino. Show all posts
Feb 12, 2015
Mar 27, 2013
Jackie Badass
*This post is part of Nathaniel's Hit Me With Your Best Shot series.
“Wow, you look really cool. It looks great. You wear that suit in a business meeting, and you’ll be the badass in the room.”
Indeed she is.
Jackie Brown, my favorite film in Tarantino’s oeuvre, has an understated visual quality; as if it romanticizes violence where his other works fetishize it. The relatively modest aesthetic means that unlike his other films, there are no particular shots or scenes that have entered the collective psyche. Sure, there are memorable moments like the sight of Jackie sliding across the blue-tiled wall in her blue suit, or Melanie touching the rim of Louis' glass with her toes. But they're not immediate standouts in the way Vincent and Mia's dance sequence is in Pulp Fiction, or The Bride wiggling her big toe and fighting the crazy 88 is in Kill Bill, or Aldo Raine pretending to be Gorlomi is in Inglourious Basterds, or... you get the idea.
The standout in Jackie Brown is not a scene or a shot. It's Jackie. She rules the film. Her presence is felt even when she's not on screen, which is unique for a director who's always the star of the show in all his films. But Tarantino knows that this one is the perfect marriage between artist and the material; and the artist here is Pam Grier. There's so much of her history and older pictures in this that it's unbelievable the final product still comes out a wholly original piece of its own.
So it was that every shot I shortlisted for this post featured Pam Grier, and immediately after I settled on this one, it hit me that there really wasn't anything else I could go for. It culminates everything I like about Jackie Brown. The lighting showcases the understated aesthetic Tarantino employs throughout the film and that image of Grier, coolly smoking her cigarette, brings back the memory of the salesgirl's comment on her suit earlier in the store. She's boiling on the inside. She's run through her lines, her every move, countless times to perfect it. But no one else will know it. The only thing they see is the badass in the room.
“Wow, you look really cool. It looks great. You wear that suit in a business meeting, and you’ll be the badass in the room.”
Jackie Brown, my favorite film in Tarantino’s oeuvre, has an understated visual quality; as if it romanticizes violence where his other works fetishize it. The relatively modest aesthetic means that unlike his other films, there are no particular shots or scenes that have entered the collective psyche. Sure, there are memorable moments like the sight of Jackie sliding across the blue-tiled wall in her blue suit, or Melanie touching the rim of Louis' glass with her toes. But they're not immediate standouts in the way Vincent and Mia's dance sequence is in Pulp Fiction, or The Bride wiggling her big toe and fighting the crazy 88 is in Kill Bill, or Aldo Raine pretending to be Gorlomi is in Inglourious Basterds, or... you get the idea.
The standout in Jackie Brown is not a scene or a shot. It's Jackie. She rules the film. Her presence is felt even when she's not on screen, which is unique for a director who's always the star of the show in all his films. But Tarantino knows that this one is the perfect marriage between artist and the material; and the artist here is Pam Grier. There's so much of her history and older pictures in this that it's unbelievable the final product still comes out a wholly original piece of its own.
So it was that every shot I shortlisted for this post featured Pam Grier, and immediately after I settled on this one, it hit me that there really wasn't anything else I could go for. It culminates everything I like about Jackie Brown. The lighting showcases the understated aesthetic Tarantino employs throughout the film and that image of Grier, coolly smoking her cigarette, brings back the memory of the salesgirl's comment on her suit earlier in the store. She's boiling on the inside. She's run through her lines, her every move, countless times to perfect it. But no one else will know it. The only thing they see is the badass in the room.
Oct 3, 2012
Jan 2, 2012
Most Anticipated Films of 2012
It feels appropriate to start 2012 by writing about the films I’m most looking forward to in this new year. I should have probably waited until I was finished watching everything from 2011 but such is my enthusiasm for these titles, I couldn’t wait to get them out.
There are a few films I’ve had to leave off this list that nevertheless sound very intriguing. Pedro Almodovar who returned to top form with The Skin I Live In will be back with Mina, a biopic about an Italian singer and we all know a biopic in his hands won’t just be any biopic. Michael Haneke’s new film called Amour will most likely screen at Cannes and though early word – that I don’t remember where I’ve first heard – has not been especially positive, we’re still talking about Haneke and every one of his films is an event. Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad looks intriguing and his Zombieland was tons of fun, plus, Hollywood’s new ‘it’ boy Ryan Gosling stars so it’s a must-see.
Park Chan Wook’s Stoker will bring the crazy in Oldboy together with Nicole Kidman; the only reason it missed out on the list is the current cultural vampire overload but I know I’ll be first in line when it comes out anyway. Pixar’s new film Brave is likely to be a return to their better days after the disaster that was the financially motivated, conceptually inept Cars 2. Finally, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises is a film I’ll surely watch on opening night for obvious reasons but I’d be lying if I said the hype has gotten me that excited about it.
With that out of the way, here’s a list of my top dozen most anticipated films of 2011:
12. What Maisie Knew
David Siegel and Scott McGehee, the co-directors of this film, have made astonishing art films like Suture and The Deep End in the past so we know we can trust them behind the camera. If you haven’t seen those films or are not particularly keen on watching them, you probably want to that Maisie features Julianne Moore as an aging rock star who plays the mother of the titular character in the process of a messy divorce from her husband. Any Julianne Moore film has a spot on a list like this for me. Maisie is no exception.
11. Moonrise Kingdom
After his seminal film The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, Wes Anderson’s works always underwhelmed me until he finally won me over again with the richly designed, charming and hilarious Fantastic Mr. Fox. Moonrise Kingdom brings together an eclectic mix of terrific thespians like Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand along with stars like Bruce Willis (he’s still a star, right?), Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman and Harvey Keitel. IMDB describes the story as such: “A pair of lovers flees their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them.” The Material sounds right up Anderson’s alley.
There are a few films I’ve had to leave off this list that nevertheless sound very intriguing. Pedro Almodovar who returned to top form with The Skin I Live In will be back with Mina, a biopic about an Italian singer and we all know a biopic in his hands won’t just be any biopic. Michael Haneke’s new film called Amour will most likely screen at Cannes and though early word – that I don’t remember where I’ve first heard – has not been especially positive, we’re still talking about Haneke and every one of his films is an event. Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad looks intriguing and his Zombieland was tons of fun, plus, Hollywood’s new ‘it’ boy Ryan Gosling stars so it’s a must-see. Park Chan Wook’s Stoker will bring the crazy in Oldboy together with Nicole Kidman; the only reason it missed out on the list is the current cultural vampire overload but I know I’ll be first in line when it comes out anyway. Pixar’s new film Brave is likely to be a return to their better days after the disaster that was the financially motivated, conceptually inept Cars 2. Finally, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises is a film I’ll surely watch on opening night for obvious reasons but I’d be lying if I said the hype has gotten me that excited about it.
With that out of the way, here’s a list of my top dozen most anticipated films of 2011: 12. What Maisie Knew
David Siegel and Scott McGehee, the co-directors of this film, have made astonishing art films like Suture and The Deep End in the past so we know we can trust them behind the camera. If you haven’t seen those films or are not particularly keen on watching them, you probably want to that Maisie features Julianne Moore as an aging rock star who plays the mother of the titular character in the process of a messy divorce from her husband. Any Julianne Moore film has a spot on a list like this for me. Maisie is no exception.
11. Moonrise Kingdom
After his seminal film The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, Wes Anderson’s works always underwhelmed me until he finally won me over again with the richly designed, charming and hilarious Fantastic Mr. Fox. Moonrise Kingdom brings together an eclectic mix of terrific thespians like Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand along with stars like Bruce Willis (he’s still a star, right?), Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman and Harvey Keitel. IMDB describes the story as such: “A pair of lovers flees their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them.” The Material sounds right up Anderson’s alley.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)