Once Upon A Time...

The era of the Director has long since passed, but a handful of heavyweights still manage to make each new movie an event. Quentin Tarantino is one of those directors, whose name alone could open a moive...but it certainly doesn't hurt that he always has an amazing cast. For his 9th film, he's turned his attention to his well-documented love affair with his hometown. 

This is one of those movies that's hard to pin down in one line what it's about. Sure, it's about the Manson Family's brutal slaying of Sharon Tate (sort of). Yes, it's about the grind-them-up-spit-them-out factory of the movie industry that uses up talent until it becomes useless to the big wigs trying to make money. It's about the stars, both rising and falling. It's about those on the periphery and those under the enchantment of celluloid fiction. It's about a city that is the center of its own created world and the magic that hangs over it. 

It tackles these many themes through a string of loosely connected scenes centering around Leo Dicaprio's character (the falling star) and Brad Pitt's character (the once-was stuntman). It sort of meanders through a six month period in a not-exactly linear style that is remmincent of Tarantino's best work. And as always, the dialouge is extremely tight and hilarious. 

This is another classic film from Quentin, and I'd rank it as my third favorite, just above Inglorious Bastards. Definitely a masterpiece of Hollywood turning the fiction inward and writing a Hollywood version of its own history. 

Full of Hate...

I've been really looking forward to seeing Once Upon a Time Hollywood and I realized that I still hadn't seen The Hateful Eight. As with most pop culture events from 2015 and the two years that followed, I was busy being a parent who was working full time and going to grad school. So I have legitimate excuses for having missed Quentin's three hour epic, but I rectified that oversight yesterday.

In many ways, this is a typical Tarantino film. It features terrible people who are somehow totally cool. It's extremely violent. It's full of clever twists. And it has great characters who are propelled by colorful dialog. In some ways, the premise isn't much different than Reservoir Dogs. You have characters who are unaware that their motivations are working against each other as they are trapped in tight quarters. 

I loved the old school whodunit feel of how this story unfolds and LOVED Samuel L. Jackson in this movie in a way I haven't loved him in a movie since Pulp Fiction. He was really the center of the movie, the only character really in tune with what was going on. I also loved Walton Goggins (Vice Principals). His partnership with Jackson's character in the last chapter of the movie was a kind of metaphor for the film, that despite learned hatred, in the right (or wrong) circumstances, we can see past that nonsense and see each other for who we are.

Born Death Proof

Yesterday, after Thanksgiving dinner, it was time to settle in front of the television for the traditional evening movie. This year, movie was time was reserved for Death Proof, the Quentin Tarantino grindhouse flick from 2007. After all, what could be more in the spirit or the holiday than a stylish homage to homicidal B-Movie car flicks?

 

I avoided this film in theaters, partly because it was a four hour double feature with Planet Terror, and I just can't sit in a theater that long. Plus, I will admit to thinking it was a little foolish to spend $53 million to make a movie that was supposed to feel like a low budget flick. But that was also when I was feeling a little down on Quentin. I've since rediscovered my appreciation for his brand of crazy and finally got around to catching up on this missed film. Needless to say, it was pretty damn cool.

 

The film featured classic Tarantino character types, slightly off and ultra hip. Kurt Russell was spectacular as Stuntman Mike. His character was reminiscent Quentin characters from his Natural Born Killers script, both charismatic and dangerous. The girls he pursues felt straight out of his 90's cool period. In fact, much of their dialogue would have felt at home in Pulp Fiction or Jackie Brown. There were no dull lines, or even dull moments in the film.

 

As for the concerns that kept me away from it in the theaters, I couldn't have been more wrong to worry about them. The editing was an art form in its own, creating that B-Movie feel in an exciting and stylish way that never felt haphazard. But naturally the highlight of the film was the muscle car adrenaline. In a lot of ways, this is last of the original Tarantino films, before he went on to tackle more serious subject matter in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. This film definitely doesn't have the same kind of impact as his more celebrated films, but it certainly is a joyride and one I'm glad I finally went on.