Original Desmond

When Taratino did Pulp Fiction, he was new, a breath of fresh air, a ground breaking director.

We all know that Tarantino is a movie geek but all he seems to do nowadays is make films in the mold of his movie geek fandom. Basically remaking any genre considered cult from kung fu movies to exploitation etc

But it has now reached the point that this shit aint new or groundbreaking anymore, it's gettting really old.

I might not be putting my point accross very well but i hope u know what i mean.

Mondo Kane

I can see the disappointment. The smooth, European-ish flavor that his first 3 works had seems to have vanished---At the moment.
And now he's just more into the world of his B-movie love (Which I have no argument with since I'm a lover of it as well)

We'll see if Inglorious Bastards (If he ever manages to get to it) could shake new ground and set up different things. Although he's said himself that he doesn't want a long career as a filmmaker to expand on his filmography.

Dash

Ill give you that Pulp Fiction was similar to Resivor Dogs but Jackie Brown and Kill Bill are quite diffrent. If you mean the dialog he uses, then I will disagree. Its his witty dialog and the 'real' way his characters interact with eachother that makes his movies so special to me. His new movie grindhouse is a horror/scifi type move from what I gather so I guess if you consider that a cult genre then I guess he is repeating himself but as long as he makes them, I know ill still go see them.

Jackskeleton

Des.. Des.. des. You're my mate. You're my homie. If I was down under with you I'll buy you a couple of pints of little creatures. After which I would throw down with you in a classic bar fight on this very subject.

Just wait till Death Proof. Is all I have to say about this one, mate.

hardercore

He's made five films. All five films, in my opinion, have been supremely entertaining. We don't know if he's become nothing more than a parody of himself until we see his sixth film. So why don't we all just wait to see it before passing judgment on it?

Mr. Salty

Ooooh, another thread debating the merits of Quentin Tarantino. Not exactly groundbreaking subject matter.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to sit back and wait for baracine to show up.

TomOpus

Exactly.

I like his style and hope he continues to utilize it for his work. I'm not sure what the OP meant by "groundbreaking". If he means pulling a Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl... we all know how well that went. Even Kevin admits it was a mistake.

No. Kevin should continue to make films with his passion and style and I'll continue to watch.

PixyJunket

Um, no. He loves the movie, the only "mistake" was letting the budgets for his films get that high ($30 million?) and the crap that surrounded Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez from small-minded people that have nothing better to do than fill their empty lives with celebrity gossip, of which the latter he had no control over. He even thanks Jersey Girl in the credits for Clerks II for "taking so much up the ass and never complaining."

RichC2

Yeah, Smith has only ever apologised for Mall Rats.

Zodiac_Speaking

No He hasn't.

Res Dogs was a great debut. Pulp Fiction was a great home run of a film. Jackie Brown is probably his most mature work of of the five, and his best. Kill Bill is just a fun, geek movie. He can direct a geek movie can't he? Raimi, Jackson, and Lucas can so why not him? Volume 2 has some great emotional scenes that were written by a mature director/writer only can.

Death Proof is his geek sequel, but who cares? If he becomes a parody of himself, we'll see sequels, visual winks, and other useless crap.

The only thing that he's done that I've disagreed with, is putting his name on Hostel.

Richard Malloy

Kevin Smith's problem is that he's a sentimental homer, making chick-flick equivalents for perpetually adolescent 20-something dudes (and also for truly adolescent, but aspiring dudes). For all the dirty words and sophomoric provocations, his films are as comfy and safe as a sitcom, and certainly no more relevant. His scripts consist of the same small handful of painfully obvious girl/boy observations, and a few tiresome soliloquies consisting of jokey pop culture references (pop culture here consisting of a small swath of banality stretching from Marvel Comics to Star Wars). If his career seems stalled in its tracks, it's only because he had but a handful of cheap gestures, and he's used 'em all up. That schtick is moldy.

Despite some problematic elements, I'd argue that Tarantino is at least relevant to the larger culture. And though I don't like "Kill Bill" as much as his prior films ("Jackie Brown" is my personal favorite), I do think it has more to recommend it than just a pastiche of recreated scenes from other films, though I understand the criticisms. His next project really needs to bring more to the table than just rehashed 70s grindhouse. There've been quite a few of those lately, all of which wear their influences high on their sleeves and dutifully highlight their influences and allusions. He's got to at least better that, and come up with something that doesn't feel as recycled as a "Starsky and Hutch" motion picture.

exharrison

Tarantino started by remaking his favorites. He'll continue by remaking his favorites. He's at least honest about it. The true worth of his films isn't his making an original movie, but putting something more into the movie than he starts with. So far he has been good enough at that. Some better than others.

Jray

It seems strange to me that you're posting this "now", more than 2 years since his last movie came out . I wholeheartedly disagree by the way. Like a previous poster said, all 5 movies are entertaining... and quite different from one another.

clappj

One thing I'll say about Tarantino (like his films or not) he truly seems to be enjoying what he's doing, and has the creative freedom to make the films that he really wants to make. Unfortunately, this is a luxury not afforded to many Hollywood directors. If he's a parody of himself, then we should all be so lucky!

rabbit77

Yeah, I double checked the date to see if this was posted 2 years ago, or 2 years into the future.

maingon

i agree, they all are great movies. Grind house sounds awesome, the posters really kick ass cant wait for this one.

look at his movies...

Grind House
Sin City (guest director though)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Jackie Brown
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs

whats the paraody there? they all are excellent movies, my least favorite is Jackie Brown but still decent

The thing I like about him and Robert Rodriguez is that it seems that they dont do it for the money, they seem just like us movie geeks, they seem to really love making and watching movies. I like it that it seems like they arent just in it for commerical success and money.

PopcornTreeCt

Kill Bill Vol. 2 is one of the most amazing films of recent years so he's still ok with me.

Mordred

I completely disagree with the OP, but I've gotta say I'm surprised at all the love for Jackie Brown. I remember not hating it, but being pretty bored throughout, and I don't get bored in the theater that often. I could give detailed synopses of all Tarantino's films except for JB, which I remember almost nothing about.

Richard Malloy

See it again. You might change your mind. It may be the least favorite of his films among the wider audience, but those of us who love it, really love it.

PixyJunket

Jackie Brown is my favorite of his flicks.. its added maturity puts it slightly over Pulp for me, but it's REAL close.

Qui Gon Jim

I agree, but I have to admit I like Vol. 1 better.

Julie Walker

I do find it amusing how pretentious many film critics and wannabe philosophical hipsters over analyse his work. Which it seems the OP is with his "what happened to T? Why isn't he striving to make 'groundbreaking' cinema?" complaints.

I had a teacher last semester who kept using Reservoir Dogs as a questionable example of use of screen violence(in the torture sequence of course). Then she'd gush over Pulp Fiction and the 'greatness' of Tarantino's direction and writing skills as if he were Orson Welles or something,and the 'meaning' behind the stories and blah blah blah. And the class would pretty much agree and stated the same things as herself.

But what happens once Kill Bill Volume 1 is brought up?

The teacher rips the film apart stating "The violence was really overdone,that fight scene with the two women at the starting was too much,it was terrible when the little girl walked in on them. Does Tarantino hate women? The extent of the violence was uncalled for and served no purpose,Tarantino offered no insights into life or anything, blah blah blah".

A few students chimed in with "That was the worst movie I ever saw,I actually walked out of it after 30 minutes of that crap,and their's no way i'd bother with the second one,huff!".

I actually jumped into the conversation here since I just had to defend the film. And I pointed out how the female fight scene at the begining was meant to be over the top and cartoonish(when the daughter walks in,it's a great tension filled darkly humorous moment). In fact the majority of the violence in the film was meant to be unrealistic and over the top. The film is pretty much a dark comedy with a gleeful sense of wreckless abandon as the "Bride" takes her revenge while overdoing all the standard revenge movie cliches which it pays homage too. And if they wondered why their is an anime flashback sequence,why the 'Grindhouse Releasing' logo comes on before the film and so forth. It's quite obvious the film is a homage to over the top revenge/kung fu ultra-violent 70's cinema and anime and nothing more. So just sit back and enjoy the freaking ride instead of looking too deeply into the material!

The teacher looked at me dumb founded,and the class snickered in uptightness and no one had a come back for my observation on the film. Thus the topic was quickly changed.

So anyway..some people take Tarantino WAY too seriously. More serious than Tarantino takes his filmmaking and storytelling! To the point that they fail to see the entertainment value in the material.

PopcornTreeCt

I agree Julie Walker, I don't see how there's a huge difference between Tarantino's films. The violence in Pulp Fiction is just as over the top as it is in Kill Bill. I do think people tend to over-analyze QT's films as I have been guilty of myself. But Tarantino despite his ego and his apparent stealing of every movie, is still one of the most creative and original directors out there. Kill Bill is a great fun ride and every scene is perfect. Tarantino gets it right with pretty much every film he does. Even though True Romance is still better than anything Tarantino has directed himself.

Julie Walker

"The Bonnie Situation" is one of the funniest and best moments in Pulp Fiction in my opinion. I love that segement of the film and it never fails to make me smile and laugh loudly at some moments.

Meanwhile someone like my teacher from last semester failed to see the intentional situational humor in the film. Which I have noticed in many reviews by critics of the film also. Who make the film sound pretty boring and devoid of any humor or entertainment value.


And I agree, True Romance is excellent and one of the all time great films in my opinion. Certainly one of the best fictional films of the 90's. That never fails to disinterest me and keeps me glued to the screen from begining to end.

jonjj7

I have to admit I found it hard to stay awake through the Kill Bill movies....but love Pulp Fiction.