My Grateful Eight

Forget Christmas, in my house the countdown is officially on for the release of Quentin Taratino’s new film The Hateful Eight.

Following on from Django Unchained, QT is on a Western roll. The Hateful Eight is set in post-Civil War Wyoming and features a number of bounty hunters seeking shelter during a blizzard. I imagine given Tarantino’s history we can add to that guns, blood, death, and mayhem, all mixed together with a killer soundtrack.

With this new film on the horizon and because I enjoy a good list, I thought I’d countdown my Top 8 Tarantino films.

8. Kill Bill Vol2 (2004)

The second volume of Kill Bill comes in at No 8 on my list. For me this wasn’t as good as part 1. I still enjoyed it and I was desperate to find out if the Bride could actually Kill Bill. But the whole idea that Uma would hook up with David Carradine…I couldn’t get with that. By the time we got to Mexico I just wanted him dead already.

Plot

Volume 2 basically carries on from Volume 1 The Bride (Uma Thurman) is still on a bloodthirsty quest to finish the hit list she has composed. No 1 on that list is ex-boyfriend Bill (David Carradine), who tried to have her killed four years ago during her wedding to another man. Using skills she has learned during her assassin career, she attempts to finish what she set out to do in the first place.

Cast

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivca A Fox, Michael Madsen, Samuel L Jackson, again, Chia-Hui Liu.

Favorite Scene

My favorite part of Volume2 is the relationship between Uma and Gordon Liu who plays warrior master Pai Mei. Pai Mei, who lives on the top of a hill reached by climbing many stairs, was Bill's master and, in a flashback, Bill delivers his protégé for training. Pai Mei is harsh to say the least. He makes Mickey from Rocky look like a pussy and the Bride sheds blood, sweat, and tears during their unrelenting sessions.

Final Comment

The year between parts 1 & 2 seemed like an eternity, and I think that’s why my fervor for the franchise cooled off slightly by the time Vol 2 arrived. I did enjoy it though and recommend watching it, of course viewing Vol 1 wouldn’t be a bad idea first.

7. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Four years between Tarantino films is a long wait for an addict. After a period of withdrawals you’re left with a nostalgic hunger for a fresh high. So when Basterds was released it was like my first hit all over again.

I know some of you will be saying what about Death Proof? Well I’ve blocked that out of my mind, and will never mention it again.

Plot

Basterds is a classic Tarantino thrill ride of blood and gore set against the backdrop of WWII. The basic plot is an attempt by a team of Jewish soldiers to kill large amounts of Nazis. Along the way they join forces with a German actress and a French theatre owner to wipe out the Third Reich.

Cast

A high quality and, as we’ve come to expect from QT, eclectic cast including the likes of Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, and Eli Roth. There are quality acting skills on show with a lot of range and killer dialogue for the talent to work with.

Favorite Scene

The restaurant scene is filled with tension and Shoshanna’s restraint and control is impressive to say the least. Lander is teasing and testing her with every word and action. Given what he’s done to her family, I’m sure Shoshanna wanted to stab him in the eye repeatedly with a fork. As I viewer I was all for that result.

Final Comment

As the world sits on the precipice of another war, I think to myself. War what is it good for…

6. Kill Bill Vol1 (2003)

The original Kill Bill is my favorite of the two.

Tarantino pays homage to Asian cinema in Kill Bill and the fact he uses David Carradine wasn’t lost on me. I’m just old enough to remember him in Kung Fu.

Plot

The lead character, called 'The Bride,' (Uma Thurman) is a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, led by her lover, Bill. Upon realizing she is pregnant with Bill's child, 'The Bride' decides to escape her life as a killer. She flees to Texas, and meets a young man who, on the day of their wedding rehearsal, is gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later, 'The Bride' wakes from a coma and discovers her baby is gone. She then decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby.

Cast

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivca A Fox, Michael Madsen, Samuel L Jackson, again.

Favorite Scene

It seemed like Tarantino took a more stylistic approach to the look and feel of Kill Bill. From the wardrobe and sets, to the cinematography, he wasn’t just relying on snappy dialogue to engage the audience.

This scene with Thurman and Liu is a long way from the basic set ups of Reservior Dogs. Although I imagine his budgets had taken a rather large jump from his earlier productions.

Final Comment

The fact Tarantino once again uses a woman as the main protagonist - this time in a Kung Fu film - was ground breaking for American directors. He not only made this about one woman, but he had four badass bitches kicking male butt across the globe.

5. Django Unchained (2012)

When Tarantino cast a German and a black man as two cowboys and the movies main protagonists, once again he challenged audiences to break free from the clichés Hollywood westerns have been serving up for years.

Plot

Jamie Fox, a former slave and now gun slinging bounty hunter, is on a mission to recover his girl from a racist, sadist Calvin Candie, unforgettably played by Leonardo DeCaprio.

Cast

The cast alone is reason enough to like this film. Jamie Fox and Christopher Waltz take the lead roles. Leonardo DeCaprio is Candy, Samuel L Jackson plays De Caprio’ manservant, and Kerry Washington is Fox’s love interest.

Favorite Scene

I can’t get past a good ol’ Tarantino shootout scene. QT loves a Mexican standoff and Django comes out firing. Leo De Caprio was so good playing Calvin Candy I was desperate for him to die and QT obliged.

Final comments

A lot was made of Tarantino’s over use of the word nigger. Here’s one of Tarantino’s responses.

“Personally, I find [the criticism] ridiculous. Because it would be one thing if people were out there saying, "you use it much more excessively in this movie than it was used in 1858 in Mississippi." Well, nobody's saying that. And if you're not saying that, you're simply saying I should be lying. I should be watering it down. I should be making it more easy to digest.”

Move over John Wayne cause there’s a new sheriff in town, and a he’s a n……

4. Reservior Dogs (1992)

Reservior Dogs was my first Tarantino film and it immediately had me hooked.

The characters, the dialogue, and the sound track, it was like nothing I had seen before. Like a crazed crack head, I was addicted, and wanted to consume this new drug in large quantities and as fast as humanly possible.

Plot

The story revolves around a group of crooks and a diamond heist gone wrong.

That’s about it really; the simplicity of Dogs is part of what makes it so good.

Cast

QT’s casting is always top notch, and Dogs is no exception, how’s this for a line up: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, and what has become something of a regular occurrence a cameo from QT himself.

Favorite scene

I couldn’t make up my mind here so I picked two.

Despite the obvious violence of the film, it was Tarantino’s script that grabbed my full attention.

The scene where Mr. Pink explains why he doesn’t tip is classic Tarantino and an indication of what he would deliver in the future.

As always with Tarantino there’s blood and Mr. Blonde’s ear cutting scene, while dancing around to a happy go lucky ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, is gruesome in its simplicity.

Final Comment

If you haven’t seen this film, we can’t be friends.

3. True Romance (1993)

I’ve cheated here as Tarantino only wrote this; he wanted to direct, but the studio had Tony Scott of Top Gun fame attached. But screw it, this film is gold and classic QT and I loved it when it was released

The stylized violence and smart dialogue reek of Tarantino, but sadly this wasn’t enough to save the film from tanking at the box office. It wasn’t until it was released on DVD that it found an audience. Of course the release of Pulp Fiction in 1994 did True Romance no harm either.

Plot

The saga follows an Elvis-obsessed loner - played by Christian Slater - who marries a hooker - played by Patricia Arquette - as they flee to California with her pimp’s cocaine.

Cast

The cast is a who’s who of the big and small screen, lead by Slater and Arquette, there are also appearances by Denis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Samuel L Jackson, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Val Kilmer, James Gandolfini, and Michael Rapaport.

Favorite Scene

This was probably one of the easiest scenes to choose from out of all the films. Hopper and Walken are brilliant. I’m not even going to explain; it just watch it.

Final Comment

True Romance was confirmation for me that Reservoir Dogs was no fluke, and QT was the real deal. I loved True Romance, always have, always will.

2. Jackie Brown (1997)

This will surprise a lot of people as Jackie Brown is not commonly seen as a QT’s best work. After Pulp Fiction blew up the world of cinema, everyone’s expectations of what he would do next were set pretty high. Enter Jackie Brown.

Plot

Adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1992 crime novel ‘Rum Punch’, Tarantino turns a white story into a black one.

QT has a woman take the lead, with '70s blaxploitation film icon Pam Grier starring as Jackie Brown. Jackie is still a looker and is flying shuttles between Los Angeles and Mexico, a low paying job, which is wearing thin. Things turn for the worse when the LAPD and ATF agent Ray Nicolet (Michael Keaton) arrest Jackie for smuggling in money and a bag of cocaine for gunrunner Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson). Seriously Tarantino films must have paid Jackson enough money to buy a small island.

Cast

The cast is rounded out by, Robert DeNiro, Bridget Fonda, Robert Foster, and Chris Tucker. I was too young to catch Grier in the 70’s, she was 48 in Jackie Brown, but her sexy flame hadn’t diminished. She kills it in the lead and has all these men eating from the palm of her hand.

Favorite Scene

A scene where Robert DeNiro says absolutely nothing, hardly seems like an obvious candidate. But the chicks with guns scene is classic, and sets up these characters perfectly.

Final Comment

I didn’t fully appreciate Jackie Brown, until my second viewing. The dialogue, the characters, the music, all the Tarantino traits are there to see. The film is a slow burn, give it another go, you’ll find you like it.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)

I imagine it will come as no surprise that Pulp Fiction is my No.1 Tarantino film.

What more can I say that hasn’t been said before about this masterpiece?

Plot

The story revolves around two hit men and their boss. Weave into their story lines a wife, a boxer, two small time robbers, a master fixer, and a smack dealer. Mix it together in a blender and voila…Pulp Fiction.

Cast

Tarantino has a knack of revitalizing an actor’s career and John Travolta had been in film wilderness before he portrayed a smack head gangster named Vincent Vega. Bruce Willis wasn’t quite as lost as Travolta, but this film kicked him back to life as well. The rest of the cast, from Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames to Rossanna Arquette, and of course Samuel L Jackson as the bible quoting gangster Jules Winnfield, are all brilliant.

Favorite Scene

The dialogue was the hook for me. The scenes with Travolta and Jackson riffing about nothing really are genius. It’s hard to pick a favorite, “The Royal with cheese”, “don’t eat pork”, “washing your hands”, Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, or Jules Winfield’s, bible reading before he kills you,…it really is too hard.

I’ll pick two, the foot massage and the watch.

Final comments

It was this movie that got me hooked on cinema. I’d always had an interest, but after seeing this, I was all in.

Pulp Fiction cemented Tarantino as the young Hollywood Director to work with and if you’ve never seen the film, I'mma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin' niggers, to go to work on your ass with a pair of pliers and a blow torch.

Mark Renton