‘ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD’ Is Tarantino’s Underwritten, Vainglorious Ode to Himself

July 24, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Out in Theaters, Quentin Tarantino, Reviews Leave a comment

Quentin Tarantino famously taught himself the vocabulary of cinema working at a video rental store in 1980’s LA. The glow from old westerns and kung-fu movies – his celluloid rosetta stone – unlocking the secret language of a medium of which he would soon seek mastery. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, the director’s tenth movie (which he questionably calls his ninth) is both an ode to Tarantino’s cinematic upbringing and an overtly didactic examination of a Hollywood he never experienced, one in the groans of transition, leaving behind the Golden-era glow for something more experimental and hipsterish, filtered through the lens of American political rebellion and the chintzy nature of fame. Read More

Blu-Ray Review: ‘THE HATEFUL EIGHT’

March 29, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Blu-Ray/DVD Reviews Tagged DVD/Blu-Ray Review, Ennio Morricone, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kurt Russel, Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, The Hateful Eight, Walton Goggins Leave a comment

Synopsis: “While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on a mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.” Read More

Director Face/Off: Paul Thomas Anderson Vs. Quentin Tarantino (Part Two – Reusing Actors)

July 28, 2015 by Lillian Angelle Posted in Editorials, Retrospectives Tagged Boogie Nights, Inherent Vice, Kill Bill, Magnolia, michael madsen, paul thomas anderson, Philip Baker Hall, Philip seymour hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, Uma Thurman Leave a comment

This time, Director Face/Off pits two legendary visual storytellers against each other: Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. While some may disagree, the two have some stuff in common – both directors were obsessed film fanatics at very young ages, broke into the industry humbly by way of short films and co-written screenplays, and then went on to make cinematic staples like Pulp Fiction and Boogie Nights. Both directors make solid, intriguing films held up by foundations of strong, colorful characters, nonlinear narrative continuity and plenty of violence. Who does it all better, though?

Like our former Face/Off directors, Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater, Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino have a thing for reusing actors. Let’s find out who reuses their talent of choice better.

Battle 2: Reusing Actors

Round One:

Philip Baker Hall

Anderson Filmography: Cigarettes & Coffee, Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia.

Michael Madsen

Tarantino Filmography: Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Sin City (Tarantino was a “guest director)

Anderson landed the talent of Philip Baker Hall in his debut short Cigarettes & Coffee, garnering them both a cult following that amassed even more following Magnolia, and Hall’s role as game show host Jimmy Gator. Michael Madsen is most notably remembered as Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs, the guy responsible for the iconic “ear scene,” in which he also dances nonchalantly to Stealers Wheel. There’s no denying Madsen’s roles in Tarantino films are quite typically the lovable badass villain, as proven by his role as Budd in the Kill Bill series.

Winner: Michael Madsen/ Tarantino

Round Two:

Joaquin Phoenix

Anderson Filmography: The Master, Inherent Vice

Uma Thurman

Tarantino Filmography:Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2

Anderson’s work has always been deep in story and subject matter, but at one point in his career, his work went from deep to really f-ing heavy, around the time that There Will Be Blood came out. Following the two and a half hour oil-drilling epic drama came The Master, where Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie, a drifter haunted by inner demons and PTSD who follows a leader of a religious movement. Uma Thurman’s roles as Beatrix Kiddo in the Kill Bill series and Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction are both pretty much legendary in cinema. With rumors of a third installment to the Kill Bill series in the works, there’s just no battle here!

Winner: Uma Thurman/ Tarantino

Round Three:

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Anderson Filmography: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, The Master

Samuel L. Jackson

Tarantino Filmography: Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Django Unchained

This is a very difficult round, due to the incredible talent of both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Samuel L. Jackson. While Jackson is a Tarantino staple, known for his righteousness, filthy yet quotable lines and just general badassity, Hoffman is just as worthy from his proven versatility and range in Anderson’s films alone.Between confessing unrequited love for Dirk in Boogie Nights or leading people into an inner circle of unconventional beliefs as a religious leader in The Master, Hoffman gives incredible, real performances. RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman!

Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman/ Anderson

Subjective Winner: Tarantino Reuses Actors Better

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Join us next week for the next battle, and check out prior segments:

Battle #1: Tell Offs

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Director Face/Off: Paul Thomas Anderson Vs. Quentin Tarantino (Part One- Tell Offs)

July 21, 2015 by Lillian Angelle Posted in Retrospectives Tagged Boogie Nights, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Lucy Liu, Magnolia, Mark Wahlberg, paul thomas anderson, Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, There Will Be Blood 1 Comment

Tarantino Has a Title for His Next Film

January 13, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Movie Announcements Tagged Bruce Dern, Christoph Waltz, Movie Announcements, Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

After talking about how his next film would continue playing in the southern America/slavery playground that Django Unchained dabbled, Quentin Tarantino revealed that the title of his much anticipated new film would be The Hateful Eight. Tarantino’s screenplay is reported finished and will likely find its way online and into the line of scrutiny sooner rather than later. Although few details about the film have surfaced, Tarantino has stated that he would like frequent collaborator Christoph Waltz to join the cast alongside Bruce Dern, who you may remember had a small role in Django but has more recently seen his star shine bright after playing Woody in Alexander Payne‘s celebrated Nebraska.

Tarantino is infamous for juggling a bunch of ideas so it’s hard to say which, if any, of his previous endeavors will make it to the screen with The Hateful Eight. In 2009, Tarantino talked about doing a story about abolitionist John Brown, which may or may not feature in his next:

“One story that I could be interested in doing, and it would probably be one of the last movies I do. My favorite hero in American history is John Brown. He’s my favorite American who ever lived… He basically single-handedly started the road to end slavery and the fact that he killed people to do it. He decided, ‘Okay, if we start spilling white blood, then they’re going to start getting the idea.”

Other ideas that have been left on the proverbial curb include an (unnecessary) follow up to Kill Bill, The Vega Brothers which pit Pulp Fiction‘s Vincent Vega (John Travolta) against Reservoir Dogs‘ Vic Vega (Michael Madsen) and a host of British spy films, like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., that he’s had or been trying to get the rights to for years.

And while Tarantino’s word is certainly not his bond, it’ll be interesting to see where The Hateful Eight lands on his iconic Tarantino spectrum. Per his previous work, there would be few surprised to see The Hateful Eight end up somewhere between a western and samurai film. As Tarantino himself said of Western films, “Okay, now let me make another one now that I know what I’m doing.”

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Quentin Tarantino Working On New Western

November 27, 2013 by Jill Landon Posted in Movie Announcements Tagged Movie Announcements, Quentin Tarantino, Westerns 2 Comments

Beloved director, writer, and former slave-in-a-past-life, Quentin Tarantino revealed, in an interview with David Letterman that his new film will indeed be another western, unrelated to Django Unchained. And, in the most modest statement Tarantino has ever made, he said, “Okay, now let me make another one (a western) now that I know what I’m doing.” We all know that Tarantino has always shown a huge western influence in all of his films – in particular, the Kill Bill series, which I would consider even more true to western conventions than Django Unchained.

There is a stark contrast between the more traditional vengeance of Kill Bill and the samurai/westerns that inspired it, and the revenge porn of Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained. And, as disappointed as I am with the fact that this most likely isn’t going to be the long awaited third part of Kill Bill, I hope it takes a more measured approach to western traditions than Django did. Tarantino has repeatedly stated that his favorite film is The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Something truer to a Sergio Leone style vision, with Tarantino’s snappy dialogue, would be fantastic. Of course, this speculation may be entirely unwarranted, as it wouldn’t be unlike Tarantino to completely misdirect us. He also announced, in case you thought he couldn’t get any more eccentric, that he sits in a heated pool to get his ideas. Struggling writers take note.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5ck9Ci0zN4

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