Movies (and occasionally face slaps) (Part 1)

Arts & Entertainment
1420

It says they want to suck the marrow out of life, and live the full spectrum of experience or something :rainbow:

1 Like
1421

Midsommar was good, but not as good as Hereditary. About 40 minutes too long. I would not recommend watching with someone you’re dating if the relationship isn’t rock solid.

2 Likes
1422

I was wooed by the panache and swagger of QT’s early films, but ultimately when that wore off it seemed there wasn’t enough substance to make his other films appealing.

Not one of the great directors, for me.

1423

The fact that he can capture the essence of many different film genres alone makes him pretty great in my opinion. That’s before we consider that several of his movies are master pieces or cult classics.

1 Like
1424

I liked Once upon a time in Hollywood btw. Definitely not his worst movie. For now I’d rate it somewhere in the middle above Death Proof, the Hateful 8 and maybe Django Unchained. I have only seen it once and maybe it won’t be as rewatchable as some of his other movies.

1425

I rewatched Hateful Eight recently and thought it stood up pretty well. If QT wants to do a movie of nothing but QT dialog scenes, I am here for it.

1 Like
1426

I think Tarantino is a lot like George Lucas in that once he lost his long-time film editor, it became painfully obvious that she was an essential ingredient to his storytelling. Sally Menke was an amazing film editor, and you need look no further than a comparison between Inglorious Basterds (her last film with him before her death in 2010 at a mere 56 years old) to his first film without her (Django Unchained). The pacing alone falls off a cliff.

3 Likes
1427

Agree. It’s not that she was the reason his films were great but their collaboration sure was.

1428

I despised Hateful Eight. Thought Death Proof was fine.

1429

I enjoy the first 90% or so of QTs movies, just not really a fan of all the (spoilers) blood orgies at the end. I’m not even against gratuitous violence in movies its just that he does such a great job with the settings, tension, characters, and dialogue its like his safest bet is to just openly shit all over everything because he otherwise doesn’t know how to close.

1430

Not sure I agree there. Such scenes are a foundational part of his taste. You could argue they’re self indulgent, but in that regard, Tarantino is like a lot of narcissistic storytellers. They don’t give a fuck what the audience wants. They tell the story that pleases themselves. Most of the time, those storytellers pass on without ever telling a story that connects with an audience larger than one. But on occasion, their taste connects with huge numbers of people.

We can go the other direction and look at hacks who don’t do anything more than pander to audiences. It’s a careful balance to tell stories true to ourselves while also considering how to make those stories accessible and engaging to others.

1431

Let’s roll with this as the official QT top 4.

My question is this: where do people feel True Romance(written, but not directed by QT) fits within the ranking?

  • TR is #1
  • TR is tied with Pulp Fiction for #1
  • TR is QT’s 2nd best movie
  • TR is QT’s 3rd best movie
  • TR is QT’s 4th best movie
  • TR is NOT in QT’s top 5 movies
  • I have not seen TR
  • Basterd
  • You’re so cool
  • Say what one more time!

0 voters

1432

TR doesn’t belong because he didn’t direct but I’d put it at #5 in terms of my personal movie preference.

1433

All of top 4 are better than True Romance. I was looking for “TR not in top 4”, but since it wasn’t there I voted for closest to that available.

1434

Appreciate the perspectives being shared.

To those that haven’t seen True Romance, well you should. It’s full of QT dialog and characters, A+ entertainment value.

1 Like
1435

Totally agree. The Walken/Hopper scene is an all-time classic.

Also early Gandolfini, Brad Pitt, etc etc etc. I think I might watch it today.

3 Likes
1436

Think I will as well. Great discussion ladies, gents, enbies, and all else.

1437

Yeah, it is very good. I’d put it at exactly 5.

As good as it is, it doesn’t crack the top 4.

1438

2.TONY SCOTT WANTED TO DIRECT BOTH TRUE ROMANCE AND RESERVOIR DOGS .

Because he was still new to the business, Tarantino knew he couldn’t direct both movies. So he gave both scripts to Tony Scott and told him to pick one. Though Scott wanted both of the films, he ended up choosing True Romance, leaving Tarantino to make Reservoir Dogs .

Damn, imagine if those had been reversed. Another one of the facts is that Tarantino wrote the screenplay like Reservoir Dogs as a nonlinear adventure, but Scott changed the ending and made it a linear story. Tempted to see if there is a fan edit that rearranged the movie according to Tarantino’s original screenplay structure.

  1. TOM SIZEMORE GOT JAMES GANDOLFINI IN THE MOVIE.

Sizemore was initially cast as Gandolfini’s character, Virgil. But he wasn’t comfortable with a scene that required him to beat up Patricia Arquette, so he asked to play Cody Nicholson instead. When Scott asked Sizemore who should play Virgil instead, he suggested Gandolfini, a then-unknown actor whom he knew from the New York theater world.

And the best:

  1. TO GET INTO CHARACTER, GANDOLFINI DIDN’T WASH HIS UNDERWEAR

During his stay in a squalid hotel without a phone, Gandolfini rarely used the shower. After he noticed Christopher Walken (Vincenzo Coccotti) decline earplugs for the scene where Dennis Hopper (Clifford Worley) gets shot, Gandolfini decided to do the same. He couldn’t hear for three days.

1439

I only saw TR for the first time recently actually. Wasn’t a huge fan but it has some great scenes. The “Sicilians” scene in particular was vintage QT, people that have seen it will know what I’m talking about.

2 Likes