Rating Tarantino's Films

Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite directors. I recently read somewhere on the internet that a critic couldn't rate his films. I think I can, so here goes. BTW, Tarantino is always heavily involved in his productions by acting/writing/producing and such, but I'm only going with ones he directed.
As Oren-Ishii would say, "Silly Caucasian girl likes to play with Samurai swords."

7. Death Proof
I was actually really excited for this. Robert Rodriguez's part of Grindhouse was awesome, so what could be a better follow up? Unfortunately, after about 30 mins, this film becomes really boring. Maybe it was sitting through another 90 min film prior to this, but Death Proof did not do it for me, and I have no desire to see it again. Swing and a miss.

6. Jackie Brown
I've seen this a few times and I can barely remember anything about it, other than Samuel Jackson is in it, but he's not as bad ass as he is in Pulp Fiction. I think Michael Keaton was in this too, but whenever I think about this movie it's like waking up after a night of drinking. It's a blur.

5. Inglorious Basterds
Another movie I was excited about that fell kinda flat for me. It just takes too long to get to the point. When it does get there, it urinates all over history and the Jewish people. I know it's revenge fantasy, but if I were Jewish I would be pretty God dammed offended by this. Brad Pitt is awesome here but he's underused. Not a bad movie, but not great.

4. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
I could group Kill Bill into one, since that's how it was intended. However, they were released separately. We have yet to see the "Whole Bloody Affair" DVD we were promised, combing the two. Vol. 2 is closer to Pulp Fiction in tone, where as Vol. 1 is more like an action movie. It does have its moments. A favorite of mine is when The Bride fights Elle Driver in the trailer and pulls out her good eye, then leaves her alive. Some fates are worse than death, it's revenge at its coldest. Good stuff.

3. Kill Bill Vol. 1
I can sum up why I like this movie better than Vol 2. in 5 words: The House Of Blue Leaves. That fight scene at the end is bloody, epic, and creative as hell. The camera angles, the stunts, the color changes. Love it. Sonny Chiba's stuff is also a delight to watch.

2. Reservoir Dogs
Tarantino's directing debut. IMDB lists something called "My Best Friend's Birthday" as his first feature, but I've never seen it anywhere. So it doesn't count. My list, my rules. You can tell they shot this on a shoestring budget, but the gritty look of the film helps it. It throws you headfirst into that feeling of desperation that the characters have, that whole "WTF are we gonna do now?" thing. This film also has one of the most gruesome torture scenes I've ever sat through. You know which one I mean.

1. Pulp Fiction
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love everything about it. The dialogue, the acting, the out-of-order story structure. Which by the way, may seem like a gimmick but it gives the film's final scene a sense of real creepiness. This is because we know the fate of one of the characters. It reminds us that every choice we make in life will have consequences, no matter how random we think they may be. Sam Jackson and John Travolta have never been more awesome.

There you have it! I also would like to say that even though it seems like I was really negative about some of his work, Tarintino on a bad day is a hell of a lot better than some other directors on their best days. Think about it!