I’ll agree his stuff is derivative - but his whole deal is making versions of the films he grew up watching and loving. So there is a sort of nostalgia element.
But I wouldn’t say he hasn’t had an original idea. There are plenty of schlocky films that want to emulate other films that never come off as remarkable. And he does understand and care about the craft of film making. His films in general look really good and have interesting compositions.
“Genius” gets bandied around too much. And for sure fan boys are exhausting.
It’s ok it isn’t your cup of tea.
I too really like Boondock Saints. It is a good film, riding the wave of 90s Cool Crime flicks.
I was 24, a hopeless film geek, and already a QT fan. The reaction in the audience to the accident in the car is something I will never forget.
Lots of negative fallout from this post modern masterpiece, from the QT style copies that have plagued us ever since, to the reinvigorating of Travolta’s career. When you throw a stone that big in the pond, there’s gonna be ripples!
I would have enjoyed the movie in the form of a comic book. Despite everything that various scenes depicted, I distinctly remember thinking that briefcase must contain the holy grail, or something’.
I remember in high school, we wrote a paper on Pulp Fiction, and this was just after we had finished papers on The Great Gatsby and The Scarlett Letter. In my essay, I was basically like, “Hey guys, I think QT gets off to feet a little too much” and pointed out that it seemed excessive. I believe my exact words in my paper was, “Tarantino’s use of and display of feet in numerous situations in this movie defy symbolism, and move into outright fetishism.”
For my mom it was the scene where Vincent shoots up heroin (and the blood coming back into the syringe and all that). She decided to sneak into an adjacent theater and watch Rob Roy instead.
I love love love Pulp Fiction. But the thing that keeps it off my GOAT list is just how much the film grinds through many of the Butch parts of Chapter 4.
With the taxi scene that never seems to end (and an even longer version of that scene can be found in the special features), and the hotel scene with Butch and Fabienne. It really kills the pace up to that point and adds so little to the plot.
We don’t need some 30 plus minutes of boring expository dialog to understand that a) Butch is in deep shit after double crossing Marsellus Wallace who now wants him dead, b) his father’s gold watch is incredibly important to him — so much so that he’s willing risk his own life to get it back from his apartment. I know this is kind of Tarantino’s thing and normally I love it, but this part of the film drags so much for me.
Goodfellas on the other hand never seems to drag at any point making it the superior film in my book.
