QT

It's Quentin Tarantino's birthday. (I've actually met him a few times, and we've talked movies.) As a writer-director he's said he'll retire after ten films--which, by his count, means only one more. It would be a voluntary retirement, since his films still make money and everyone wants to work with him.  Not all his titles are big hits, or great films, but his batting average is high, especially considering every film he does is original (even Jackie Brown, based on an Elmore Leonard novel).

He introduced himself with a one-two punch rarely equaled in cinema history--Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.  The first was low budget, but showed a natural born director, not to mention a great writer.  The latter put him into the stratosphere, winning the Palme d'Or as well as a screenplay Oscar (should have won Best Picture).  It's the best film of the decade featuring great performances--especially from Samuel L. Jackson--and every other scene is a classic.

Then came Jackie Brown, which was seen as a letdown in its day, but has aged better than anything else he's done.  And it includes a knockout performance from the then all-but-forgotten Robert Forster, as well as great work from the rest of the cast, including Jackson (again) and Robert De Niro (who by this point in his career often seemed to be coasting).

If you don't count Tarantino's segment in Four Rooms (though I do count it, and like it), he followed Jackie Brown with two Kill Bill films.  They were hits, but I find them disappointing.  He differentiates his films into those from a world he's created, and films that people in the world he's created watch at the cinema.  Kill Bill is from the latter.  There are some fine scenes, but previously Tarantino had brought a sense of reality (even if heightened) back into crime films, and that was better than seeing superheroes doing impossible things.  Also, I don't like the protagonist that much--the two films add up to her getting her child back from Bill, and I consider that a tragedy.

His next film is a bit of a comeback--Death Proof, originally released as half of Grindhouse.  We're back to real life here, even if it's the real life of stunt people doing a lot of fancy driving.  I don't consider this as good as his 90s films, and Tarantino, famous for lengthy scenes of dialogue, is getting a bit self-indulgent, but it's still a lot of fun.

Then came Inglourious Basterds, a complete comeback--his greatest film after Pulp Fiction.  And also a huge hit.  It's a fantasy retelling of WWII and has some great action and characters. (It also has a lot of foreign-language scenes--rare for a big hit.) It's hard to pick the best actor, but the most notable performance came from a unknown (to most of the world), German actor Christoph Waltz, who showed his talents in four languages and won an Oscar (he'd win two in Tarantino roles).

This was followed by an even bigger hit, Django Unchained.  I admit I find it somewhat disappointing.  First, I thought the plot was sort of weak--especially the final act, with a lot of poorly motivated violence.  Also, I felt he played with history better in Basterds. But even Tarantino at his weakest is enjoyable.

The Hateful Eight, his next film, is also not one of his better works.  Some great moments, as expected, but this chamber Western doesn't rise to the level it seems to be going for.

But then he came up with last year's Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood, a classic.  It was a big hit (featuring two of the biggest stars in the world), but was actually pretty experimental.  If it weren't for the threat of the Manson Family, and the ultimate payoff to that, there's not much engine to the plot--it's mostly about life in Hollywood in 1969 over a few days.  As expected by now, Tarnatino rewrites history, but hey, we were warned by the title this is a fairy tale.

Anyway, I look forward to his next film. Despite what he says, I hope it isn't his last.