Ranking the Quentin Tarantino Movies

Quentin Tarantino. Although he's a man who isn't shy about making the occasional controversial comment or stuffing his movies with harsh language and violence, it's hard to deny his film making abilities. Personally, I'm a big fan of his work and I wanted to make this ranking for some time but, I thought it best to wait for his film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to be released.  As usual, this ranking is based solely on my own enjoyment, opinions, and the rewatchablity of each film and not based on critical or box-office success.

 #9 Jackie Brown (1997)

All of these films are solid but, one of them had to come in last place and it's Jackie Brown. I like the cast, and I like the story but it feels just a little too long and not everything clicks for me. 

#8 The Hateful Eight (2015)

Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog will know I'm a huge fan of westerns, so it might be a little surprising that this one comes in at #8. To be clear, I don't dislike this movie (it was actually one of my favorite movies of 2015) I just didn't think that this one was a home run.

#7 Django Unchained (2012)

I really liked this one when I first saw it. I still think it's a really good movie, and I go back and rewatch it every so often, but a little bit of that shine has worn off. So, when compared to the others on this list, it comes in at #7.

#6 Death Proof (2007)

Man, I love Death Proof (probably more than most people). It's not perfect and it isn't Tarantino's best by a long shot but, I think it's a fun one.

#5 Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)

I debated initially whether or not to rank Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 separately but Tarantino himself has said: "Technically we released it as two movies, and there is a closing and an opening credits (on each movie), but I made it as one movie and I wrote it as one movie, (so it's one movie)." Based on that, and my opinion of Kill Bill it comes in at the #5 slot. If you are curious though, I like Vol.1 just a bit better than Vol. 2.

#4 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Walking out of the theater I knew that I liked what I had just seen but, after a few days of the film sitting with me I started to realize just how many character moments I loved in the movie. I've only seen it the one time so, it may potentially move up the list in the future.

#3 Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Tarantino's feature-length directorial debut still holds up as one of his best. Memorable characters, sharp dialogue, attention to detail and, of course, a healthy dose of violence are all staples of a Tarantino film and it started with Reservoir Dogs.

#2 Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction is simply one of the of the greats. It appears on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American movies, and it's one of the most influential films to come out of the 90's. I went back and forth for awhile on whether or not it should be #1 or #2.

#1 Inglorious Bastards (2009)

Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece and will probably forever known as the movie most people will associate with Tarantino. However, it's my list and my personal favorite is Inglorious Bastards. I think it's a terrific film, and it's the one I tend to rewatch most frequently.

Sharknado

There are good movies, there are bad movies, there are some movies that are so bad that they're actually really enjoyable... and then there are movies like Sharknado. It's a film that aims to capture that 'so-bad-it's-good' badge of honor but fails miserably. 

The movie's plot centers around exactly what the title would suggest; a tornado (or more accurately 3 tornados) that has picked up hundreds of sharks and thrust them upon the southern California coast. This has apparently pissed off all the sharks, because they're only goal is to shred every person they come across to bits. So, it's up to a ragtag group of bad actors to drop explosives into the tornados.

I debated whether or not to give this movie a 0 out of 5 but, I have watched it start to finish so it doesn't earn that 'unwatchable' tag. The acting is bad, the script is bad, the VFX are bad... I know that it was intentionally made this way, but that doesn't make the viewing experience any more enjoyable in my mind.

  1 out of 5

His Girl Friday

Today's movie is the 1940 Howard Hawks classic His Girl Friday, starring Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. 

In the movie, Grant plays Walter Burns a slick, fast-talking newspaper editor who learns that his journalist ex-wife Hildy (played by Rosalind Russell) is going to be married in less than 24 hours. Walter uses a late-breaking news story about a man set to be hanged, as well as every trick he can think up, in order to delay Hildy and her fiancée from leaving town with the hope he can find a way to win her back.

While my favorite movie featuring Cary Grant is the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic North By Northwest, my favorite Cary Grant performance is probably in this one. The fast and funny dialogue flies at the viewer so quickly that it's the kind of film that begs to be multiple times, and the chemistry between Grant and Russell is fantastic. 

This is one of my all-time favorites and obviously a film that I highly recommend. 

5 out of 5.

King Kong

The 2005 remake of 1933's King Kong is a film that has always been a mixed-bag in my opinion. I think the original King Kong is a great film, visually impressive for the time, and still captivating to watch. The remake aims to hit those marks, comes close, but still falls a bit short. While the visual effects are, for the most part, impressive the film suffers from two key flaws;

1) Jack Black is miscast as Carl Denham.

and 

2) The runtime.

To the first point, I like Jack black in some movies but I think his acting chops are limited and, unlike in the original, his version of Denham is played off as a bit of a buffoon.

The other negative is the runtime. The original story, which was told in less than 2 hours has been stretched out into a film that is over 3 hours long. I have no problem with long films, 1939's Gone with the Wind is among my top 5 or so favorites of all-time, but it has a reason to be that long. This film feels like a lot of filler, particularly when they're on the ship on the way to Skull Island. 

As for some positives; Aside from Jack Black, I like the cast that was put together for this film. In addition to that, the idea of a small group of people heading to a mysterious island and encountering King Kong is a story I find interesting across all versions. 

Overall, it is well made and for those who don't like black & white films this is a perfectly fine version of the story. However, I do still recommend the 1933 film over this one.

3.5 out of 5

The Way Way Back

2013's The Way Way Back features a pretty typical coming-of-age story, and hits some very predictable beats. What makes the film stand out it the tight, efficient script and the cast. Sam Rockwell in particular is enough reason to watch this film.

The film tells the story of a 14-year old boy named Duncan (played by Liam James) who is forced to spend the summer with his mom, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter at a beach house. Already a kid at a socially awkward stage of his life, spending the summer in a seaside town he's unfamiliar with his mom's boyfriend that routinely belittles him is less than ideal for Duncan. One day Duncan ventures into town where he meets the Manager of the local water park, Owen (played by Sam Rockwell). Not long after that, Owen offers Duncan a job at the water park and takes the young man under his wing. There he finds a place where he fits in, makes friends and gains confidence. He also soon befriends the girl who lives next door who is also unhappy with her home life. 

For me, a lot of the drama at home doesn't completely work. Toni Collette plays Duncan's mom and Steve Carell plays the boyfriend. They're both fine in the movie but, much like Duncan, I want to get back to the cast of characters at the water park; Sam Rockwell, Nat Faxon, Maya Rudolph, and Jim Rash offer the up the films most memorable moments.

I hesitate to call this movie great. It's not a 'must-see' or some kind of groundbreaking masterpiece, but it is very good and a film that I recommend checking out.

4 out of 5.

Ranking Every Rob Zombie Movie

With his next film, 3 from Hell, set to come out this September I thought it would be a good time to look back at all of the Rob Zombie directed films and rank them. As with most of the rankings I do, this ranking is based solely on my own enjoyment, opinions, and the rewatchablity of each film and not based on critical or box-office success.

#7 Halloween II (2009)

 Some of the other films on this list may have a few aspects that don't work for me but, this is the only one that thoroughly dislike.

#6 Halloween (2007)

This one isn't bad and I had a good time when I saw it in the theater the first time but, it'll always be compared to the 1978 original and it doesn't hold a candle to that movie.

#5 31 (2016)

Reminiscent of 1987's The Running Man, except with a weaker story and a lot more gore and swearing. It's no masterpiece but, I think this is a fun movie. 

#4 The Lords of Salem (2013)

This one is a mixed-bag. It's far from being Zombie's best film, but there is some haunting imagery and flashes of great filmmaking scattered throughout.

#3 The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)

This movie isn't great but, I have a soft spot for it because the comedy hits me just right. I previously put this on my "10 Movies That I Like but Everyone Else Seems to Hate" list and this is definitely the Rob Zombie film I've seen the most times.

#2 House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Rob Zombie's first film still holds up in my opinion as one of his best, despite being the one with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the bunch.

#1 The Devil's Rejects (2005)

The Devil's Rejects and House of 1000 Corpses are 1A and 1B in my mind for best Rob Zombie movie. While I do enjoy House of 1000 Corpses a bit more, I think The Devil's Rejects is the better film overall.

The Phenom

2016's The Phenom is a bit of a divisive film. It currently hold a 'Certified Fresh' 79% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes but only has a 39% audience score. That was the sort of split in my own house as well; I really enjoyed the movie but my wife didn't. I think this probably has more to do with expectations versus what the film actually is rather than quality. The performances are all good and the script is well written but, if you're looking for a fun baseball flick like Bull Durham or The Natural then this isn't it. Baseball is more of a backdrop in this one rather then the stories real focus.

The plot centers around a young, hotshot pitcher named Hopper Gibson (played by Johnny Simmons) who is going through some struggles on the mound and starts seeing sports psychologist Dr. Mobley (played by Paul Giamatti). Hopper's father (played by Ethan Hawke) was in and out of jail his whole life, and when he wasn't behind bars he was pushing his son to be the best pitcher he could possibly be... even if that meant being overbearing, cruel, and abusive. 

Overall, I think this is a good movie and Paul Giamatti is one of my favorite actors so this film gets a little bit of a boost in my book for having him in it. That being said, while I found this story here to be pretty compelling, I get why it wouldn't be for everyone. I recommend it, but know going in that it's not a typical sports movie.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5