I said no more, as in the same, so we're agreeing. My point was that freedom can be found in both the indies and the studio. Of course it happens far less in the studios; you have to be huge before you get anything like the freedom Spielberg gets, but, as you say yourself, Tarantino only gets the freedom he does cos Miramix knows he guarantees profit. As an aside, the freedom Tarantino gets has definitely contributed to a decline (IMO) in his films. If ever a director needed a ruthless studio producer to crack the whip, it's him. There aren't many directors whose films benefit from total control. The Coens might be able to do it but not Tarantino. I don't care how much money his films make, after Jackie Brown they've all been a massive self indulgent mess.

I agree with you on him needing a lil bit of quality control. He believed his hype about being able to understand how people talk and pushed that to the max.

That said I did like Inglorious Basterds.

The problem (of many) is he doesn't know how people talk. Have you not noticed how almost every single character in his films talks exactly the same, and exactly like him. It wasn't as bad in the beginning but by the time it got to Death Proof it was unbearable.

i think it was about not how people talked but about how oh-so-clever wannabes wanted to talk, i.e., wish fulfillment fantasies for the masses.

the best thing about pulp fiction was definitely the dialogue, the whole hilarious discussion about the royale with cheese, etc., which addressed certain gen-x slacker (overeducated, underemployed, media-conscious, member of the poverty jet-set) aspirations of clever selves. (just like millenials all wanna be great at "sarcasm.")

and in that it was pretty brilliant and a cultural landmark, sort of in the way easy rider was one for the baby boomers (sell a bunch of coke to phil spector and ride a harley through 'merica).

but yes, the schtick wears thin and death proof was his fucking low point. (though i also hated the overwrought kill bills just as much, but in a different way-- because while kill bill was irritating, death proof was just fucking lazy)


ha ha ha!

hmm, as far as the indie scene goes billy bob thornton says they don't really make the kind of of ten million dollar movies they used, and either make the same kind of thing on a lower budget or have it be a tv show.

that's indicative of something, though i'm not sure what

Pulp Fiction indeed has some of the best dialogue ever filmed! I agree with demonrail on this one the larger the sample size gets for Tarantino the more we see Pulp Fiction was more a product of the cast than the writing. His later dialogue is blatantly unrealistic, theatrical, and often hamming it up a bit much. Kill Bill had the advantage of David Carradine and an otherwise unnecessary need for realistic dialogue. I rather enjoyed Kill Bill series and watched them recently. I somehow also watched Elysium and 47 Ronin... 47 Ronin surprisingly wasnt bad at all. Im not sure how I finished Elysium, it was like the 21st century version of those early 80s scifi vhs where the effects and cinematography were actually top shelf quality but the cast and.acting was fucking terrible. Like Mystery Science Theater3000 bad... indeed Tom Servo and Crow would have made it quite watchable.

Easy Rider was an intelligent reflection on things, Tarantino's just a reflection of them. His films are sharp, snappy, but what isn't these days? I just wish he'd fuck off and stop making films at this point.

Easy Rider sucks. It is a boring movie. It may have struck a chord with people at the time it was released but it is not a good film. It does not stand alone a a work of art.

Thats the thing, Tarantino flicks arent about substance, their just what they are. I agree with you though, 90s Tarantino flicks were edgy, cutting, entertaining views of street and crime culture. Who even knows what his 2000s shit is about?

Not much longer now. What is it 2 more films and he said he's retiring?

I can only hope, although he's gone back on his promises before. I've given up on him completely though, so even if he doesn't retire I just won't bother watching what he does. Although then I won't have anything to moan about.

The Hateful Eight (filming)

Kill Bill: Vol. 3 (character The Bride - as Q) (announced)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/

So maybe "two more and out" rumor is accurate? I dunno. Anyway, he promised film criticism and novels will come after he "retires," so I'm sure we won't miss his friendly face.

----

Re: truly "indie." Has anyone ever come across a really good student/amateur video on youtube or internet archive or someplace like that?

This is the odd thing. Whilst I may not be a mastermind of current movie knowledge I can't think of anything that has used the internet and youtube to the levels it could be used. I'm sure there's been some. But good ones? Not the foggiest.

making a good film is a lot harder than just pointing a camera at people talking.

True.

Well, depends what they're talking about. Also, do they have clothes on?

---

Because it is hard to make a movie, I try to be very generous. I'll look through no-budget things on youtube and every year I go to a small local filmfest. Pretty much everything is bad and I've never seen a flicker of genuine talent, no matter how hard I squint.

But there MUST be some kid who came up with a good idea and shot it in the backyard, and the film is now one of the more brilliant things on youtube. Sadly, finding the fucking thing will be impossible.

haaa haaa haaaa

haaaa haaaa haaaa haaaa haaaaa haaaaa!



even if it's just people talking (e.g. my dinner with andre) it's a lot harder than "just pointing a camera" for sure.

===

anyway, the internet is best suited for short form. people have made some reasonably good things, like "the guild", or "dr horrible", and those have been professional, and then you have stuff like house of cards on netflix.

of course it takes lots of money which is why netflix is the only one who has made it work in such a scale.

I agree with evol here.. the internet used to be a great medium to find top shelf local and DYI art but now? Its so flooded with shite that its not worth bothering... I miss early 2000s era when you could google and find interesting and obscure things of value

 

8.5/10

Would give it a 9 if I didn't think most secondary actors played better than Nicholson.