[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

pulp fiction is waaay better than reservoir dogs. reservoir dogs got retro-hyped as a result.

i remember first time i saw pulp fiction i was nervous as shit for the first 45 minutes. because, at the time, it was fucking ultraviolent and disturbing. then i got the joke. then i laughed for the rest of the movie.

Funny, I had the same experience. Part of it, I'm sure, was that I'd heard so much about it, and being pretty young at the time, I was still a bit apprehensive about movies that were branded overly graphic. But I actually watched it in the theater with my mother, who just loathes excessive violence in movies, and we had a blast. She too was laughing her ass off.

Not all the way through of course. Rape and kidnapping are never funny. Don't mean to imply I was having a chuckle when Marsellus Wallace was gagging on a rubber ball. But... most of the film is objectively hilarious.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Severian

Funny, I had the same experience. Part of it, I'm sure, was that I'd heard so much about it, and being pretty young at the time, I was still a bit apprehensive about movies that were branded overly graphic. But I actually watched it in the theater with my mother, who just loathes excessive violence in movies, and we had a blast. She too was laughing her ass off.

Not all the way through of course. Rape and kidnapping are never funny. Don't mean to imply I was having a chuckle when Marsellus Wallace was gagging on a rubber ball. But... most of the film is objectively hilarious.

yeah.

there was this structuralist literary theorist, tzvetan todorov, who argued that every work of art contained a statement of its own poetics. it actually works quite often if you look carefully. a little manifesto or aesthetic proclamation jammed somewhere in the text.

so... "ketchup..." was the big epiphany for me. couldn't stop laughing afterwards.

[TheDom]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I find the irritating aspects of Tarantino's personality such an overbearing presence in his films now, that I can barely watch any of them anymore. Even ones I used to really like, like Jackie Brown - which he didn't even write the dialogue for.

I agree. He makes me mad. The Hateful Eight was the final nail in the coffin for me. Absolutely horrible and way too long. It seems he's surrounded by yes men who elevated him from film nerd to genius over the years. I did actually enjoy Inglorious Bastards which I will re watch but his dialogue to me is like listening to an annoying guy at a bar who is trying way too hard to impress and provoke.

Sorry I can not stand Tarantino or his dorm room films one bit.

[demonrail666]

 

The Shrine

Way above average piece of Lovecraftian weirdness

 

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by TheDom

It seems he's surrounded by yes men who elevated him from film nerd to genius over the years. ... his dialogue to me is like listening to an annoying guy at a bar who is trying way too hard to impress and provoke.

Spot on

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

 

The Shrine

Way above average piece of Lovecraftian weirdness

 

Ooooh! Thanks for this! Lovecraftian you say? I am so down.

Never heard of this one before.

[tw2113]

And here I thought I'd be skewered for my meh-ness

[Severian]

Originally Posted by tw2113

And here I thought I'd be skewered for my meh-ness

Oh, you think to little of us! No such thing as meh-ness. I like superhero movies, remember? How meh can ya geh?

[PLips]

Meh addict = jiggasaurus

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by tw2113

And here I thought I'd be skewered for my meh-ness

i hated kill bill btw
however many parts there were

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Severian

Ooooh! Thanks for this! Lovecraftian you say? I am so down.

Never heard of this one before.

I don't know if it's consciously Lovecraftian but it could be interpreted that way.

[PLips]

This reminds me of the time Stefan lacrosse (fuckface) had such a crush on ghoulie gorgeous he joined the school choir to ask to be her date for the prom in the summer blockbuster video 'American Fibonacci'

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

i hated kill bill btw
however many parts there were

That was the one (or two) that marked the end of my interest in him, before getting to the point where I couldn't even watch his earlier stuff, which I'd previously enjoyed.

[PLips]

Tarantino is best friends with Anansi the spider from ife Nigeria. What a joke!

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I don't know if it's consciously Lovecraftian but it could be interpreted that way.

No man, I gotcha. I didn't think you meant "Lovecraftian" to mean "directly inspired by or adapted from Lovecraft." I just assumed you were referring to the style and feel of the thing.

Honestly, Lovecraft is almost a genre unto himself. Like, literally. Have you ever walked into the horror section of a Barnes & Noble? There are more books of fiction written by other authors in the "Lovecraftian" style than there are actual Lovecraft books. I've never actually read any of these, not even the ones with big names like Gaiman of King, because it's basically fan fiction, and I'm not super interested in that. But in addition to all those anthologies that actually declare themselves to be "Lovecraftian," there are also hundreds of books that are heavily influenced by Lovecraft's style without being overt tribute to him.

Blah blah, Sev talk and type too much.

All I mean is, whatwever dude... I trust you. If you say it's "Lovecraftian," I'll check it out, and expect it to tickle those sensors, even if it's not about Cthulhu.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

That was the one (or two) that marked the end of my interest in him, before getting to the point where I couldn't even watch his earlier stuff, which I'd previously enjoyed.

Hmm. Really?

I can't relate. Kill Bill was a whole different kind of movie than any of his previous films, and by comparison it's extremely campy and at times outright dumb. But it's supposed to be, so I can't imagine seeing it as a failure.

Tarantino has always been big into genre-hopping. Making films within certain archetypal molds, and putting his stamp on them — which often means blowing them to hell in one way or another. He's done this with mob films, and westerns and war films and noir films and Blacksploitation films. He was already about this shit before Kill Bill, but Kill Bill sent him into overdrive with it.

I think Kill Bill is Tarantino's superhero epic. But because he's Tarantino, he did it in a really weird ass way, and made sure to accentuate the absurdity at every angle. The polar opposite of Christopher Nolan doing Batman, and elevating the production and experience and acting and everything. Tarantino didn't bring the hero's journey to his "high art" level; he got down and wallowed in the muck with all the corny tropes he could find.

What strikes me most about Kill Bill is a.) how much fucking fun it is! and b.) how it manages to actually achieve some genuine, emotionally powerful moments amid all the insane bullshit.

I just love Kill Bill, and I may be totally out of my mind for feeling this way, but I think it's actually my second favorite Tarantino movie. It's just a blast... until, of course, it gets uncomfortably dark and people start getting buried alive and whatnot.

Also, remember, Jackie Brown was a FLOP. It was and is a great movie, and an excellent follow-up to Pulp Fiction, but most people didn't get that at the time. It was a disappointment to people who thought he was going to be some kind of slacker Scorsese. If you'll remember, after the release of Jackie Brown and in the subsequent years, he was frequently discussed kind of an M. Night Shamalamadingdong (circa... well, everything after Unbreakable) kind of way.

He felt he needed to win back some fans, so he made a big stunner.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

That was the one (or two) that marked the end of my interest in him, before getting to the point where I couldn't even watch his earlier stuff, which I'd previously enjoyed.

ha ha. yeah. his schtick get tiring. you start to see him going through the motions.

i did like inglorious basterds though, with the exception of that cheesy "this is jewish vengeance" line lololol. wouldn't watch it twice, but the first time was entertaining.

django unchained i also enjoyed for the most part. a bit schlocky, but i liked the characters-- the uncle tom dude was hilarious, as was teh german dude.

his installment in grindhouse bored me to tears. what was it about? some endless chatter and a car chase? rodriguez blew him out of the water.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Severian

Hmm. Really?

I can't relate. Kill Bill was a whole different kind of movie than any of his previous films, and by comparison it's extremely campy and at times outright dumb. But it's supposed to be, so I can't imagine seeing it as a failure.

Tarantino has always been big into genre-hopping. Making films within certain archetypal molds, and putting his stamp on them — which often means blowing them to hell in one way or another. He's done this with mob films, and westerns and war films and noir films and Blacksploitation films. He was already about this shit before Kill Bill, but Kill Bill sent him into overdrive with it.

I think Kill Bill is Tarantino's superhero epic. But because he's Tarantino, he did it in a really weird ass way, and made sure to accentuate the absurdity at every angle. The polar opposite of Christopher Nolan doing Batman, and elevating the production and experience and acting and everything. Tarantino didn't bring the hero's journey to his "high art" level; he got down and wallowed in the muck with all the corny tropes he could find.

What strikes me most about Kill Bill is a.) how much fucking fun it is! and b.) how it manages to actually achieve some genuine, emotionally powerful moments amid all the insane bullshit.

I just love Kill Bill, and I may be totally out of my mind for feeling this way, but I think it's actually my second favorite Tarantino movie. It's just a blast... until, of course, it gets uncomfortably dark and people start getting buried alive and whatnot.

Also, remember, Jackie Brown was a FLOP. It was and is a great movie, and an excellent follow-up to Pulp Fiction, but most people didn't get that at the time. It was a disappointment to people who thought he was going to be some kind of slacker Scorsese. If you'll remember, after the release of Jackie Brown and in the subsequent years, he was frequently discussed kind of an M. Night Shamalamadingdong (circa... well, everything after Unbreakable) kind of way.

He felt he needed to win back some fans, so he made a big stunner.

Fair enough. I just think that was the moment where he kind of stopped evolving. Jackie Brown seemed to me like the point where he was really maturing. Able to make a film about actual people, rather than mere quoters of Tarantino-speak. I wouldn't call it a flop, I just think he bottled it because it didn't do as well as expected and he's played it safe (in terms of audience expectation) ever since. Compare the comfort zone he works in with someone like PT Anderson, who could've just as easily settled on churning out box-office and fan friendly variations on Boogie Nights but has instead chosen to take some real risks. Kill Bill for me is just the start of Tarantino becoming a brand rather than a filmmaker. And an increasingly tired brand, at that.

[ilduclo]

the fight scene in the bar where the 4.5.6.7's are playing is awesome in KB2

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Fair enough. I just think that was the moment where he kind of stopped evolving. Jackie Brown seemed to me like the point where he was really maturing. Able to make a film about actual people, rather than mere quoters of Tarantino-speak. I wouldn't call it a flop, I just think he bottled it because it didn't do as well as expected and he's played it safe (in terms of audience expectation) ever since. Compare the comfort zone he works in with someone like PT Anderson, who could've just as easily settled on churning out box-office and fan friendly variations on Boogie Nights but has instead chosen to take some real risks. Kill Bill for me is just the start of Tarantino becoming a brand rather than a filmmaker. And an increasingly tired brand, at that.

you blew my mind there, with how well you put it.