From Dusk Till Dawn

I... well... wow, this was.... it... what?! This is one messed up film. You can see that Tarantino wrote it, but it's all filtered through Rodriguez's directing. So instead of distinct western and asian influences, you get latino and southern ones, plus you get some totally random and silly stuff (think gun-leg from Planet Terror). Actually, though, the whole movie is entirely random. If you're going to watch this (and explicit gore fans should), I suggest not reading anything about it. You won't see it coming.

In a sentence:

What in the name of? This starts out like any other crime movie with some Tarantino and Rodriguez touches, but then... it goes ballistic.

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The Proposal

As far as RomComs go, this is a pretty good one. It's predictable, obviously, but it seems to be aware of that and works around it rather well. The jokes are pretty good, the acting is standard fare (although Bullock is above average), and all in all it's worth watching for some light and happy entertainment.

In a sentence:

A standard fare RomCom that nonetheless manages to show some originality by successfully toying with its own predictability.

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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (3D)

This is the funniest movie I've seen in years, and probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. In terms of sheer jokes-per-second, this film is unmatched. During nearly EVERY SINGLE SCENE for the ENTIRE RUNNING LENGTH, there is always a joke hidden somewhere, either in the background or in the main action (or both). And the jokes are at the epitome of timing and delivery, being absolutely silly and genius at the same time. No movie I've seen has ever come close to matching the number of laugh-out-loud moments found here.

Then, you've got the damn-near perfect art direction, hilarious animation and characters, unique and gripping story, wonderful pacing and well-chosen, pertinent, better-than-usual morals. All of this combines to make something I thought was impossible: a CG animation movie that rivals Pixar's work. Of course, that's more in a "what the hell was in this brownie I just ate" way than in a "wow that's so touching and thoughtful!" way.

In a sentence:

Unforgivingly hilarious, perfectly executed, full of heart, and 3D. The most fun you will have in the movie theatre in the last few years.

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Jackie Brown

I could definitely tell what Tarantino was trying to achieve here, originally. The movie's tagline describes this: "Six players on the trail of a half million in cash. There's only one question... who's playing who?". This was meant to be the (rather awesome) type of movie where an elaborate scheme is slowly given away, showing you which actor was where and doing what during a certain timeframe, leading to an eventual twist or realization that leaves a smile on your face for a while after the movie has finished. That would've been awesome.

Instead, you get an extremely predictable film with dull dialogue, a dull main character, dull events and writing that isn't even that good. From Tarantino, no less, which makes it all the more tragic. The movie is way too long and has no real twists (my first assumptions were always right, whereas a properly done version would have been the opposite).

Now, that could be, for some odd reason, on purpose; maybe the idea was to make a dull parody of an exciting type of movie... but somehow, that strikes me as a bit pointless. Dull has never really been a word I'd have used to describe Tarantino...

In a sentence:

A good premise, but poor execution. This leads to the whole film feeling dull and predictable, which isn't improved by the main character's terrible performance, but is slightly dampened by Samuel L. Jackson's awesomeness.

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Year One

This certainly isn't a bad movie per se, but it's definitely a huge disappointment considering who was involved in making it. David Cross is the highlight here, and despite a poor script, manages to be pretty funny. The rest of the movie and characters, only mildly so, but enough to feel like your hour and a half was well spent. The production values are pretty high, and big names are attached, making it a really in-your-face type of experience, perfectly suited for watching with a few other people.

In a sentence:

A lighthearted movie that lacks any subtlety whatsoever in any of its jokes, but what's there is fun enough to warrant a watch.

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The Beatles: Rock Band

This is the best music game that's come out so far. You better believe it. Now, my reasons for why Guitar Hero is soulless, factory-produced crap would take up too much space here, so I'll skip to the conclusion that, before this, Rock Band 2 was the dominating music game, in my mind. The reasons for my liking it so much were polish, support from the developers, depth and realism. Now, with this game, I can add one more to that list: style. Everything in this game is beautiful and unique, in a ridiculously cool 60s psychedelic way.

What really stands out, though, are the dreamscape sequences that play behind the interface on songs that were never performed live. They are magical and ridiculously cool to see, and their polish is immediately apparent. The first song to use this is Yellow Submarine, and although it starts out in the Abbey Road studio, the surrounding slowly changes, until eventually bubbles float up and the band find themselves underwater.

Then, you've got all the bonuses (and there are lots of them) which are really interesting to watch, even if you don't know much about the Beatles (as did I, before playing this game). And that leads me to the reason I thought this was worth purchasing despite also owning 3 other rhythm games: this is the perfect way to get introduced to the Beatles, and that, alone, is worth more than 60$. Although I'd tried to before, I'd never really "gotten" what the band was about. Spend an hour or two playing this game, however, and you'll get it right away, and I love it.

In a sentence:

Incredibly polished, unique and complete; this is a great game not just for Beatles fans, but for the uninitiated that want to see what all the hubbub is about.

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Pulp Fiction

I'd seen this before, and back then, I'd have given it a 4, but once again, if you go into this with the right perspective, it makes it far more enjoyable to watch. One of the reasons this film is so amazing is how it is crafted to keep you thinking about it and analyzing it long after the final credits. The most obvious element used to this effect is the unlinear story progression: the stories aren't shown in chronological order, which leaves the viewer piecing together what happened and why this character is wearing that or how that character could be there, and so on. The way this is done is, frankly, masterful. Then you've got a few more elements that are mysterious and are the basis for many crazy theories on the web.

And of course, this being Tarantino, the dialogue here is absolutely astounding and perfect in tone, delivery and content. The acting is also fantastic, especially from Jackson and Travolta.

On the other hand, this is a movie you either love or despise. The subject matter is easily offensive, and there is no actual point to it all other than telling a story. Also, many different filmmaking styles and pop culture facts are referenced, so someone that isn't well-versed in such things might miss the point of the film entirely.

In a sentence:

A movie you will either love or despise: either the genius writing, storytelling, pacing and acting hook you in and keep you thinking about the movie for ages, or the pop culture and stylistic references fly way over your head and you get annoyed by the particularly crude subject matter. It's up to you.

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Reservoir Dogs

What makes this a good movie is that, in classic Tarantino style, the story is told in a nonlinear way, through tons of dialogue that references pop culture, laced with profanity and violence. Unfortunately, that's about all there is to this movie: the story itself is simplistic and somewhat uninteresting, except for the ending, and the characters are rather dull (with the exception of Mr. Pink). Still, Tarantino works well with it, and although it's lacking any of the cool stylistic choices from his later movies, it's still a movie worth watching.

In a sentence:

Clearly a Tarantino movie, but a simplistic, somewhat dull one.

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Kill Bill, Vol.2

This movie gave me a new perspective on Vol.1, and now that I can consider both Volumes as one whole movie, I have no difficulty in giving it a 5 star rating. Tarantino once again shows his incredible talent at keeping long and slow conversations both fascinating, tense, and unpredictable. The cinematography is once again brilliant, although not quite as mind-boggling as Vol.1. However, I think this was done on purpose.

You see, the reason why this shed new light on Vol.1 in my mind is that I think the first movie was meant to show The Bride's early euphoria and motivation to get revenge; bright and vivid cinematography, bloody action scenes and downplayed conversations in that movie were done to achieve this. No thinking, just running ahead swords-a-slashing.

When you get to the second movie, however, everything starts getting more grounded in reality as story elements are unveiled and the revenge plot gets closer to its conclusion. The brownish and greyish colours throughout the movie and the long conversations show this. It's the early euphoria breaking off.

So when you see both as parts of one whole movie, the lack of substance in the first is no longer a problem, and the lack of action in the second isn't as well. What is left is one of the best-made and most fun movies from the last decade, and a definite classic.

In a sentence:

Completes the first movie so perfectly that they both combine to make one of the best and most enjoyable movies of the last decade.

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Kill Bill, Vol.1

EDIT: After seeing Vol.2, my rating has changed from 4 to 5 stars. Please read the review of that Volume for more details.

Spurred by my enjoyment of Inglourious Basterds, I decided to give this movie another shot. Don't let the 4 stars mislead you, heading into this with the right mindset made a gigantic difference; I absolutely loved this movie. It's an exercise in badassery and style, and is gripping from the first frame to the last. The music is genius, the action is thrilling, the acting is quite good and the script is brilliantly written.

Here's why this doesn't get a 5 star rating, then: despite all this, the movie just seems like one huge fight scene. Not that that's bad per se, as it's all done in a masterful way, but that still denotes a certain lack of substance (the story could be summarized in two or three sentences). As fun as this movie is in its unique styles and references, there's nothing under it all.

Basically, it's a genius summer action flick, not a genius film.

In a sentence:

Nearly unmatched in uniqueness and style, but somewhat lacking in substance. Nonetheless, this is a must-watch.

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Inglourious Basterds

Well, I've never been much of a Tarantino fan. I enjoyed Pulp Fiction and Death Proof, but I never saw them as the masterpieces they represented to some. This movie changed that for me. I actually saw and understood the genius in this movie, and there's plenty of it.

First of all, the acting is brilliant, especially the Nazi officers. It is always spot-on and fitting to the mood. Next, the music is among the best-used music I've ever seen in a movie, although it often ends abruptly (I guess that was on purpose, and it does still work). The cinematography here is leaps and bounds ahead of anything I've ever seen Tarantino do. It's beautiful from beginning to end. And finally, of course, comes the script. By being a bit more conventional, he knocked it out of the park. I was fascinated from the very first second to the very last, and the 2:30 hour movie felt like it lasted barely an hour. The plentiful dialogue is brilliant and well-written. The actual story elements swung me through a vast array of emotions; be it stress, horror, glee, confusion or "Holy-crap-this-is-awesome"ness, I felt it all. And of course, the ending (I consider the last 20-ish minutes as "the ending") was genius in its own right (I can tell you that you probably don't expect it, but at the same time, you kind of do).

On the downside, it's very violent, and I can definitely see that my own tastes in regards to this movie will not be shared by everyone (that's Tarantino for you).

In a sentence:

Brilliantly shot, written and acted, this is the first movie from Tarantino that I could actually consider calling a masterpiece.

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Featured Review

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From Dusk Till Dawn

The Proposal

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (3D)

Jackie Brown

Year One

The Beatles: Rock Band

Pulp Fiction

Reservoir Dogs

Kill Bill, Vol.2

Kill Bill, Vol.1

Inglourious Basterds

Eric's Reviews

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