Author Archives: iamjacksname

Top Ten Quentin Tarantino Scenes

by

8

Quentin Tarantino is one of the greatest filmmakers to have ever graced the silver screen with art. He is arguably the greatest writer of film ever and he writes and envisions perfect scenes which he executes with prowess. Making this list was like making a list of short films because that’s what a great scene is. It tells a story. It has a beginning and it has an ending. They ways Tarantino gets to those endings are always breathtaking. This is my list of the greatest scenes Tarantino has constructed.

10. Django’s Revenge (Django Unchained)

django-unchained-billy-crash

It’s a solemn image that begins the scene. Silhouettes of a group of people walk away from a funeral, they finally make it to Candyland where they find Django. He offers them their comeuppance. The scene offers a perfect end to a perfect movie. After all the blood and carnage, it’s a happy ending, an ending where bad people are triumphed over and love prevails. It’s fun, it’s cool and it is glorious.

9. Stuntman Mike Meets His Match (Death Proof)

Death-Proof

When you watch Death Proof, what you’re watching is a slasher movie. The killer at it’s heart doesn’t use a knife, a chainsaw or an axe however, he uses his car. The film just builds and builds to its explosive ending, arguably the greatest car chase in film. Quentin Tarantino has a way with villains and Stuntman Mike is one hell of a villain. He gets quite the unexpected surprise when he chooses his latest victims.

8. Sicilians (True Romance)

true-romance-1993-christopher-walken-dennis-hopper-pic-2

True Romance wasn’t directed by Quentin Tarantino, but he did write it. The movie as a whole, and especially this particular scene, have Quentin’s brilliant dialogue written all over it. Tarantino has a way of creating these almost one-act dramas with some of his scenes. In this scene, the tension rises at perfect pace as it always does and the characters take hold. Both Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper perform off of each other flawlessly.

7. Showdown at House of Blue Leaves (Kill Bill)

2cyljq0.jpg

Kill Bill is one movie and story told in two volumes. Volume 1 has quite the satisfying conclusion in House of Blue Leaves. This is where she’ll find the first name on her Death List, Oren Ishii. The samurai sword fight between the two of them is epic but it’s the lead up to their fight that makes this scene amazing. Alone and vicious, The Bride cuts her way through Oren’s personal army, The Crazy 88s. The scene is one of Tarantino’s most incredible undertakings and one you can’t take your eyes off.

6. Dinner in Candyland (Django Unchained)

ss4uy_zps0d725f25

Prior to this scene, Django Unchained is about the loving plight of Django and his friend Dr. King Schultz. This scene is Calvin J. Candie’s show and what a show he puts on. Like all psychotic and sadistic villains, Candie can switch on a dime and that’s just what he does here along with the scene. Everything seems to be going swimmingly for Django until Calvin pulls out a skull and begins to muse about his dead slave, “Old Ben”. We then begin to understand just how despicable this man truly is.

5. La Louisiane (Inglourious Basterds)

650px-Ib-wp38c

The classic  drama that plays out in the tavern, La Louisiane, is a miracle of a scene. The first three chapters of Inglourious Basterds introduce its the characters that will play their parts in the cataclysmic fifth chapter. The fourth chapter introduces another character, Lt. Archie Hicox. There are a few scenes in this fourth chapter involving Hicox but it’s the scene in La Louisiane that takes the cake. Quentin Tarantino knows tension and as a result, scenes like this are relentless in their excellence.

4. Killing Bill (Kill Bill)

KillingBill

With a title like Kill Bill, it stands to reason there’s going to be quite the scene involving someone killing Bill. In entirety of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, that just so happens to be the greatest scene in the blood-soaked revenge masterpiece. The relationship between Beatrix Kiddo and Bill is one of love and bloodlust. It’s got the music, it’s got the dialogue and it’s got the emotional baggage. This is the scene with the greatest death in film. The movie builds to this single moment and it’s one of the most satisfying moments in film.

3. Candyland Massacre (Django Unchained)

django-unchained-john-whoooo

As Dr. King Schultz and Calvin J. Candie verbally square off, Django quietly sits on the side lines waiting to burst. This is just another one of Tarantino’s classic tension oozing scenes. It’s a scene dedicated to the three best characters in the movie. Calvin Candie once again proves what scum he is, while Schultz once again proves himself to be a good man, a hero. The scene then escalates into the phenomenal gun fight this masterpiece deserved. It’s the greatest scene in Django Unchained and one of the greatest scenes in film.

2. Diner (Pulp Fiction)

pulpfiction00005

In Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino literally defines pulp before your eyes and then gives you the fiction and it’s fiction of the literary variety. The final scene in the movie takes place in a diner and it’s easily one of the greatest scenes in film. Jules Winnfield is the best character in the film and the final diner scene utilizes him to exemplify the very idea of a bad man turning good. There’s never a dull moment in this masterpiece, but this is far and away the greatest scene in the film. This final diner scene is what makes Pulp Fiction the movie it is. It may be a cliché, but this is one of the most perfect examples of a story being brought full circle.

1. Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France (Inglourious Basterds)

sumofitsparts

Watch Inglourious Basterds and witness Quentin Tarantino’s greatest feat, Inglourious Basterds. The first chapter is a single scene and it’s simple enough, a one-act drama if you will, that consists of a Colonel in Hitler’s Third Reich and his conversation with a cow farmer who may or may not be hiding enemies of the state in his house. This scene unveils one of the greatest characters and villains in cinema, Col. Hans Landa.

The first chapter of Inglourious Basterds is just an example of perfect writing. A central character to the real drama that’s unfolding is introduced and developed as the scene tells a story in and of itself. Denis Ménochet is able to play off a masterful actor in magnificent ways. Christoph Waltz gives a flawless portrayal of a flawlessly written character, Tarantino’s best. The scene exemplifies Tarantino movies as a whole. A beautiful piece of art and always a good time at the movies.

Top Ten Movies of 2012

by

1

When it comes to movies, 2012 is the kind of year other years should aspire to be. This was a year full of life changing films, films that resonate in their excellence and astound in their innovation. I loved 2012 and would go as far as to call it my favorite year in film. Subsequently, this was a list I could not wait to make. It’s a list that celebrates my favorite year in film, how could I not be excited to write it? Well, let’s get into it.

10. Prometheus

prometheus

Prometheus tells a sort of Greek tragedy in the form of a bleak and beautiful science-fiction odyssey. This is Ridley Scott’s greatest film since Gladiator and it’s a wonder that it happens to be in a genre he helped define back in 1979 and 1982. He redefines it here with a glorious tale of searching for the answers to life’s biggest questions and the cataclysmic events that ensue when curiosity gets the better of us. To tell his tale, he also crafts a character study of a human and a robot. Michael Fassbender enthralls in his portrayal of David.

9. Lincoln

lincoln-gets-sad-too

Lincoln is without a doubt one of the best biopics I’ve seen. Everything just works. Steven Spielberg obviously knows how to make a great film and when he has the greatest living actor working hard to play the main character of his film, you’re essentially guaranteed one hell of a movie. Every supporting actor does a great job, but Tommy Lee Jones deserves a lot of recognition for his scenery chewing performance. Daniel Day-Lewis is the real star here though and his performance is breathtaking.

8. Silver Linings Playbook

silverlinings_a

David O. Russell takes boy meets girl genre conventions and flips them on their head. Silver Linings Playbook tells a tale as touching and engrossing as it is inspirational. Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro all give knockout performances with their human characters. We follow Pat on a road to self-discovery after his stint at a mental institution. Evey living person is different and this is a superb film about people and the relationships inspired by ones own defining characteristics.

7. Looper

tumblr_mcnxvbgBj21r10ux5o1_r1_1280

This is Rian Johnson’s third film and once again he hits it out of park because I loved Brick and The Brothers Bloom, but Looper is his best film yet. Looper may very well be the greatest film involving time travel that I’ve seen and that’s because Looper isn’t about time travel, it subtly uses the idea of time travel to tell an imaginative tale of life, death and the choices that can change everything. Joseph-Gordon Levitt is brilliant in his role of the younger Joe (a hard hitting Bruce Willis) and the movie as a whole is a fascinating drama with delightful tricks up its sleeve.

6. Seven Psychopaths

517503665_c_648_307-1

Seven Psychopaths is an oddity of a film about film, stories and the people that inspire those stories. Martin McDonagh blew me away with In Bruges and he takes it up a few notches with this masterpiece of reflexivity, nut cases and inspiration. Everyone does their part justice, but the real magic comes from Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken as Billy and Hans. Though they’ve gotten protagonist Marty involved in a dog-napping scheme, Billy and Hans want to help Marty finish his latest screenplay at whatever the cost.

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

121118_publicity_still_002.tif

When all is said and done, like The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit trilogy may make for one of the greatest stories ever told. The masterpiece that is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey does after all begin the story flawlessly.  Much to Bilbo Baggins’ resistance, he is thrust into an adventure that will change his life and middle-earth forever. The film is just an amazing time from start to finish, every single moment was fun and glorious. My mouth is watering with anticipation for the rest of the story.

4. The Master

master-5

Four years after his magnum opus Paul Thomas Anderson proves that all he knows how to make anymore is masterpieces. There is just miraculous beauty to any Paul Thomas Anderson film. Everything he puts in front of the camera is made gorgeous by perfect camera work and direction. The Master examines Freddie Quell, a drifter lost and looking for his way after WWII. He soon stumbles upon an enigmatic and powerful man, Lancaster Dodd. There is a mysterious nature in the way this tale delves in with so much substance, but does so with the examination of a single friendship. The relationship between these two men envelops an extraordinary story of obedience and control.

3. Django Unchained

original

Django Unchained was the gorgeous piece of art it was meant to be. In a year this perfect, it would only make sense that Quentin Tarantino would unveil his most recent masterpiece. As his new friend and mentor, Dr. King Schultz, unchains him from his shackles, Django instantaneously falls into his role as a heroic and vengeful freed slave. He’s a total badass and together with his wise new partner they epitomize a force to be reckoned with against the harsh and brutal atrocity that is slavery. The film is relentless in its intensity and constantly a blast.

2. Skyfall

559215_10200216085907751_1882176198_n

If I had been told that my second favorite movie of 2012 was going to be a 007 movie, I just would not have believed it. I loved Casino Royale the first time I saw it and I continue to enjoy it this day. I am a firm believer that Casino Royale is a perfect Bond movie, while Skyfall is a perfect movie. Skyfall utilizes and pays homage to conventions from what has become a full-fledged and changing genre, Bond film. Through this icon, it also manages to tell an extraordinary story about the past and how it may shape the future it doesn’t define it.

In order to tell a magnificent story sometimes you need a magnificent villain. With Silva (Javier Bardem), Skyfall offers nothing short of the perfect Bond villain. This is a story about Bond and Silva and it’s a story about M. James Bond is country man and a reactionary hero who will stop at nothing to see the job done and in Skyfall his job is makes its grand and slithery entrance in the form of Silva, a savage and sadistic mastermind, a betrayer who too will stop at nothing to see to it he’s done what he was always meant to do. Skyfall evokes a gorgeous tale of the ways of the old and making way for the new. There’s a kinetic justice in the narrative and every moment of the film is flawless.

1. The Dark Knight Rises

image

The Dark Knight Rises is a gargantuan epic and a masterpiece of the highest caliber. It’s almost magic, the way Nolan makes every image and moment of the film absolutely pivotal. Christopher Nolan is a visionary, the greatest director working today. I am blown away at every turn. This is a continuation of a great hero’s journey, the greatest. This is a man who fights for good and justice and does so because it’s the right thing to do. There’s been many friends and foes along the way and The Dark Knight Rises is filled to the brim with engrossing characters.

Christian Bale gives his best performance yet and the same can be said about every actor stepping back into their character’s shoes again as well as the newcomers, whether they be the mysterious Selina Kyle, the courageous Detective Blake, the kind-hearted Miranda Tate or the malevolent villain. In The Dark Knight Rises Batman faces off against the tactical and ruthless brute force that is Bane. Tom Hardy does wonders with a role in which he can only rely on his eyes to tell the story. And what a spectacular story it is. The Dark Knight Rises is the third installment in a series of films, yet with grace and a clear tone it delivers with fresh and glorious territory.

It’s almost 2013 and 2012 will have come and gone. This is a year that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time because this was the year that my favorite story came to an end. In 2005 Bruce Wayne took his hero’s journey and became Batman. In 2008 Batman faced off against his nemesis, The Joker. What was realized was the perfect tale of good, evil and balance. In The Dark Knight Rises Batman becomes the hope to counter the despair that faces his city. If The Dark Knight Legend (or The Dark Knight Trilogy if that tastes better going down) is about one thing, it’s about hope and when it came to The Dark Knight Rises I hoped it would be a masterpiece, but little did I know, the entirety of The Dark Knight Rises is the perfect ending to the greatest story ever told.

Django Unchained Review

by

3

christoph-waltz-dr-king-schultz-and-jamie

Quentin Tarantino can not be defied. He is a brilliant director and there’s just no arguing that. He has a defined and beautiful vision for his stories, his characters and his films as a whole. Django Unchained is simply another result of his blood, sweat and prowess. He knows how to make films better than most and Django Unchained was flawless. Had this not been the greatest year in film I could easily see myself calling this my favorite movie of year, it does come close because yes Quentin Tarantino has done it again.

The man even has a way of entertaining me during the opening credits just by the way the entirety of the beginning of the film plays out. From the title slides to the perfect beginning scene, in which our hero is released from his chains, I am captivated  and moment by moment I continued to be captivated until the end. The film does for slavery what Inglourious Basterds does for National Socialism, while each film is wholly unique and perfect in its own right.

From the moment his destined mentor, partner and friend, Dr. King Schultz unshackled him, Django embodied his part as a freed slave and vengeful hero. Dr. Schultz is a german bounty hunter who teaches Django a lot. They both end up learning a lot from one another though and together they stand for all that is right and just in a world with something as savage and heinous as slavery. As representation as opposition to our heroes we find the despicable plantation owner, Calvin J. Candie and his hateful house slave, Stephen.

Every character in the film is given potent justice. Django is a badass, that’s all there is to it. He is not the kind of man you mess with and he’s the kind of hero you want on your side. Jamie Foxx sells it perfectly. Having now seen the film, there is no one I would’ve rather seen in this role. Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio are equally brilliant in their roles. Candie is a sadistic bastard and DiCaprio doesn’t hold back. Christoph Waltz really astounds in his role as King Schultz, a kind and wise old man whose weary of this harsh world he’s living in and keen to help Django in his plight. Samuel L. Jackson even portrays his unique part masterfully.

Watching Django Unchained is a blast all around. It’s fun and yet touches on some real emotion. The tension rises as a spaghetti western would and explosive bloodshed is usually the result. With the help of other artists, Tarantino has created a Southern. This  is just another film he poured his heart and soul into. He had a blast making it and subsequently it’s impossible for me not to have a blast watching it. Django Unchained is a beautiful piece of art, it’s Quentin Tarantino’s Southern and it’s a masterpiece.

Grade: A+

Safety Not Guaranteed Review

by

1

SAFETY-NOT-GUARANTEED-425x230

Safety Not Guaranteed was a rather splendid movie that I was happy to have watched. Newcomer, Colin Trevorrow, boldly plays around with a lot in his first feature films and offers a lot of unique pay offs. It tells a clever little tale with some real emotion. The characters are really explored not uselessly as some characters in movies are. This is the work of a confident filmmaker who clearly had a tight vision for his movie.

It tells the tale of three Journalists (two of them are interns) who investigate a Want-Ad of man seeking a partner to time travel with. As the female intern becomes very involved and intrigued by her “mark”, if he could be called that, it becomes a apparent that at its heart, Safety Not Guaranteed is a fun film about finding the people who are weird just like you. This was a very different film and as a result I was interested to learn more about these well thought out characters.

Mark Duplass and Aubrey Plaza really shine in their well written roles. The played so well off of each other that I pleasantly happy anytime they shared the screen together, which seemed to be most of the movie. Everyone else did pretty great as well. A lot just seemed to fall into place as if everyone was just having a good time making a good movie. It was funny and it was serious and it told a good story. What more could I ask for?

If I could think of a complaint it might be that it was almost too short and some of it was a bit predictable. I was entertained and I wanted it to keep going, I felt as though the story could’ve explored more between starting at A and ending at B. As far as parts being slightly predictable other parts made up for that so I wouldn’t call it much of a complaint at all. Overall, it was just a pretty great film I’d happily enjoy watching in the future.

Grade: A-

Silver Linings Playbook Review

by

3

silver linings playbook

David O. Russell follows up his inferior The Fighter with a remarkably touching film of love and self-discovery. I say inferior, but I really enjoyed The Fighter for its realism and the human direction he took the story. There was definitely a prowess to way The Fighter was directed and Russell brings that same flair to his latest and superior outing, a film that was not only more entertaining, but also meant more to me.

First off, it was great to see Robert De Niro in this role. He is one of the greatest actors to have ever performed. Russell has written a fabulous script with genuine characters who change and react to the events around them. There’s certainly a realism to the story and like Robert De Niro, everyone is on their game. Jacki Weaver is great, this is the best I’ve ever seen Bradley Cooper act and as always Jennifer Lawrence is phenomenal.

Silver Linings Playbook was very unconventional and in all the best ways. The film almost had a subtle reflexivity to it in the way everything plays out. By the end, everything is wrapped in a beautiful little bow and at the same time it’s hard not to enjoy the entire ride. Where other movies fail with similar subject matter, Silver Linings Playbook succeeds because it touches on so much more than just covering the family or love story.

Silver Linings Playbook makes you laugh, it makes you tear up, it gets you interested and it keeps you interested with a marvelous story about relationships and the unique personalities that form those relationships whether it be a connection with a father, a friend, a brother or a lover. We’re all a little crazy. Who defines what’s normal? You look at people and no two are the same. Silver Linings Playbook is about people and relishes in their differences.

Silver Linings Playbook follows a simple enough story about a man picking himself back up after a trip to the “looney bin”. Your family can only do so much and the same could be said about friends new and old, but at the end of the day what pulls you through is the strength and ability to change. David O. Russell blew me away with this one and I can’t wait for his next feature because it definitely seems as though he’s coming into his own as a filmmaker. Silver Linings Playbook was extraordinary.

Grade: A

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

by

1

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been a long time coming and the wait was worth it. First it was going to be one movie, then two and now the story  of The Hobbit is going to be its own movie trilogy. While the story was going through these changes, we also saw a change of a director from Guillermo Del Toro to the man who was born to direct movies in middle-earth, Peter Jackson. The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest stories ever told and I could not be more happy that Peter Jackson is at the helm of another journey through middle-earth because The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was perfect.

Part of the reason that made this first film in a brand new middle-earth quest so breathtaking was it never once had that been there done that feel to it. I felt privileged to be able to go on another epic adventure with new and old characters from this world that was first established in The Lord of the Rings. On top of that though, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit just feel very different. The stakes were higher in The Lord of the Rings making it much more tense and dramatic, it was extremely emotional and almost had a realism to it where as The Hobbit felt much more like a fantasy movie and a rollicking good time, a bedtime story if you will. Both were simply perfect in their own ways.

Ian McKellan, as always, is just brilliant as my favorite character from middle-earth. We’ve met Bilbo Baggins before, but not like this and Martin Freeman captures the character and his traits to perfection, I can’t wait to enjoy the rest of this adventure with him. My favorite newcomer (not counting the young Bilbo) is Richard Armitage as the dwarf and leader of the company, Thorin Oakenshield. It was a treat to watch this relationship build between this heroic warrior and this Hobbit who seems to be out of place.

Every character was unique and added to the greatness that is this story being told. This is a story about stories and the experiences that shape who you are and the stories you pass on. Bilbo could’ve just been sitting on his bench smoking a pipe or reading a good book, but now he’s off seeing the world with a wizard and a bunch of dwarves. This is a magnificent story worthy of an epic telling and Peter Jackson, thus far, has been doing just that.

I was always against Peter Jackson turning this shorter book into its own trilogy, but now I have nothing but complete faith in his talents. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the beginning of something beautiful and new. Because it is a trilogy, Peter Jackson is able to take his time and fully realize exactly what he wants to do with this brand new adventure that has already began to brilliantly prelude another journey. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a masterpiece, I savored every second and I wait eagerly for the rest of this tale.

Grade: A+