Is Tarrentino over-rated?

[RobertScorpio]

I went and saw the Inglorious Bastards last night, and I thought it was, overall, pretty stupid. Is this guy over-rated or what? He is almost like the modern day version of Orson Wells. I don't think he will ever do anything as big, and as lasting, as Pulp Fiction...I liked Jackie Brown and Kill Bill 1 and 2. But Bastards just wasn't that good...

Oh, its good for trying to be hip, which means its all style. But years from now, heck six months from now, the only ones who may remember will be the Oscar voters who have their noses up his arse.

I say he is over-rated..way over-rated. In fact, both he and Michael Moore should make a movie together....that would be something to see. Perhaps the two of them put together can make a movie worthy of both their reputations.

Rob

 

[QuasarVM]

I think he's way overrated.

Of all his films, I like Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown.

That's it.

 

[Verteron]

I think you accidentally posted this twice.

 

[Tulin]

Can't stand him or his films.

I saw fifteen minutes of PF, there were assassins killing people and quoting scripture and I just turned it off.

The film was SCREAMING,

"LOOK AT ME - I AM TRYING TO BE EVER SO COOL!!!!!"


A lot of his stuff is just style over substance and his reputation has come more from his persona than what he produces.

 

[Timby]

This is less a SF&F topic than it is for General TV & Media.

 

[Kegg]

He is almost like the modern day version of Orson Wells.

Well, that's high praise. I'm not sure I'd go that far.

*cough*

Inglourious Basterds is by far one of the most fun movies I've seen this year, it was simply incredible and enthralling. Honestly wouldn't call it overrated in the slightest, and I think Quentin Tarantino is one of those guys who can make fun, accessible movies that are also full of utterly geeky and/or cineaste touches (I loved the completely gratuituous use of a piece by Ennio Morricone from The Battle of Algiers, for example.)

So, yeah, I generally like the guy. Not his biggest or most devoted fan, but when he hits one out of the park I consider it duly hit.

 

[Rii]

I've only seen Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill films. Entertaining enough, but there's nothing of substance there and I haven't picked them up on DVD or gone out of my way to see any of his other work.

 

[Frontier]

What happened to the poll? I'd like to vote.

 

[Harvey]

Overrated in what capacity? He's absolutely terrible as an actor, but I haven't found many critics who have claimed otherwise. His short run on Broadway was made short because the notices were so critical of his acting ability.

As a director? He's very efficient, has a consummate attention to detail, and is one of only a few working American directors today who are willing to film and use long uninterrupted takes. I don't think a single film he's made--including the otherwise mediocre Four Rooms and Death Proof--was directed badly.

As a writer? He can be brilliant. Characters are allowed long monologues, another rarity in American film these days. They're always heavily aware of pop-culture, which could be a positive or negative aspect of his writing, but it's positive for me. On the other hand, he can overwrite material that doesn't deserve or need the breath he inscribes upon it (Death Proof once again). And, as a writer, he is terribly inefficient. Kill Bill took ten years to write. Bastards took even longer. Many of his projects never made it off the ground at all do to long writing times.

Oh, and it's Tarantino.

 

[davejames]

I don't think so. Now and then his writing can be a bit self-indulgent (Death Proof being Exhibit A), but he's always been a fantastic director with a great eye and a very cool and unique style. Especially when compared to most of the hacks out there directing movies nowadays.

Just because you don't happen to like or get Inglourious Basterds doesn't make him "overrated."

 

[Thrall]

Yes. I mean, I like his movies but I don't love them.

He's too in love with his own catchy dialogue. Sure, it's really good dialogue. But when half of his movies are just people sitting around bullshitting, it gets really boring really fast for me. The first act of Deathproof was almost unwatchable to me for that reason.

And his characters are pretty much all of the same stock variety. They're all shady, violent, anti-hero criminals who make their own rules. Nothing wrong with that, I guess. But it gets tiresome. The Robert Forrester character from Jackie Brown was probably the best character he ever wrote because he was just a normal, well-meaning guy as opposed to being an over the top anti-hero.

He's too in love with his 70's cinema exploitation chic. What was once different and fresh is now seeming kind of tiresome and predictable. Even his WW2 movie felt like an uncalled for Foxy Brown homage at times. He just thinks his characters are just so fucking cool and slick because of it. And sometimes they are. But sometimes they come off as kind of self-parodying. And maybe that's the point. I'm not sure.

He's not a very good action director. He's really good at violence - both over-the-top and casual - but he doesn't understand action. He can do gore and carnage better then most horror movie directors. But Kill Bill was basically just typical over-the-top violence disguised as action with a lot of nice cinematography. At least the first one anyway. He seemed to tone it down and become more nuanced with his action in the second one.

Like I said, I like him for the most part. He makes good movies overall. But I don't go gaga for him like alot of people do.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I have added a poll..

Not sure why it was moved to TV/Media. He is more of a scifi director than a tv/media guy..I guess the mod over in the scifi area worships him in some way..oh well...

Rob

 

[zakfa]

Not at all. I've enjoyed all of his films I have seen. I actually think some of his movies are underrated, like Reservoir Dogs.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

He is more of a scifi director than a tv/media guy..I guess the mod over in the scifi area worships him in some way..oh well...

How do you figure he's a sci-fi director? Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Death Proof, and Inglorious Basterds have no science fiction or fantasy aspects. Kill Bill goes into the arena of physics-defying martial arts, but isn't otherwise SFF.

As to your question: no, he's not overrated as a director. He's a lousy actor, he can be a bit annoying as a person in interviews, but he's a great director. I haven't seen Inglorious Basterds yet, but of his other directing efforts his segment of Four Rooms is the only one I think poorly of. I'm a big fan of all his full-length features to date. Hopefully Inglorious Basterds will keep the streak going when I see it.

 

[Kegg]

I have added a poll..

Not sure why it was moved to TV/Media. He is more of a scifi director than a tv/media guy..

Not really. He hasn't done a single sci-fi movie.

Even his WW2 movie felt like an uncalled for Foxy Brown homage at times.

Hell, the title of the movie was a nod to a 1970s Italian war exploitation film (which otherwise Basterds has nothing in common with). It would be like him to see even WW2, one of the most ubiqutuous topics for film, through that lens.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I can't say enough nice things about Pulp Fiction. I think it's amazing. A cultural milestone. His other films I would say are good to great. I haven't seen Death Proof or Inglorious Basterds yet.

I don't think he's overrated. If anything people tend to think of him as the guy that directed Pulp Fiction and to a greater or lesser extent marginalize his other works, which would make him kind of under-rated.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I definitely think he is overrated.

Pulp Fiction was original and was thoughtfully written and directed. But alot of his films seem to me to be pretty much 'romps though the world of gratuitous violence'.

In Pulp Fiction, at least there was a reason for the carnage and the story circled back around in the end in a super-cool fashion which left you with the feeling that is was all for some purpose.

But some of his other films? I think the actual objective of the film is to amass as high a body count as possible.

I do like his use of the camera though. Some of his work there has been very good - groundbreaking, even.

But at the end of the day, he is not what I would call a multi-faceted director. He is good at amassing body count and he is good at interesting camera work. But not much more.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Well it depends on how high you want to rate him. I woiuldn't ay he is one of the greatest directors of all time, but he has an excellent track record. Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are two of my all-time favorites. Jackie Brown and Kill Bill were very enjoyable and well-made if not great fair. Death Proof was very effective at what it did. Inglorious Basterds was the only film of his i thought was really a little over-wrought and just average.

 

[Middle Earther]

I checked no, because I do think he has the ability. He may need to try to branch out into different areas or reconsider his audience, though. I found this related article while waiting for my daughters at the dentist recently:

Whatever happened to Quentin Tarantino

In its own way, that may show that Tarantino is a bit out of touch: he’s assuming movies are as important to his audience as they are to him. Tarantino, who famously worked in a video store before he became a director, is a product of video-store culture, of the first generation that could watch almost any movie ever made. Today, movie history has become a niche market, and many of Tarantino’s references are liable to get lost among younger viewers. A shot near the end of the first scene has the villain as a shadowy figure framed in a doorway. It’s an homage to John Wayne in The Searchers, but viewers may mistake it for an homage to Star Wars, which copied the shot as well. Tarantino has made a movie about the importance and power of old movies—just when movie history is starting to be ignored. There’s something noble and quaint about his belief that the great German director G.W. Pabst (who is referred to constantly in Basterds) still matters.

 

[sidious618]

I've never been overly impressed by him.