Out of the box

The advent of a new Quentin Tarantino movie is always something to get excited about. With Django Unchained finally showing at the cinema, I got hit once again with Tarantino frenzy big time. Needless to say, I have all his works on DVD. It was definitely time to revisit the old favourites.

The movie spells cinematographic perfection, if such a thing exists- Ramona Depares

I still remember the precise moment I fell in love with Tarantino. Many fans will tell you that it was the very first movie, Reservoir Dogs, that got them hooked. I missed out on his first two biggest works (Dogs and Pulp Fiction) and jumped straight in to Jackie Brown, which I saw purely by coincidence.

It was hardly the best introduction but I was hooked. I had never experienced anything like Tarantino’s style, from the soundtrack (so many directors underestimate the importance of a good soundtrack – Tarantino never makes that mistake) to the dark humour, the quirky filming and down to the plot itself.

My reaction as soon as I saw Jackie Brown was instant: bring on the next. I fell even more in love with him when I realised he had written and directed one of the stories in Four Rooms. For those of you who haven’t seen this classic, what you get are four inter-connected stories that all take place in the same hotel on New Year’s Eve. Weird and wonderful doesn’t even begin to describe it, and Tarantino wrote and directed the Man From Hollywood story.

If Jackie Brown left me gobsmacked, this was nothing compared to the reaction when I saw Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, particularly the latter.

Dogs usually gets everyone’s favourite vote – and I can see why. To date, I can never listen to the song Stuck in the Middle with You without picturing the infamous torture scene in the movie. The contrast between what’s happen­ing on screen and the light-heartedness of the track is downright chilling.

As plot lines go, however, Pulp Fiction is full of awesome from beginning to end. The amount of quotable one-liners is insane – sadly, most of them are not exactly fit for a family newspaper. The soundtrack contains fun tracks like Urge Overkill’s Girl, You’ll Be a Woman, Soon, Kool and the Gang’s Jungle Boogie and Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man.

More awesomeness followed with the Kill Bill duet. In my eyes, Kill Bill (at least Vol I, because the second instalment was a bit been there, done that) was yet another breakthrough in cinematography, a massive rush from beginning to end.

From the first strains of Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang to the monochromatic but nonetheless gory church shooting; the way each of The Bride’s enemies are introduced (in particular, the clever interjection of the anime scene); the fight against the Crazy 88 (beautifully choreographed and taking refuge into black and white when things get too gory); and the almost mystical sword-fighting scene with O-Ren Ishii... the movie spells cinema­tographic perfection, if such a thing exists.

More carnage and questionable humour followed with Grinder­house Death Proof (the movie was sort of split into two different stories, with the other one – Planet Terror – being a Robert Rodriguez work). Not for everyone and cheesy as heck, but intentionally so, given that it’s a tribute to so-called B-movies. I loved every blood-splattered, irrationally violent scene, even as I was quaking in my boots at the ending.

Sadly, there is only so much awesome that one person can produce. Which means I’m rather less than in love with Inglourious Basterds. Sure, it’s still a better movie than a lot of the thrash Hollywood churns out nowadays. But it lacks the certain Tarantino trademark.

Which is why I’m a tad scared of watching Django Unchained. No one likes to witness their heroes take a bad tumble. By the time you read this, I will probably have succumbed, of course.

Here’s to rediscovering Tarantino in his full glory!

rdepares@timesofmalta.com