how we lost interest in him

Started by cron, March 04, 2005, 10:01:51 PM

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cron

hello,

i don't think i'm the only person who  lost interest in his films after watching kill bills and the interviews he gave circa their release.   the reaction wasn't immediate, i enjoyed the first part, i saw it three times in theatres but i think what made me lose interest in him and actually started making me dislike him was watching him being president at cannes. it was so embarassing! it was then when i realized that his hyperkinetic way of being was charmless and that his supposed mythology was nothing more than  boxes of cereal and  theme songs from old tv shows. which kind of makes me sad because my first avatar over here was that kaboom cereal box.
i'm sure people like modage will label me as a posser or whatever the term and it's even funny because i remember not understanding people that didn't thought tarantino was cool  when i was young .

does anyone knows who said this? i had this in some notebook

QuoteWhen you're a kid your view is very pure, and to be affected by stuff like is kind of sweet. In adulthood you go back and there's a huge melancholy to finding out what affected you as a child is actually trash
.
context, context, context.

Ghostboy

No, you're right. I still love both Kill Bill films - as well as Pulp and Jackie Brown, of course - but finds his personality, for the most part, does not mix well with his output. I can overlook that while watching the films, and I can enjoy his goofy, film geek personality on its own terms, but often, while reading interviews and such, I have to remind myself that his films are pretty brilliant. I think his talent - and he does have talent, and a lot of it - is sort of a lucky charm, more than anything else, and I wonder if he's not necessarily in complete control of it.

modage

posser.  actually i dont care if you dont like his personality.  the only problem becomes when his films dont give you a reason to defend his attitude.  the disappointment of vol. II has turned me off to him more than anything else.  that and his low output of films.  anyone who makes you wait that long between films had better be doing so for a reason, like if you're kubrick and the greatest director on earth, otherwise you better be putting one out every 3 years like everybody else at least.  when you're  spielberg and you make 1 or 2 a year, i think it gives you more leeway (in my mind) to miss occasionally because you're out there, you're trying new things and you're experimenting.  if the terminal isnt ace, thats fine because we'll have 2 more within 18 months.  however when you wait 6 years to make a new film it had better be worth the wait.  THE WHOLE THING, not just the first half.  still, even with all that i still find him to be more interesting than 90% of the people making movies right now.  and i grew up on him.
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Kal

What you just said modernage is what worries me about PTA... if he doesnt come out with an amazing next film, better than the ones we've already seen (which is not easy at all - and I dont think he will make a better film than Magnolia) people here will either overrate his work or hate him forever...

But going back to Tarantino... he is good... and he was lucky... and he does have an amazing imagination and a very creative mind which lead to Pulp Fiction for instance. But he will never be Kubrick, and he will never be Spielberg. Not with his films, or his personality. And like his films, his personality is a mix of many personalities, and he tries to push the limits and he is not always successful doing it. It seems he tries too hard and is not as natural as it probably was when he did Pulp Fiction (similar to maybe also the Wachowskis with The Matrix and its sequels - and probably their future projects).

I think that is why you can love or like or dislike his films but nobody can have such a strong connection with his work, as you might do with other filmmakers.

Pubrick

let me state my position: i used to love the guy unconditionally until the kills. i mean, what a total piece of shit those movies were. and the wait was definitely the worst part.

the problem with tarantino is he never learned anything beyond his pop-culture obsession. he never seemed to enrich his mind with any substantial knowledge of the world or his extraordinary experience. as a direct example, PTA has no chance of going the way of tarantino, because even tho he may hav grown up on film and still feeds on it as his inspiration (they both clearly love cinema) he actually realises the world is more than cinema. PTA talks about joseph campbell, and the origins of mythology. Malick travelled the world and became spiritually enlightened (moreso). Kubrick read everything he could get his hands on, he never took anything for granted. Tarantino does not give this impression.

the only person who could be said to hav known everything there is to know even at his first film is Welles. everyone else has always matured, and this expansion of knowledge has been reflected in their films. see kubrick for example, can a person BE more of a genius?? tarantino, sadly, is not.

perhaps it's all the cocaine which has influenced him to believe every idiot who tells him 'to be COOL is enuff'. this might explain his appearances on American Idol and other wastes of time. it's sad that he has become this way, but the fact is he was this way all along. how can anyone so in love with Pop Culture not become a victim of it? if this is all he wants to be, that's fine, he has become a pop culture reference.. what more could anyone ask for.

the line which i find most striking here is from his worst film, and so far most revealing about his intellectual/artistic development .. "you didn't think it would be that easy, did u?" ironically, he's still acting as if it is.
under the paving stones.

Gold Trumpet

I'm worried he's becoming a director-for-hire. I don't think he's evolved since Pulp Fiction. Jackie Brown was an attempt at a plot but the film seemed too lazy at assemblance and too easily cushioned in a humor he already developed further with other films. His transition of focus (there was some) was not very satisfying.

Kill Bill is muddled. Its cocky and free with the violence its displaying, but I never once was astonished by anything. I never felt like he was breaking ground. Even in my limited exposure of martial arts films, I've seen fights more impactful than those in Kill Bill and in the second, I've seen better character portraits than the one he gave me. Whats weird about the second is that I felt like he was trying to make a signature Tarantino film. It felt a little too forced that the character portraits became imitations of Pulp Fiction. I feel he's relying too much on these tricks and not really moving forward. That's my main problem.

Actually, I enjoy his personality to just see how far he will go. His interviews are always oddly enjoyable and he's such a dork for how far he will go to prove himself as whatever he has to at any given time. The most annoying though was the story i heard of him at a matrix 2 screening throwing mints (or whatever they were) at the screen yelling to take the blue pill because he hated the movie so much. Such a bad ploy for attention when you know no one will really hear about it.

Myxo

Quote from: Pubrickthe problem with tarantino is he never learned anything beyond his pop-culture obsession. he never seemed to enrich his mind with any substantial knowledge of the world or his extraordinary experience. as a direct example, PTA has no chance of going the way of tarantino, because even tho he may hav grown up on film and still feeds on it as his inspiration (they both clearly love cinema) he actually realises the world is more than cinema. PTA talks about joseph campbell, and the origins of mythology. Malick travelled the world and became spiritually enlightened (moreso). Kubrick read everything he could get his hands on, he never took anything for granted. Tarantino does not give this impression.

I agree with this unconditionally.

Actually, I loved both Kill Bill films, but I think he's going downhill quick and I don't see a war movie doing much to give me hope really. There is a quality that Tarantino is fantastic at, but I wonder if he's gone the way of M. Night and started to recycle things we've seen far too many times. There is definetly something to be said for directors who are out in the world reading books and getting away from film for a while.

cine

Quote from: cronopiohow we lost interest in him
whoa whoa whoa.. this thread and you freaks can speak for yourselves. me.... i'll be over here.. enjoying his films..... alone....

Bethie

Quote from: Cinephilei'll be over here.. enjoying his films..... alone....





You can say that again.
who likes movies anyway

SiliasRuby

Perhaps I am veing a bit redundant on this suject but what the hell...

Myxomatosis is right, I really fear that he is going downhill with his film making and while Pulp Fiction was and still is one of my favorite flicks of all time (aside note: Kill Bill wasn't breaking ground and just seemed to be his take on the martial arts/asian cinema but I still love those movies and I will be getting the Kill Bill Special edition DVD's which are rumored to come out in august of this year), I think tarantino is running out of steam and fast.
I hope he doesn't turn into anothe M. Night. recycling films that he has already done. Pubrick is also right about how Tarantino is more or less turning into a victim of pop culture. He seems like his mind is a dictionary filled with it and there is nothing else that he can spew out other than films of the past and present.
Another thing that is starting to bug me is how he gives the impression that he is wishy washy about new projects on his plate. In alot of the articles about QT's upcoming projects and stints to write and direct the word that seems to pop up the most is MIGHT. He might be doing this, He might be doing that. Might....bleh, just pick something and do it...sorry now I am getting a bit frusterated...but anyway, that's just my opinion.
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My Collection

picolas

he turned into an impression of himself. i still enjoy his movies, though.

Myxo

I love Quentin Tarantino films.

..and I could care less if he keeps recycling the same stuff over and over again. What is interesting is how Quentin himself spoke of this very thing on Charlie Rose. He spoke of a director reaching a point creatively where that person goes downhill.

As much as Tarantino loves Brian De Palma, even he admitted that it happend with him as well. I think it was Bonfire of the Vanities for De Palma.

pete

are we all judging QT by the Kill Bills?  I don't think he's lost it or became a joke or whatever, I think he's as creative as the best of them out there right now.  He's very flashy though, and he's way more articulate about his influences than a lot of directors care/ dare to be.  The Kill Bills to me have this joy of filmmaking that's just soaked through the four hours.  He loves making movies and loves watching movies, and the Kill Bills are a celebration of that, just like Goodbye Dragon Inn, just like The Dreamers, just like the Five Obstructions.  True self-indulgence could not be this entertaining or creative.  He didn't just take twenty movies and put them in a blender (the Watchowskis, however, did).
I think it's unfair to use his declaration of his inspiration against him.  Sure he is inspired by movies, but that doesn't make his film any less personal.  It's also fairly obvious that he has the biggest crush on Uma Thurman and is probably more inspired by her than Sonny Chiba or whatever.  And he puts it right there, in front of everyone.  It's a cool love song and I don't think many other directors could direct a love song this blatant and this entertaining.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Gold Trumpet

Quote from: peteare we all judging QT by the Kill Bills?  I don't think he's lost it or became a joke or whatever, I think he's as creative as the best of them out there right now.  He's very flashy though, and he's way more articulate about his influences than a lot of directors care/ dare to be.  The Kill Bills to me have this joy of filmmaking that's just soaked through the four hours.  He loves making movies and loves watching movies, and the Kill Bills are a celebration of that, just like Goodbye Dragon Inn, just like The Dreamers, just like the Five Obstructions.  True self-indulgence could not be this entertaining or creative.  He didn't just take twenty movies and put them in a blender (the Watchowskis, however, did).
I think it's unfair to use his declaration of his inspiration against him.  Sure he is inspired by movies, but that doesn't make his film any less personal.  It's also fairly obvious that he has the biggest crush on Uma Thurman and is probably more inspired by her than Sonny Chiba or whatever.  And he puts it right there, in front of everyone.  It's a cool love song and I don't think many other directors could direct a love song this blatant and this entertaining.

Even though I think he's on the downhill, I agree mostly with this. My beef with him never has been his lack of interest in world topics or continuing need to quote other films. From information I've gotten, he quoted just as badly with Pulp Fiction and Resevoir Dogs. Its said the films he quoted there are mostly unkown to American viewers. I haven't seen them either. I think there are some great films to be made still with his interest of vision, but I don't think he's making a transition. Kill Bill Vol. 2 feels like the lesser Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown never impacts with carrying a plot.

pete

I think he's making a transition.  kill bill is a huge movie, all his previous movies are kinda on smaller scales.  I think he's moving on to do big epic movies and elaborate action sequences, which he learned on kill bill.  It's his School Daze.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton