quentin tarantino | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Reservoir Dogs

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Darren

I had the pleasure of attending the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of this film.

Reservoir Dogs is my favourite film amongst Quentin Tarantino’s accomplished filmography. It seems a strange choice, as most film fans would concede that it’s pretty great, but would readily point to Pulp Fiction as the definitive Tarantino film. However, I think that Reservoir Dogs has an elegant simplicity that elevates it, allowing Tarantino to demonstrate his unique skills in an environment where he isn’t too confined or too rigidly structured. In a way, it’s that wonderful structure that makes Pulp Fiction so exceptional, but Reservoir Dogs has a relatively modest scale that makes it a lot easier to appreciate Tarantino’s deft mastery of form.

Whiter than White?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Brown, Cuba Gooding, film, harvey keitel, harvye keitel, jasonreitman, madonna, Movie, mr blue, mr. blond, mr. blonde, mr. orange, mr. pink, mr. white, neo-noir, noir, Orange, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, quentintarantino, Reservoir Dogs, revie, Robbery, steve buscemi, tarantino, w non-review review, White | 4 Comments »

Jameson Cult Film Club: Reservoir Dogs & A Talk With Michael Madsen (JDIFF 2012)

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Darren

This event was held as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

Last year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival served as the launch of the Jameson Cult Film Club, with a screening of The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey in attendance. To celebrate the first anniversary of that launch, the guys organised a special treat for movie fans in the capital – a screening of Reservoir Dogs, with Michael Madsen in attendance. It goes almost without saying that the Jameson folks threw one hell of a shindig, converting Dublin’s CHQ into the warehouse from Tarantino’s iconic debut – a film that had hosted its Irish premiere as part of the festival twenty years ago, a screening that host Rick O’Shea remembered fondly. It was a great evening, organised with the same impeccable style as ever.

Note: This is just an article about the wonderful screening held by the Jameson Cult Film Club, including an interview with the man himself, Michael Madsen. I’ll be running a review of Tarantino’s masterpiece sometime next week, when I’ve had a bit more sleep.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, cult film, dublin, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, kevin spacey, Michael Madsen, Movie, quentin tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, Rick O'Shea, ridley scott, tarantino, United States | Leave a comment »

Win Tickets to the Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of Reservoir Dogs…

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Darren

Thanks to the wonderful folks over at The Jameson Cult Film Club, we have a lovely prize to give away. Two tickets to the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs during the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. For those unfamiliar with the brilliance of the Jameson Cult Film Club, the group stage immersive cinema screenings in interesting locations around the city. To get an idea, check out the excellent job they did with Ridley Scott’s Alien. The location of this screening is top secret, but it will take place Tuesday February 21st. And Michael Madsen, aka Mister Blonde, will be in attendance at the screening.

We have a pair of tickets to give away, more information after the jump.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, film, Film festival, jameson cult film club, jameson dublin international film festival, Michael Madsen, Movies, quentin tarantino, Reservoir Dogs | Leave a comment »

Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2012

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Darren

Enough with the best of 2011! That was so last year. Let’s instead reflect on some of the films I am most anticipating in the year ahead. As noted elsewhere, this is all just my opinion, so it’s bound to be a bit crazy and off-the-wall, but hopefully it’s interesting enough.

Hopefully, 2012 isn't a cinematic disaster...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2012, Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Batman in film, Christopher Nolan, james badge dale, james bond, jason reitman, Leonardo diCaprio, quentin tarantino | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Jackie Brown

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Darren

I think Jackie Brown suffers in comparison to the rest of Quentin Tarantino’s distinguished filmography. While Grindhouse: Deathproof divides film fanatics along “love it” or “hate it” lines, it seems the general critical consensus on Jackie Brown is that it’s simply “quite good.” I like the film, even if I don’t rank it as highly as most of his other work, and I wonder if the movie feels so strange because it’s probably the most “conventional”film that Tarantino has directed. While the dialogue and the character interactions help immediately identify the film as the product of Tarantino, it’s an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, and it feels like a reasonably conventional little crime thriller.

That's her name...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aimee Graham, Bridget Fonda, Chris Tucker, film, Jackie, Jackie Brown, Movie, non-review review, Ordell, Pam Grier, quentin tarantino, review, robert deniro, Robert Forster, samuel l. jackson, tarantino | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Staten Island

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Darren

Staten Island is a convoluted little film that seems to shameless emulate several anthology films, with the most obvious influence being seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, borrowing the device of telling three interlocking but distinct stories set in different timeframes relating to the same bunch of characters. Still, that’s not necessarily a reason to dislike the film, which manages to offer an interesting, if not comparable, set of tales. James DeMonaco probably should have realised that borrowing so heavily from a classic film sets a ridiculously high standard, and one the movie falls far short of reaching. Still, there are moments where the film does work, even if they seem evenly-spaced with awkward and pointless sequences.

One psychotic mobster, sitting in a tree...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ethan hawke, film, Little New York, Manhattan, Movie, New York City, non-review review, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, review, Seymour Cassel, Staten Island, Vincent D'Onofrio | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Pulp Fiction

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Darren

It’s strange. I always feel a flutter of uncertainty when I prepare to tackle a film I hold in particularly high esteem on this blog. Perhaps it’s the fact that I worry I might not be entirely objective, or perhaps it’s the fear that I’ll embarrass myself with a particular film, or perhaps it’s just the worry that I really don’t have anything worth committing to the internet. Pulp Fiction is a film that has been loved and hated, picked apart and put back together, critiqued and venerated, and I’m really not sure that I have any particularly insightful observations to make about Quentin Tarantino’s palme d’or winning film.

I'll be brief...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: david mamet, dialogue, Film noir, films, joss whedon, los angeles, McDonalds, Movies, non-review review, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, review, tom stoppard, vince vega | 11 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Crimson Tide

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Darren

I love Crimson Tide. It comes from a time when, through my nostalgic eyes, Tony Scott could do no wrong. This was the nineties, when Scott was after directing the under-rated True Romance and on his way to helming the solidly entertaining Enemy of the State. Sure, there was also The Fan in there, but we really don’t talk about that. Part of the appeal of Crimson tide, beyond it’s wonderfully powerful basic premise, is the fact that concept could work as either a powerful Aaron Sorkin stage play, or as a bombastic Michael Bay production – the set-up is such that either approach is possible with the material. Scott manages to straddle the middle, offering a tense action thriller which isn’t afraid to ask a few probing questions about the nature of the chain of command and the morality of blinding following orders.

It's long and hard and... ugh, you get it...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aaron Sorkin, Chi McBride, Crimson Tide, film, james gandolfini, michael bay, Movie, non-review review, quentin tarantino, review, silver surfer, Steve Zahn, tony scott, United States | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: True Romance

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Darren

True Romance is one of those films I’m surprised never found a stronger audience, even retroactively. It features a screenplay from Quentin Tarantino which really put the future director on the map, but it also features a huge number of pre-stardom appearances from actors as diverse as James Gandolfini, Brad Pitt and Chris Penn. The movie holds together fantastically, but perhaps it works better as a collection of scenes than as a fully-realised movie – but, when the scenes are this good, that’s not necessarily a heavy criticism.

It's Whirley ride...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: brad pitt, Chris Penn, Christian Slater, christopher walken, dennis hopper, elvis, elvis presley, ensemble, films, james gandolfini, Movie, non-review review, Patricia Arquette, quentin tarantino, review, tarantino, tony scott, true romance, true romance (film) | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Superman Returns

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Darren

March is Superman month here at the m0vie blog, what with the release of the animated adaptation of Grant Morrison’s superb All-Star Superman. We’ll be reviewing a Superman-related book/story arc every Wednesday this month, so check on back – and we might have a surprise or two along the way. I figured that, today, I’d take a look at Superman-related movies.

You know, Quentin Tarantino once boasted that he had a 20-page review of Superman Returns that the director had been drafting for some years now. This review is going to be long, but it’s – hopefully – not going to be that long. The film has divided fans, movie-goers and film critics since its initial release, killed an attempt to relaunch the “Superman” brand name in the new millennium, made a shedload of money (although not as much as Warner Brothers would have liked). It’s a movie that deserves a large amount of discussion and debate, and it sure has generated it. I’m not a staunch supporter of the film, but I don’t hate it, either. Superman as a character has endured far greater humiliation. Still, it’s a bit of a disappointing continuation to the on-going Superman mythology.