Ghost World (2001) - Terry Zwigoff

Does Thora Birch still exist? I haven't seen her in things since the 90s that I can think of. If she's dead or something I'll regret that comment, whilst Scarlett Johansson has gone from strength to strength. All the main stars in this film are good in it, especially Steve Buscemi. Nobody plays lovable loser quite like Steve Buscemi. His role in Reservoir Dogs (1992) - Quentin Tarantino, obviously makes us think of him as a bad tough guy, but there are so many layers in his acting ability, that any film with him in, is dragged immediately upmarket. I just found myself feeling so bad for him in this film, but it's an enjoyable cringe.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Desperado (1995) - Robert Rodriguez

With every Rodriguez film I watch, I wonder why he's not seen as famous as Tarantino, or the other big league directors. This film is brilliant. Antonio Banderas is famous for more than just Puss in Boots, and Salma Hayek: wow, what a sizzler. Phew.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Great Gatsby (2013) - Baz Luhrman

I like the story, by F. Scott Fitzgerald more than the film. Don't get me wrong, it was a worthwhile movie, but I don't think I'd watch it a second time, and still be entertained. However, that being said, Leonardo Di Caprio shines through yet again. I feel that Luhrman just brings out a brilliant actor within him, something that Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012) failed to do.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Death Proof (2007) - Quentin Tarantino

This movie had a brilliant first half, and the second half was good for a normal film, but just OK for a Tarantino film. I loved Kurt Russell in it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) - Quentin Tarantino

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - Quentin Tarantino

I love the first one. I think it's Tarantino's best movie. BEST MOVIE! And that's saying something. But yeah, I love the Japanese film influence. I think for the Vol. 2, it wasn't done enough. It was very underdone, and I think the second one, whilst it would be good as a standalone film, does not do what the first has set it up to do.
I went to a double bill of them both at the local independent cinema, and thought that as it's supposed to be one big massive film, it doesn't really work. So, I'll do another post for Vol. 2, to give it a star rating.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Jackie Brown (1997) - Quentin Tarantino

Django Unchained (2012) has got nothing on classic Tarantino.

 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Layer Cake (2004) - Matthew Vaughn

This was brilliant. It was very Guy Ritchie styled, but Matthew Vaughn has gone on to some really brilliant films since this first directed by him, and you can see why. It keeps you gripped, and its many characters is only rivalled in the aforementioned Ritchie and possibly, Quentin Tarantino, only Vaughn is British, so even better!

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004) - Adam McKay

I thought about whether this one deserved a review or not, so here's a tale of how this came about:
We have a film club in our university. Recently, we were told to vote for the best film of the last twenty years (barring Tarantino, as they showed all his films in the preceding semester). Now, I am a fan of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) - Adam McKay, don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant comedy, but top ten of the last twenty years. Those that voted for it ought to be ashamed of themselves. Blergh. Anyway, our lecturer had never seen or heard about it, so he bought all the different versions of the DVDs/BluRays, just so he got the right one. He then lost the proper film, and we had to make do with watching this one.
The fact that they made an entire second film, no matter how dodgy some plot holes are, wrapped up in a tight narration from the narrator of the other film, is a testament to Will Ferrell as an improvisational actor, and to how funny the real film was. Wake Up was made from the bloopers, outtakes, and deleted scenes from Anchorman, and I enjoyed a lot of it.
Some parts did go on, and jokes lost their appeal, but that is to be expected if you want to make a full length movie. Also, some of the camera angles made it look like the camera had only just been turned on and not set up yet, before the actors began to try and make them laugh.
There was also a good bit with Amy Poehler, which would have been a nice addition to the real Anchorman movie.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Django Unchained (2012) - Quentin Tarantino

Well, without beating around the bush, this film was a disappointment at best.
For me, I really think the classic Tarantino films, the brilliant ones, all rely on a big cast. There isn't one main character. There's always a few. Django Unchained, relies solely on Django. Christoph Waltz is good in the film, but as he's not a title character. He's at best, a supporting artist. Leonardo Di Caprio is briliant as always, but the script is a little lack lustre, meaning not even Leo can save this movie. Even the soundtrack, usually a key feature in a Tarantino films, was just a bit, "meh". There were a couple of good scenes, interesting and funny, but they didn't disguise the rest of the film. The editing was a far cry from when Sally Menke used to do it in his older films, and it really shows in the final product.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Quentin Tarantino

At first glance, this is just a remake of The Inglorious Bastards (1978) - Enzo Castellari, but after watching it, the only way they are similar is the title, and even that is different enough, so that Tarantino knows his big budget film won't be confused with the Italian director's work. Apparently, Tarantino did buy the rights to the name of the film anyway, just to stop any copyright infringement, unlike what he did with Reservoir Dogs (1993), eh, soundtrack fans?

I spectacularly enjoyed this film, which is what cinema is all about. The problems I had with it, are purely production wise: Brad Pitt's star credit was unnecessary. His screen time was much less than Christoph Waltz (who gave a remarkable performance of eerie authenticity as Colonel Hans Landa), and I'm not sure if his name was there for any other reason than publicity. That being said, Pitt still gave a pretty good go at stealing every scene he was in, and was eclipsed only by the fact that he was not alone amongst the sterling performances.

Both the ending and the (sort of) epilogue with Pitt and Waltz, without giving too much away, were the best pieces of the film, and worth the 2 and a half hours we spent getting there.

A fine film from Tarantino, and a worthy predecessor to what I'm hoping will be a blockbusting phenomenon: Django Unchained (2013).

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆