An Ode To Tarantino

I've gone back and watched several Quentin Tarantino movies and there's no doubt about it, at least in my mind, that he is the greatest director living today. The man has not made a bad movie since he blew us all away with 1992's Reservoir Dogs. Sure he's only made five films (not including his short film in Four Rooms or My Best Friend's Birthday - whatever that was), but that should only prove what a great artist he is. Rather than take whatever project lands his way, Tarantino waits a while until he's comes up with something truly special. After all, it took him six years to finally make the epic masterpiece that is Kill Bill. And the wait is always worth it. I'm in awe of this man's talent for writing dialog, his clever camera angles, the actors he chooses to work with, and especially the music of his films. Here are my top 5 favourite things about Tarantino movies.

5) Samuel L. Jackson

I think Jackson is the best actor in any Tarantino movie. He's got such a commanding presence on-screen, whether he's playing a hitman undergoing a "transitional period" in Pulp Fiction or a badass gunrunner in Jackie Brown, Jackson's just so damn cool either way. His command over the dialog is something else too. His scenes with Pam Grier in Brown just feel so natural - it's hard to believe a 30-something white guy could come up with dialog that sounds perfectly in tune with black characters. Jackson hasn't been as good in much else, I really hope these two work together again soon.

4) Dialog

It's easy to say that Tarantino has a great ear for dialog. But few other directors make you feel like you're in the same room with the characters. Whether they're discussing blaxploitation movies in Reservoir Dogs or talking about growing old in Jackie Brown, you always wish you were part of the discussion. That's Tarantino's gift as a writer. The casts of his films are also very diverse, but he still manages to capture the subtle differences in the way people speak - blacks and whites, men and women, old and young, New Yorker and Californian. He has a tendency to let his white characters use the 'N word a bit more freely than I'm comfortable with, but putting that aside, Tarantino's dialog always feels natural and realistic.

3) Music

Steven Spielberg has John Williams, Sergio Leone has Ennio Morricone, Tarantino has the '70s. I can't think of another director save Martin Scorcese to use the music of an entire decade so well. Rather than rely on a traditional film score, Tarantino picks out the most obscure songs and makes them hits again. Would anyone remember "Stuck In The Middle With You" or "Across 110^th St." as well as they do now if they hadn't been used so memorably in Reservoir Dogs or Jackie Brown respectively? As much as I look forward to a new Tarantino movie, I always look forward to the soundtrack. My iPod is filled with songs from his movies (although I don't know what possessed him to use a Foxy Brown song for the Jackie Brown soundtrack). Battle Without Honour Or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei from Kill Bill is arguably the best song in any Tarantino movie.

2) Excessive violence

No one does it better than Quentin. Who can forget the infamous torture scene in Reservoir Dogs or the brutal Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves in Kill Bill. For my money, the most gruesome act in a Tarantino movie is when Vincent Vega shoots Marvin in the face in Pulp Fiction. Watching these films again, I noticed just how casual most of the characters are to death and violence. Nothing phases these people. I suppose one must divorce his or herself from the impact of the violence they're committing if one is to choose the life of a hitman (Pulp Fiction), jewel thief (Reservoir Dogs) or assassin (Kill Bill), but these folks are just merciless. This callous approach to death permeates Tarantino's films, and its something critics often fault him for, but I love every minute of it.

1) Resurrecting the careers of long-forgotten actors

He did it with Harvey Keitel, John Travolta, Pam Grier, Robert Forrester, David Carradine, and Kurt Russell. Is it wrong of me to say that these folks would have faded into obscurity had they not been so prominently featured in a Tarantino movie? (Travolta would probably be starring in Look Who's Talking 10 by now) He manages to bring out a great performance in every one of these folks, especially Pam Grier. He's also helped to launch the careers of Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and Zoe Bell. And let's not forget the number of fly women in his movies. Thank you for introducing us to Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Sydney Poitier, brother.

One more thing I'll say about Quentin: he's like the hip hop of filmmakers. He often gets accused of stealing from other films, notably with Kill Bill (Lady Snowblood being cited as the most direct influence). I don't consider him to be stealing, however. Rap music samples from all sorts of musical genres - jazz, R&B, rock, electro - you name it. But to call it theft is to not understand the work. What's produced is far different from the original. Tarantino will take a plot idea from one movie, mix it with characters from another movie, and use music from a whole other genre to make it his own film entirely. Plus, it gives the audience a chance to go back and look at some of the films that inspired his own work, breathing new life into a film that most people probably would've forgotten - just like rap artists do with their sampling of old records. Everyone benefits.

Tarantino's movies continue to get better and better. The moment I'm ready to declare Jackie Brown his best work, he comes out with Kill Bill. Than he comes out with freakin' Death Proof. The man is unstoppable. I can't wait for Inglorious Bastards to come and knock me the fuck out!