I saw Hateful Eight last week and I'm still struggling with it. There's a lot to like and a lot to hate. Somewhere in there is a good 90-100 minute film; the actual run time is over three hours long. I will not be able to write a coherent review for a long time, and might never reach that point on one viewing. I have too many other films to catch up with to spend another three+ hours in a theater for Hateful Eight.
Instead, I'll address the issues by going from my least to most beloved Quentin Tarantino film. And for full disclosure, I haven't seen My Best Friend's Birthday, Tarantino's first film, and cannot account for it in the ranking.
10) Hateful Eight
I have major issues with the lack of characterization for Daisy and most of the people trapped in that snowy haberdashery. If the whole film was the wagon ride to the shelter, I'd be happier with it. Or if the film ended at intermission. Or if it jumped between the two different timelines throughout rather than hint at the more interesting story until the last two chapters. The violence felt gratuitous and the ending was just disgusting.
9) Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Now Kill Bill is a film that had enough backstory, characterization, plot, and intrigue to have sustained interest and momentum at three+ hours. Too bad Tarantino was forced to chop the film in two. Vol. 2 lacks the edge and energy of Vol. 1. Everything kind of falls flat in the memory of the Crazy 88 fight at the end of previous film. It's not bad; it's just not as good as it could be.
8) Reservoir Dogs
There's a lot to like in Reservoir Dogs. It is a well made crime thriller. It's just not really to my tastes as a film enthusiast. It's well made but doesn't particularly grab me as much as the rest of Tarantino's filmography.
7) Django Unchained
I really like Django. The acting is phenomenal. The screenplay has so many wonderful elements to it. I think it just needed a tighter edit. That last act really drags for me and pulls just a bit too much momentum before the climactic standoff.
6) Four Rooms
I'm a big fan of Four Rooms. Frankly, the only reason I rank it this low on Tarantino's filmography is that I find his chapter of the anthology the least effective. That Kathy Griffin/Tim Roth phone scene is everything, though. And Madonna as a witch drawing energy from sexual conquets in Allison Anders' opening short? Magnifique.
5) Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is great. The screenplay is probably Tarantino's best. I love the cast he assembled. For my own tastes, though, I much prefer the weirder dancing, bedroom, and diner scenes to the violence surrounding Vincent and Jules. The soundtrack is perfection, though. Probably the best composite score in film.
4) Death Proof
Death Proof is one of the best modern exploitation films we have. It's such a well-learned throwback to fast cars, faster women exploitation film. That's not the most popular sub-genre from the 70s/80s Grindhouse scene, so I'm not surprised at the reaction audiences had to this, especially after the much more straightforward Planet Terror in the Grindhouse compendium. The cast, the slow pan of the camera, and the design of the car action sequences still thrill me to this day. Plus, we got to see Zoë Bell actually perform as an actor and not just for stunts. She needs to be offered more acting roles (Hateful Eight proved that point again).
3) Kill Bill: Vol. 1
This might be my favorite action film of all time. It has everything: Lucy Liu in a role that let her show off what she can do as an actress, Darryl Hannah killing it in that hospital scene, beautiful action choreography, The 5678's rocking out in a private club, Chiaki Kuriyama creating one of the most disturbing villains in cinematic history as her deadly little schoolgirl, and that final battle with the snow falling. What more could you want other than the story to be contained in one film, not two?
2) Inglourious Basterds
It's the most Tarantino of Tarantino films. The multiple plot threads, bizarre conversations that just go on and on as the story builds around the people talking, the fantastic showcase for a large ensemble cast, and a chance for Tarantino to play with words in four languages. Inglourious Basterds might be my favorite war film, with might only presented as a qualifier since it's historical fiction and revenge film first. Plus, America was given Christoph Waltz through his amazing Oscar-winning performance. Even if Hollywood keeps using him for generic foreign villain, we still get to see a masterful actor working in big films again and again because of Tarantino.
1) Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown is the first Tarantino film I fell for. I love everything about it. It starts with Pam Grier's amazing turn as Jackie. Then it extends to the wonderful ensemble cast. It's a crime thriller that's played a little closer to the chest than most of Tarantino's films, which is just the way I like it. The whole film is strange. It might just be the most fully realized version of Tarantino's unique view of the world and cinema we have.
