Quinton Tarantino is one of my all time favorite directors. Most know him for his distinct style of storytelling and how he approaches a film visually. With "Hateful Eight" hitting theaters, I thought that I would take a minute and rank Tarantino's movies, and tell you which are my favorites.
1. "Kill Bill Vol. 1"
"Kill Bill Vol. 1" is one of my favorite movies of all time. This was the first Tarantino film I ever saw, and I didn't know how to feel at first. I watched it a couple more times, and I was hooked. The House of Blue Leaves sequence is absolutely stunning, and the long takes in this film leave me speechless. Uma Thurman makes an amazing lead, but Lucy Lu as Oren Ishii is one of my favorite female characters to ever grace film.
2. "Kill Bill Vol. 2"
I normally lump volume one and volume two together, but for the sake of this list, "Kill Bill Vol. 2" is just slightly behind. Uma's performance in the movie is spectacular, and seeing her go up against Daryl Hannah's Elle Driver is one of the coolest scenes I have ever sat at the edge of my seat for.
3. "Inglorious Bastards"
"Inglorious Bastards" is just brilliant. The story has a wonderful blend of history of not only war but film as well that makes me want to watch it over and over. Christoph Waltz's performance is stellar, and every time I hear the line, "Au Revoir, Shoshana!" I get chills. It never fails. Brad Pitt's accent is a tiny bit cringe worthy in my opinion, but he gives a great performance.
4. "Pulp Fiction"
Arguably one of Tarantino's most famous films, "Pulp Fiction" warrants more than one watch to make complete sense of it (if one can really make complete sense out of "Pulp Fiction"). I think that this film is where Tarantino's style really started to come together. The entire cast gives a really great performance and they do a great job of helping the viewer make sense of the crazy story line. Plus, the set of "Pulp Fiction" is where the idea of "Kill Bill" came into fruition.
5. "Jackie Brown"
Now, I adore "Jackie Brown." I didn't know what to expect from this movie because not a whole lot of people talk about it. Before I watched it, I would always forget it was on the list of Tarantino movies because of its lack of mention. Once I watched it, I couldn't understand why because it was great! The cast is different from the players we've come to expect from a Tarantino movie, but they still shine none the less. Pam Grier does an amazing job of bringing Jackie Brown to life and of course, Samuel L. Jackson is wonderful as always. I would encourage any Tarantino fan who hasn't gotten around to seeing "Jackie Brown" to do themselves a favor and watch it as soon as possible.
6. "Django Unchained"
"Django Unchained" was the first Tarantino film I saw in theaters. It was so exciting to finally see one of Tarantino's larger than life films on the big screen. I hadn't seen Jamie Foxx in much, so it was interesting to see him give such a great performance. Christoph Waltz was fabulous as always, and his portrayal of Dr. King Shultz made the movie for me. Tarantino gets a lot of criticism for this movie, and I can see why, but overall I thought it was a great film.
7. "Reservoir Dogs"
"Reservoir Dogs" may be at the bottom of my list, but that doesn't mean I love it any less. Tarantino's debut is phenomenal, and it amazes me how well his style was developed for his first full length movie. His back and forth story telling really makes you pay attention, and you crave finding out what really happened in this heist gone bad. Tarantino started his working relationship with what would become his favorite cast members in this film. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen all made appearances in this movie and would later work with Tarantino again. The cast is what really sets this movie, that's mostly set in one room, over the top. Also, I can never listen to "Stuck In The Middle With You," by Stealers Wheel the same way ever again.
Do you agree with my list? How would you rank Tarantino's movies?
