My Top 10: Quentin Tarantino Films

For the past 30 years, Quentin Tarantino has been been a calling to multiple generations as a gateway to cinema for a mature audience. Me included.

My first Tarantino experience was like for many others, eye-opening, highly memorable and made you see films in a totally different way.

While paying homage to many styles Tarantino saw through his childhood, his slick style of dialogue, glorious cinematography, romping soundtrack, iconic characters and bloody violence have made him one of the most influential personalities in the industry.

His back catalogue may not be extensive. But one thing is for, the release of a Tarantino film is always seen more as an event then just another project.

It won't surprise me for a second that every other people's list will be different to mine. But I think we can all agree, that Tarantino is one of the greats.

I have seen all but one of Tarantino's 11 films. I am yet to have seen his debut of My Best Friend's Birthday which is now partially lost. I am not counting Sin City and Four Rooms, as he was only either a guest director or directed a partial segment of it.

I will give a short review of my top 10 as follows:

10) Death Proof - While it may be Tarantino's weakest work, it's a still a solid watch.

Seen as Tarantino's homage to grind-house cinema, it sees a stunt-man stalk two groups of women as part of his murderous plans.

Whether the build-up works for you or not, it's worth it for the amazing car chase.

9) Jackie Brown - I probably need to re-watch this as I have not seen this for a long time. But some see this as Tarantino's best. It's most definitely the least Tarantino-looking film he's ever made.

It sees a middle-aged flight attendant get involved in a conflict that could see her go to jail or potentially gain a huge profit.

It's a solid crime drama with some cool twists and has a stellar cast.

8) The Hateful Eight - An Oscar-winning western mystery epic sees a collection of peculiar characters take shelter in a cabin during a winter storm.

It's a well developed story with many memorable characters that is beautifully shot with the iconic Ultra Panavision 70 which Tarantino resurrected.

The cast list is impressive and they all bring their A-game.

7) Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood - Taratino's latest feature that is seen as a homage to the final years of Hollywood's Golden Era.

It sees a fading TV actor and his stunt double looking for one last major project in their respective careers.

It's a slow burner. But it manages to absorb you into the Hollywood lifestyle and has several iconic sequences.

6) Reservoir Dogs - Taratino's breakthrough feature sees several criminals suspecting one of their colleagues is a police informant when a bank heist goes wrong.

It's well structured, written with a lot of wit and introduced the filming industry of Quentin Tarantino is all about.

5) Kill Bill Vol. 2 - The follow-up to the first Kill Bill which sees 'The Bride' continue her quest for vengeance.

It's a thrilling conclusion to this epic story that also gives a bit more backstory to our colourful characters.

The soundtrack is still tip-top and the action never stops.

4) Django Unchained - An epic western drama about a slave who is releases by a bounty hunter and promises to help him free his wife from a brutal plantation owner.

The performances by Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio in particular are spectacular, the film is a real cinematic spectacle and the soundtrack works perfectly.

Tarantino is always known for his spaghetti western style in most of his works. This is as spaghetti western as it gets.

3) Inglourious Basterds - A thrilling and exciting war drama that sees a rogue group of U.S soldiers head over to Nazi-occupied France to assassinate the major leaders of the Third Reich.

It contains my favourite opening scene of all-time. Also, it introduced the world to Christoph Waltz.

This works so well as a cinematic fantasy look at World War Two whilst also paying homage to the war genre.

2) Pulp Fiction - When people think of Tarantino, this film is usually the first they think of.

Winner of the Palme D'or, an Oscar winner and seen as one of the greatest films of all-time. This crime drama full of stories inter-twining over each other may very well be Tarantino's cinematic masterpiece.

1) Kill Bill Vol. 1 - My first Tarantino experience and one that I will never forget.

Seen as a homage to grindhouse martial arts films, Uma Thurman stars as 'The Bride', a mysterious former assassin seeking vengeance on the team that betrayed her.

The amazing opening it has really sets the tone for a action-packed thrill ride that has all the right ingredients for a fully fledged cinematic experience.

I think even if it was my first Tarantino film, I strongly feel this would still be my favourite.

Review: Artemis Fowl

As I have never read the books and only know this brand by name, I went into this pretty cold.

But from a storytelling perspective, I think it's pretty safe to say that this feature will make fans of the books pretty angry.

The introduction was perfectly fine. The opening gives you an interesting concept that when done well, it can be a solid watch.

But as the film went on, you begin to realise how little of a story we are actually going to have. There's no journey and no adventure of any kind. It's honestly just a prolonged action sequence. It doesn't gain any momentum and never brings this world to life.

Also, there is an annoying amount of over-exposition. This is a device in films that I usually gloss over and it is sometimes necessary and it is usually executed really well that you don't even notice it. But this one did it in such an lazy and obvious way that did not make it entertaining whatsoever.

The only things going for it was the action and the visual effects. The former was not a big positive. It was just perfectly fine to not make this a total waste of time. Plus, the visual effects were solid and never took me out of the film.

The casting was disappointing on the whole. The youngsters of Ferdia Shaw and Lara McDonnell did a solid job with what they had. But the way their characters were written and developed never made them engaging.
The way the titular character is hyped, you expect so much. In the end, you get a kid who lacks charisma and seems to be quick at obtaining information and staying alive for 90mins.

I didn't see the need for Judi Dench or Colin Farrell in this. Especially Farrell, who is basically doing what Chris Pine did in A Wrinkle In Time. Said film is actually a perfect example of what has happened to this film. But at least A Wrinkle In Time showed more interesting imagery.
I have to mention Josh Gadd, as he was more annoying then funny. I understand the hate for Gadd. But I rarely jump on that bandwagon as I don't often see him in that way. Sadly, I saw that in this and couldn't care less for his character.

So while I have never read the book, anyone can see that something was missing. It felt too safe, inoffensive, sterile and lacking that magic, risk and edge. It just looked like another middle of the road Disney feature that they just wheel out as filler.

These are the type of films that actually annoy me more then the films that are actually rubbish. While I felt there's nothing really bad about it from a film-making perspective, there's just nothing good about it. Apart from maybe the visual effects and the interesting concept.
I'll leave the hateful reviews to people who have read the books and know how good the film can be. But from me, I'll say that there's many worse family fantasy films out there. But I cannot recommend this unremarkable feature with source material that shows us the potential of what this could be.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Scoob!

I, like many people grew up with the Scooby-Doo and the TV series that began all the way back in 1969.

I remember the two live-action films that weren't good on the whole. But they certainly contained enough charm of the TV series to give them a guilty pleasure vibe.

A 2020 release of a new one surprised me. But after hearing this to be the beginning of a Hanna Barbera cinematic universe had me somewhat excited. I could see the potential. But I could picture it failing as miserably as Universal Studios' Dark Universe.

Sadly, it seemed to more like the latter. While the animation style was a pleasing introduction, there were moments within the story especially at the very beginning that had me confused trying to work out what time period. Certain pieces of technology that I noticed conflicted with others that I could see on screen. Plus, a lot of the content the trailer suggested the story it was going for we only saw in the opening scene.

After that, it looked as if we were going to have another bog-standard Scooby-Doo adventure. Then came the moment that I feared, and that is world building. While it was nice seeing characters from other Hanna Barbera creations, it just seemed that the film-makers don't own feel confident with its own property of Scooby-Doo. It's a safe and entertaining formula. But instead, we get an unnecessary convoluted story that is also structured in a way that expects the audience to know its characters and it never capitalises on the fresh start its been given to introduce this property to a new audience.

The writing and gags is pretty basic, even by the standards of its very young target audience. It has moments that can please fans of all ages. But it didn't feel enough for me to give it a pass.
There is one particular gag that uses a pop culture reference that felt about 16 years too late of it being relevant.
I also noticed some topical references thrown in rather than making it smart and maybe giving the tone of the film a benefitial edge. All of that just came across as the film-makers lookign desperate to appeal to today's kids.

While I did mention before about it being a problem. It was also great seeing some of the additional characters from some of my favourite Hanna Barbera shows as a kid. Plus, there is also a nice little Easter Egg in there for the hardcore fans that I noticed.
Also, I loved the use of the old school Looney Tunes style sound effects.

The voice acting was pretty solid. I would check out the entire cast list. It's more impressive then you might imagine. Frank Welker and Will Forte were good in the main roles and portrayed their characters as you would expect to act. Mark Wahlberg's performance was so good that I actually thought it was Ryan Reynolds the whole time.

So while I admired it's vision. It's execution quite have me giving it a pass. I remain interested to see where Warner Animation go with their next Hanna Barbera installment as well as seeing their ultimate vision for their cinematic universe. If it does well enough financially, it can still win me over in the long term.

I can't see this working well with fans of the traditional show as it does seem to lack that Scooby-Doo magic, mystery and intrigue that now makes me appreciate the 2002 version a lot more now. Instead, it went for the superhero angle that every other mainstream kids film is trying to do just for the sake of being typical. Doing that just makes it more forgettable and lost in a now endlessly growing pile of mediocre imitations. Plus, the modern references it used at times didn't feel right with the characters involved.

I thought it was ok and was mildly intriguing on the attempt of building a universe. But I just feel this could have been much better and make it feel more like a standalone Scooby-Doo film whilst also introducing us to a potential Hanna Barbera universe.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Capone

I had mixed feelings going into this one. I knew this wasn't getting that much buzz and the chosen story felt similar to the disappointing 2017 drama Churchill.

But this did have Tom Hardy in the leading role, who I am huge fan of. It also has Josh Trank as director, who I feel is becoming one of the unluckiest directors at the moment. The way studio executives treated his vision of Fantastic Four never gave us his vision of the beloved superhero group.

So despite hearing very little positive vibes, I felt I needed to give this a chance and see if I could be in the minority.

The story is definitely not one that most people would want or expect. But it managed to grow on me rather well and I felt engaged with the central character. Trank and his team managed to show at an interesting point in his life that you would never see in any other gangster films.
It's style and tone was winning me over, and it even made me not see the problems in a way that would detract my overall enjoyment.

Tom Hardy I felt was up and down in his performances. I felt some bits worked well with the tone. But other parts felt a bit over-the-top when it didn't need to be. He's really going for it. But sometimes, a bit of subtlety would have gone a long way in certain scenes.
Linda Cardellini and Matt Dillon has some nice supporting moments with Hardy on screen.

Its biggest positives are certainly its general production and look of the film. It's good to look at, the colour palette is pleasing and the style for the most part worked for me.

Sadly, it does have its negatives and there's enough for me to understand the sniffy reviews. There were scenes that felt out of place with the tone, some of the pacing felt inconsistent and as mentioned before, the choice of story is not much of a crowd-pleaser.

But while it has it's problems, this is most definitely an unconventional take on the gangster genre that I found to be engaging enough for me to be a passable and solid watch.
It gives Al Capone some humanity in this film. Its sees him at his most vulnerable and it is at a point of his life where you would naturally reflect on your past achievements.

Some set-pieces were solid in its execution. But others didn't quite work for me, including one interrogation scene that some may see to be the most unintentionally funniest moment in film this year. I can see many people not enjoying this, purely on the viewer expecting to see Capone in his prime. If you want to see that type of film, I would recommend the 1932 version of Scarface, Al Capone from 1959, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre or The Untouchables.

Like with all of his films, I always admire Trank's approach and vision to his projects. The finished project wasn't quite all there for me. But there are redeeming qualities that for me just about made it a worthwhile watch. Did I make to the minority? Not quite. But I'm certainly trying to open the door.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Bad Education

Without any knowledge of this until the initial buzz from its release on American TV channel HBO, I went into this as cold as you could get.

I think if it wasn't for the situation we are currently in, I don't think I would have discovered this.

But as we are in this predicament, it managed to check out a fascinating true story that made to be a very entertaining piece of work.

The first act really hooks you in and that is thanks a lot to Hugh Jackman's performance. He does a great job in the leading role and really dominates the screen. While he reels you in with his natural charisma, he pulls the rug from underneath you and see this disguised layer of sliminess that keeps you engaged.
But there was also a human side that was portrayed that you can sympathise with. While I don't know if that's how the actual person he is portrayed was like, it certainly helped the film. He makes you question whether he is a bad person, or if he just did a bad thing.

The film moved along nicely as you can see characters starting to fall apart as the revelations emerge and the final act gives you a satisfying conclusion to our central character.

As well as Jackman, the performances on the whole were all pretty good. Alison Janney had solid chemistry with Jackman and had shining moments in the first half especially. Ray Romano was as good as you would expect him to be.
Alex Wolff continues to show his natural talent. It might be a much smaller then his ones in Hereditary and the two latest Jumanji features. But he made great support with breakthrough youngster Geraldine Viswanathan. Her nuanced execution made her more engaging then you might expect and I would be interested where her future goes after this positive performance.

With it being distributed by HBO, the production is of course tip-top and the general look of it was very pleasant for the eyes.

From the same director of the very cool 'Thoroughbreds', I can certainly that magic touch in this. It is also interesting to know that the writer was a student at the school during the time of the incident. So it feels like we're getting a first hand account with a few of the expected added elements of drama to enhance the story.

So while I don't think there is enough great aspects to it, everything about is most enjoyable solid and very enjoyable.

The performances are good and the story is very well told with a lot of themes that really make you think twice about the central character. With it being based on a true story, it naturally just made the content on screen even more startling, and if like me you didn't know the story, then I would just go straight into watching this and read about the true events afterwards.

I hope this is the first of many films that struggled to get a cinematic release, get put out on a streaming service and be found and liked by many during this situation.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: Films Starring Clint Eastwood

As an actor, Clint Eastwood has become one of the biggest icons of the Western genre and it is in these films that introduced us to the man we now know. Many thanks to Sergio Leone for giving Eastwood his breakthrough.
Since then, Eastwood has been part more memorable Westerns along with thrilling action features and powerful award-winning dramas.

Now seen more of a director these days, the now 90 year-old should never be forgotten for giving such terrific performances that contributed some all-time favourites for many people.

Out of his 54 films, I have seen 37 of them so far. I will rank all of the ones that I have seen, and then give a short review for each of my top 10:

37) Firefox
36) True Crime
35) Every Which Way But Loose
34) The Dead Pool
33) Coogan's Bluff
32) Space Cowboys
31) The Mule
30) Sudden Impact
29) Joe Kidd
28) Blood Work
27) The Gauntlet
26) Bronco Billy
25) Heartbreak Ridge
24) Absolute Power
23) The Enforcer
22) Hang 'Em High
21) In The Line Of Fire
20) Two Mules For Sister Sara

19) Thunderbolt And Lightfoot
18) Magnum Force
17) Pale Rider
16) Play Misty For Me

15) Paint Your Wagon
14) Unforgiven
13) High Plains Drifter
12) Where Eagles Dare
11) The Bridges Of Madison County

10) A Perfect World - A thrilling drama that sees a kidnapped boy slowly strike a friendship with his captor.

While that is happening, the law is after them. Lead by Clint Eastwood who plays a Texas ranger.

Everyone does a great job in giving us a storing feature that Eastwood also directed.

9) The Outlaw Josey Wales - The first of four Westerns on the list has Eastwood star and direct a story about a farmer seeking revenge after soldiers killed his family.

Set during the American Civil War, this is a well constructed feature with strong characters, great action and all-round satisfying watch.

This is seen by many as the best of Eastwood's early work as director.

8) Kelly's Heroes - A fun war adventure-comedy that sees Eastwood lead a high-calibre cast of American soldiers moving across enemy lines to steal Nazi treasure.

A great combination of multiple genres and the almost the 2hrs 30mins duration fly by.

This is certainly a film that is hard to dislike.

7) Escape From Alcatraz - A very effective thriller based on the true escape story from the iconic San Francisco prison island.

This is a wonderfully told drama that has been a big favourite ever since its 1979 release.

Whether you know the story or not, the film adaptation still has you gripped.

6) Dirty Harry - Set during the rise of gritty crime dramas, this may be the best of that era.

When a psychotic killer is terrorizing the streets of San Francisco, a tough and tenacious policeman is assigned to track him down.

It's quotes continue to run through pop culture today and even it may seem similar to similar films of today. But this one certainly inspired them.

5) Million Dollar Baby - A moving sports drama that really ups the ante in the drama aspect.

It sees Hilary Swank play a determined woman looking to become a professional boxer. Eastwood alongside Morgan Freeman play Swank's trainers.

Winner of the Best Picture Academy Award, you can see why it took the plaudits.

4) Gran Torino - Seen by many as Eastwood's last all-time classic as both actor and director. It sees Clint play a Korean War veteran take a teenage neighbor under his wing whilst also standing up to a local gang.

It has excellent storytelling and universal themes that will never leave us.

3) For A Few Dollars More - The second chapter in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy sees Eastwood back as 'The Man With No Name'.

It sees two bounty hunters teaming up to track an outlaw.

Sadly, it doesn't get the credit it deserves compared to its other two installments. It's easily as brilliant and compelling and it does everything people enjoy about spaghetti Westerns.

2) A Fistful Of Dollars - The one that made Eastwood a worldwide star.
This also the beginning of the golden era of this sub-genre.

It sees a nameless gunfighter arrive in a town divided by two rival families, and looking to benefit from this feud.

This film is important in many ways and is also a fantastic watch from both a storytelling and style perspective.

1) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly - Seen by many as one of the greatest films of all-time and it's easy to see why.

This near 3hr epic sees two men begin an uneasy alliance tracking buried gold whilst a third man in also in pursuit.

Its sweeping backdrop, memorable set pieces and vintage spaghetti western style makes this an absolute blast.

My Top 10: Cameron Diaz Films

It was only on the date of publishing this post, that I realised that Cameron Diaz had retired from acting back in 2014. So I thought it would be a good time to see what are my favourite films involving Cameron Diaz.

I think many of us will never forget the time Diaz made her debut, and since then she has always had that magical presence that can sell any film.

It's a shame that she retired early, as I feel there are still some great performances in her arsenal. But for now, lets just say it's not one of my strongest top 10 lists. But there some great pieces of work that Diaz was part of, including one of my all-time underrated films.

I must mention that I'm not counting Diaz's role in Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. This is due to her screen-time on the film not being long enough for me to be part of this list.

Out of her 41 films, I have seen 23 of them.

23) Bad Teacher
22) The Counsellor
21) The Sweetest Thing

20) Knight And Day

19) What To Expect When You're Expecting
18) Sex Tape
17) Gambit
16) Annie
15) The Other Woman
14) Shrek The Third

13) The Holiday

12) Shrek Forever After

11) The Green Hornet

10) My Best Friend's Wedding - A rom-com that did enough to work for me. That is a very rare feat to accomplish.

When a women's (Julia Roberts) long-time best friend (Dermot Mulroney) reveals he's engaged, the sudden realisation of her love for him begins a mission to win him over just days before the wedding.

Diaz plays the women who is set out to get married to Mulroney's character and does the job nicely.

9) The Mask - The popular 90's action comedy that sees Jim Carrey play lonely bank clerk whose life is turned around after discovering a mysterious mask.

Diaz plays the desirable Tina Carlyle, a singer at the newest night club who is also girlfriend to a mobster.

It's bonkers fun, action-packed and instantly quotable. As for Diaz, you will NEVER see a more better introduction in an actor's feature film debut. 

8) There's Something About Mary - A very popular and entertaining 90's rom-com, which includes one of the most popular moments in 90's pop culture.

After completely failing his initial date back in high school, a man has another chance to ask out his dream girl as grown-ups.

The comedy is insane and all the cast do a great job of making great entertainment, and Diaz is one of them.

7) My Sister's Keeper - This late 2000's tear-jerking drama really hits the spot and is certainly the most emotional project Diaz has been part of.

It sees a teenager sue their parents to earn the right to control her medical decisions who has previously been used as a donor for her leukemia stricken sister.

Diaz plays the mother, and everyone does a great job in this effective and moving drama.

5) Gangs Of New York - A period epic from Martin Scorsese that sees Diaz alongside acting titans Leonardo DiCapiro and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Set in 19th century New York, it sees a young Irish immigrant return from prison seeking revenge on his father's killer.

While Diaz for some people sticks out like a sore thumb. The sweeping spectacle of this feature can't be ignored.

5) Being John Malkovich - A surreal fantasy comedy that manages to effectively translate the themes of human desires.

It's highly imaginative with good performances and it is easy to not recognise Diaz at first.

It is also the directorial debut for Spike Jonze. Along with writer Charlie Kaufman, it gave the industry something so different and fun that continues to show what this medium has the ability to offer.

4) Vanilla Sky - This underrated 2001 fantasy sees a vain wealthy businessman life turn upside-down after a vehicle accident.

It's a bit of a head-scratcher. But once everything clicks, it will be like nothing you've seen before.

While it sees Tom Cruise take the lead, Diaz goes out her comfort zone and plays a pretty psychotic woman. This may be the only time I can recall being truly terrified of Diaz in a film.

3) Any Given Sunday - A really in-your-face sports drama about a struggling American Football team that is turned around by a reserve quaterback.

It may be over-the-top. But it's certainly a strong piece with many memorable performances.

That includes Diaz, who plays the team's owner who is heavily under pressure on continuing her family's legacy of ownership.

2) Shrek - A ground-breaker for the animation genre and still as popular as it was back on its 2001 release.

It sees an ogre set out on rescuing a princess for a lord that is aiming on exiling all fairy-tale creatures.

It's self-aware humour works really well and it contains many memorable characters such as Diaz who voices Princess Fiona.

1) Shrek 2 - Diaz returns as Princess Fiona as the gang travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away to celebrate her marriage to Shrek.

However, certain people aim to stop this from this happening.

It's super fun, it expands the world beautifully with new characters and even more memorable scenes and gags.