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Is Quentin Tarantino a hack? (1 Viewer)

Is Quentin Tarantino a hack?


  • Total voters
    398
Inglorious Basterds was stupid.
How eloquent.
This came across more crass than I intended. I don't mind people hating a movie. It's just that "stupid" doesn't really say much.
I could type up 17 paragraphs of why it was stupid or I could just sum it up succinctly with one word. I enjoyed the opening scene. The rest of movie was an excuse to show how much special effects gore Tarantino could afford and an exercise in fantasy history. You didn't think the murder of Hitler was just a touch silly? Sorry, but I hated it and I didn't care for the movie at all. Except for the opening scene.
No. Put a Jewish-American vigilante in that exact situation back in the 1940s, and I am sure they'd be drunk with power while firing the killing shots into Hitler's body to the point where they'd just keep shooting and shooting and shooting. I thought it was very realistic in that regard.
 
So, if I find David Lynch movies like Blue Velvet and Dune comedic - is that a good thing or a bad thing in wikkidpissah's world? Just trying to get a frame of reference here.
Finding your own reason to laugh at anything is great and i think Lynch, whom i generally dont get or like, is a genuine enough auteur to support your doing so. QT, on the other hand, would survail all future laughter if he felt any directed at him and restage it with army men each night, like Napoleon over Eylau, in search of glib but mortal defense.
You know I love ya Wikkid but I really think you have seriously over thought QT. And to be honest it comes off as if the guy owes you money.
I plead guilty to using him as a conduit for my hate of fanboys and the feckless glib of junk culture.
But aren't we all fanboys of something? I have seen you express more than a modicum of fandom for a few things. And really isn't all new culture junk culture to someone? For example a 1950's Wikkid might have thought everything after 1962 was junk culture. Now I am not saying current pop culture isn't full of junk. But really all pop culture has always been about finding the wheat in the chaff IMO.
This is a really good point. To me, "fanboy" says you are so into something you look kind of silly. Sorry, but I love enthusiasm - especially when it's directed at art. I remember asking a fellow musician in college once who his influences were, and he said he didn't listen to popular music of any kind. He only listened to his own stuff. That just came across as pretentious.
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: That's quite possibly the most pretentious thing I've ever heard.

 
I remember asking a fellow musician in college once who his influences were, and he said he didn't listen to popular music of any kind. He only listened to his own stuff. That just came across as pretentious.
And dishonest. I don't know who the 1st musician was, but every musician since that person has been influenced by other musicians.
Most great musicians have wide influences, moreso than their typical fans.
 
I remember asking a fellow musician in college once who his influences were, and he said he didn't listen to popular music of any kind. He only listened to his own stuff. That just came across as pretentious.
And dishonest. I don't know who the 1st musician was, but every musician since that person has been influenced by other musicians.
Most great musicians have wide influences, moreso than their typical fans.
Yep.
 
Great Tarantino interview on Sirius Foxxhole with Jamie Foxx. Foxx is a bad interviewer - says "wow" every minute - but Tarantino goes into the story of his career, even talks about how Pulp Fiction was constructed.

Foxxhole UnchainedToday 3:00 pm ETJamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino get together for an exclusive sit down where they talk about their new movie Django Unchained, the racial dynamics of America, Pulp Fiction, and breaking into the movie industry.Rebroadcast: Tonight 8:00 pm ET; Tomorrow 8:00 am ET; Tomorrow 4:00 pm ET; Tomorrow 7:00 pm ET; Tomorrow 9:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 2:00 am ET; Sat 12/22 9:00 am ET; Sat 12/22 11:00 am ET; Sat 12/22 2:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 4:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 6:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 8:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 10:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 1:00 am ET; Sun 12/23 10:00 am ET; Sun 12/23 12:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 3:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 5:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 7:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 9:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 7:00 am ET; Mon 12/24 9:00 am ET; Mon 12/24 11:00 am ET; Mon 12/24 1:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 4:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 6:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 8:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 11:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 1:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 3:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 5:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 8:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 10:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 12:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 2:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 4:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 6:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 8:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 10:00 pm ET
 
Yes (28 votes [11.97%] - View) :lmao:
Yeah, that's 28 people that don't know what hack means.
I wouldnt say he's a hack per say but he is mocked as being a thief. Obviously many can interpret that different ways. He's made some good films and some garbage :shrug:
Please list the garbage ones
Death Proof.. Kathy Griffin and Margarat ChoI know its hard to believe that people have no idea how much this guy is mocked in hollywood but he is.. for a reason. No skin off my back though.
 
Yes (28 votes [11.97%] - View) :lmao:
Yeah, that's 28 people that don't know what hack means.
I wouldnt say he's a hack per say but he is mocked as being a thief. Obviously many can interpret that different ways. He's made some good films and some garbage :shrug:
Please list the garbage ones
Death Proof.. Kathy Griffin and Margarat ChoI know its hard to believe that people have no idea how much this guy is mocked in hollywood but he is.. for a reason. No skin off my back though.
Death Proof is one movie... I don't care who he ####s.
 
Great Tarantino interview on Sirius Foxxhole with Jamie Foxx. Foxx is a bad interviewer - says "wow" every minute - but Tarantino goes into the story of his career, even talks about how Pulp Fiction was constructed.

Foxxhole Unchained

Today 3:00 pm ET

Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino get together for an exclusive sit down where they talk about their new movie Django Unchained, the racial dynamics of America, Pulp Fiction, and breaking into the movie industry.

Rebroadcast: Tonight 8:00 pm ET; Tomorrow 8:00 am ET; Tomorrow 4:00 pm ET; Tomorrow 7:00 pm ET; Tomorrow 9:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 2:00 am ET; Sat 12/22 9:00 am ET; Sat 12/22 11:00 am ET; Sat 12/22 2:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 4:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 6:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 8:00 pm ET; Sat 12/22 10:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 1:00 am ET; Sun 12/23 10:00 am ET; Sun 12/23 12:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 3:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 5:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 7:00 pm ET; Sun 12/23 9:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 7:00 am ET; Mon 12/24 9:00 am ET; Mon 12/24 11:00 am ET; Mon 12/24 1:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 4:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 6:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 8:00 pm ET; Mon 12/24 11:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 1:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 3:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 5:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 8:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 10:00 am ET; Tues 12/25 12:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 2:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 4:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 6:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 8:00 pm ET; Tues 12/25 10:00 pm ET
See That Again: Foxxhole Unchained 12.14.2012 MP3: http://www.mediafire.com/?xmk4bf69eoo7bbn … or http://www.hulkshare.com/wlrwvixpvaio Stream: http://seethatagain.blogspot.com/2012/12/foxxhole-unchained-12142012.html?spref=tw
 
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.

Everything he does just feels so narcissistic and self-indulgent to me for some reason, like his personality comes through in every single scene, and I can't stand the guy so I can't stand his movies. I realize that's probably just my own baggage that I'm taking into the films, but still, that's where I land.

To me, I think his most interesting work was when he was first starting out and had this ingrained sense that he needed to prove himself. At some point, I think his ego and his success collided and he became satisfied that the world knows what a phenomenally gifted filmmaker he is... To me, this has taken the edge off of his game. He seems to have gone to more of a "everything I do is gold, so I'm just going to go play in the sandbox again" approach... Everything he does gets progressively less interesting to me.

The other possibility is that I enjoyed his movies, and his style, when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm older I've just outgrown him. I don't know. Either way, I vote 'hack' but only in the sense that he's overrated. He's not really a hack per se.

 
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.

Everything he does just feels so narcissistic and self-indulgent to me for some reason, like his personality comes through in every single scene, and I can't stand the guy so I can't stand his movies. I realize that's probably just my own baggage that I'm taking into the films, but still, that's where I land.

To me, I think his most interesting work was when he was first starting out and had this ingrained sense that he needed to prove himself. At some point, I think his ego and his success collided and he became satisfied that the world knows what a phenomenally gifted filmmaker he is... To me, this has taken the edge off of his game. He seems to have gone to more of a "everything I do is gold, so I'm just going to go play in the sandbox again" approach... Everything he does gets progressively less interesting to me.

The other possibility is that I enjoyed his movies, and his style, when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm older I've just outgrown him. I don't know. Either way, I vote 'hack' but only in the sense that he's overrated. He's not really a hack per se.
I thought Jackie Brown was pretty good. Not up there with PF or RD. I wouldn't call that one self-indulgent.

 
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.
Jackie Brown is personally my favorite, and I think that has the best collection of acting of all of his films (havent seen Django). Four Rooms doesnt deserve mentioning as he only directed one scene. I dont get that sense that you do when watching his films, but Basterds especially has a couple of the greatest and most memorable scenes of recent memory.Death Proof is his only film that Id say I didnt like a lot or think was very good, but I still enjoyed it. So to me, he has yet to make a bad film or even something I rate less than like 3/5

 
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.

Everything he does just feels so narcissistic and self-indulgent to me for some reason, like his personality comes through in every single scene, and I can't stand the guy so I can't stand his movies. I realize that's probably just my own baggage that I'm taking into the films, but still, that's where I land.

To me, I think his most interesting work was when he was first starting out and had this ingrained sense that he needed to prove himself. At some point, I think his ego and his success collided and he became satisfied that the world knows what a phenomenally gifted filmmaker he is... To me, this has taken the edge off of his game. He seems to have gone to more of a "everything I do is gold, so I'm just going to go play in the sandbox again" approach... Everything he does gets progressively less interesting to me.

The other possibility is that I enjoyed his movies, and his style, when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm older I've just outgrown him. I don't know. Either way, I vote 'hack' but only in the sense that he's overrated. He's not really a hack per se.
Four Rooms - you need to count only the final scene (cutting off the finger), that's his. It's OK. Definitely the best thing in the movie, which sucked other than that.You forgot From Dusk Till Dawn. He did the first part of it, before they get to the bar. I thought that part of the movie was really good.

I absolutely love Dogs, Pulp Fiction. Also like Jackie Brown a lot.

I thought Kill Bill part I was OK, I really like Kill Bill part II. I need to watch part I again, but I didn't care for the crazy 88s stuff.

I still haven't gotten around to watching Inglorious Basterds because my wife would hate it so I need to watch that one by myself.

Death Proof was horrible IMO.

Can't wait to see Django!

Favorite director for me is very close between Kubrick and Tarantino. Whether Tarantino becomes my favorite will depend on his body of work from here on out.

 
Great Tarantino interview on Sirius Foxxhole with Jamie Foxx. Foxx is a bad interviewer - says "wow" every minute - but Tarantino goes into the story of his career, even talks about how Pulp Fiction was constructed.
In this interview he mentions banging a child star in 1994 he idolized as a kid. I'm thinking it would have to be one of the Brady Bunch? What other child star would a 12yo be obsessed with in the early 70s?
 
I just wish Tarantino would challenge himself just a little. Here's an unpopular opinion. I think I probably prefer the Wachowskis' filmography to Tarantino's once you lop off the stuff Tarantino did before Lana and Andy arrived on the scene. And that's even considering that I don't unreservedly love any Wachowski movie and that the movie of theirs I probably like most is Speed Racer.

But I don't know what any Wachowski movie is going to be like. Meanwhile, Inglorius Basterds was exactly what I thought it would be. As were the Kill Bill movies. And Django Unchained seems to be exactly the cross between a Sergio Leone movie and Mandingo we could have expected.

 
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.

Everything he does just feels so narcissistic and self-indulgent to me for some reason, like his personality comes through in every single scene, and I can't stand the guy so I can't stand his movies. I realize that's probably just my own baggage that I'm taking into the films, but still, that's where I land.

To me, I think his most interesting work was when he was first starting out and had this ingrained sense that he needed to prove himself. At some point, I think his ego and his success collided and he became satisfied that the world knows what a phenomenally gifted filmmaker he is... To me, this has taken the edge off of his game. He seems to have gone to more of a "everything I do is gold, so I'm just going to go play in the sandbox again" approach... Everything he does gets progressively less interesting to me.

The other possibility is that I enjoyed his movies, and his style, when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm older I've just outgrown him. I don't know. Either way, I vote 'hack' but only in the sense that he's overrated. He's not really a hack per se.
A very well-reasoned post.However, since you've attributed vanity and narcissism to Tarantino, it begs the question: how would you feel if you knew all the heavy weight directors were vain narcissists? Because I have little doubt that's true. I think when we venture to assume we know what's in an artist's head, we tread into a slippery slope. I think it's safe to assume we wouldn't like most of these people.

 
I know its hard to believe that people have no idea how much this guy is mocked in hollywood but he is..
So the community that produced Battleship and A-Team: The Movie mock Tarantino. Interesting.
yeah, at least Tarantino rips off obscure stuff from the 70's, instead of 80's tv shows, toys and boardgames.
Yes, and he blends this that material into something that's unique to him and enjoyable to audiences who aren't familiar with the source material. When I go into a Tarantino movie, I know I'm going to see something very different and much more playful than anything else showing in the cineplex that day. That automatically puts him in the top 5% of people who make movies in the modern era.

 
Yes, and he blends this that material into something that's unique to him and enjoyable to audiences who aren't familiar with the source material. When I go into a Tarantino movie, I know I'm going to see something very different and much more playful than anything else showing in the cineplex that day. That automatically puts him in the top 5% of people who make movies in the modern era.
so you agree that he just re-shapes other people's ideas? Which is one of the reasons why he takes #### from people :shrug:
 
'Sweet Feet said:
I know its hard to believe that people have no idea how much this guy is mocked in hollywood but he is..
So the community that produced Battleship and A-Team: The Movie mock Tarantino. Interesting.
Hollywood has fallen off but Tarantino deserves some of the things said about him. I dont care either way but he's extremely obnoxious so it doesnt shock me people chirp about him.
He's obnoxious & a blowhard but it doesn't diminish my affection for his films
 
Pop culture salad.
This is a facile argument. Contending Tarantino's simply an amalgam of pop culture references implies his peers are not utterly steeped in the same phenomenon. Your entire life is infused with the art, culture, and memes from your early to middle years. Every director succumbs to some form of nostalgia.
 
Do you people that call Tarantino derivative really believe he's alone in doing that?
This poll is about Tarantino being a hack or not. If you don't believe so, fine. Just let it go.
Why would I let it go in a full length discussion about this very same subject?
Because it's obvious that whoever disagrees with you is just plain wrong because you say so.
No. Definitely not. This isn't a question of fact - like the age of the Earth. This is a matter of opinion.
 
Do you people that call Tarantino derivative really believe he's alone in doing that?
This poll is about Tarantino being a hack or not. If you don't believe so, fine. Just let it go.
Why would I let it go in a full length discussion about this very same subject?
Because it's obvious that whoever disagrees with you is just plain wrong because you say so.
No. Definitely not. This isn't a question of fact - like the age of the Earth. This is a matter of opinion.
Oh thanks for not patronizing me there. I think you can find out more about Earth's history in all those comic books/graphic novels Tarantino gets his ideas from. He certainly got the History of the Third Reich from them to script Inglorious Bastards.
 
Do you people that call Tarantino derivative really believe he's alone in doing that?
This poll is about Tarantino being a hack or not. If you don't believe so, fine. Just let it go.
Why would I let it go in a full length discussion about this very same subject?
Because it's obvious that whoever disagrees with you is just plain wrong because you say so.
No. Definitely not. This isn't a question of fact - like the age of the Earth. This is a matter of opinion.
Oh thanks for not patronizing me there. I think you can find out more about Earth's history in all those comic books/graphic novels Tarantino gets his ideas from. He certainly got the History of the Third Reich from them to script Inglorious Bastards.
Dude, no need to get defensive.
 
Do you people that call Tarantino derivative really believe he's alone in doing that?
This poll is about Tarantino being a hack or not. If you don't believe so, fine. Just let it go.
Why would I let it go in a full length discussion about this very same subject?
Because it's obvious that whoever disagrees with you is just plain wrong because you say so.
No. Definitely not. This isn't a question of fact - like the age of the Earth. This is a matter of opinion.
Oh thanks for not patronizing me there. I think you can find out more about Earth's history in all those comic books/graphic novels Tarantino gets his ideas from. He certainly got the History of the Third Reich from them to script Inglorious Bastards.
Dude, no need to get defensive.
Yeah, throwing in the age of the Earth is something that has to do with Tarantino being a hack. That's not being defensive.
 
Do you people that call Tarantino derivative really believe he's alone in doing that?
This poll is about Tarantino being a hack or not. If you don't believe so, fine. Just let it go.
Why would I let it go in a full length discussion about this very same subject?
Because it's obvious that whoever disagrees with you is just plain wrong because you say so.
No. Definitely not. This isn't a question of fact - like the age of the Earth. This is a matter of opinion.
Oh thanks for not patronizing me there. I think you can find out more about Earth's history in all those comic books/graphic novels Tarantino gets his ideas from. He certainly got the History of the Third Reich from them to script Inglorious Bastards.
Dude, no need to get defensive.
Yeah, throwing in the age of the Earth is something that has to do with Tarantino being a hack. That's not being defensive.
You've completely misread all this. I said that differing opinions can be valid, and you took that as an insult.
 
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.

Everything he does just feels so narcissistic and self-indulgent to me for some reason, like his personality comes through in every single scene, and I can't stand the guy so I can't stand his movies. I realize that's probably just my own baggage that I'm taking into the films, but still, that's where I land.

To me, I think his most interesting work was when he was first starting out and had this ingrained sense that he needed to prove himself. At some point, I think his ego and his success collided and he became satisfied that the world knows what a phenomenally gifted filmmaker he is... To me, this has taken the edge off of his game. He seems to have gone to more of a "everything I do is gold, so I'm just going to go play in the sandbox again" approach... Everything he does gets progressively less interesting to me.

The other possibility is that I enjoyed his movies, and his style, when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm older I've just outgrown him. I don't know. Either way, I vote 'hack' but only in the sense that he's overrated. He's not really a hack per se.
A very well-reasoned post.However, since you've attributed vanity and narcissism to Tarantino, it begs the question: how would you feel if you knew all the heavy weight directors were vain narcissists? Because I have little doubt that's true. I think when we venture to assume we know what's in an artist's head, we tread into a slippery slope. I think it's safe to assume we wouldn't like most of these people.
Fair point, for sure. With Tarantino though, I'm not sure that I'm assuming those traits - I could be mistaken, but I'm almost positive I've seen an interview with him where he more or less jokingly admited to his arrogance. Regardless, yeah, it's definitely a slippery slope to start judging art based on the artist. At the very least, I'm sure if I loved his films I'd look past the person though - but they just don't resonate with me much anymore.Honestly, I don't think it will happen but I kind of hope Django bombs to the point where he's embarrassed by it. I think some humility could bring out the best in him. It'd be great if his career doesn't end with Pulp Fiction as his critical masterpiece... If his best film was still yet to come.

 
I don't think he's a hack. However, i do find his films predictable. When I watch a Tarantino movie I never forget that it's a Tarantino movie. That's good for some people but not necessarily my cup of tea.

 
Yes, and he blends this that material into something that's unique to him and enjoyable to audiences who aren't familiar with the source material. When I go into a Tarantino movie, I know I'm going to see something very different and much more playful than anything else showing in the cineplex that day. That automatically puts him in the top 5% of people who make movies in the modern era.
so you agree that he just re-shapes other people's ideas? Which is one of the reasons why he takes #### from people :shrug:
Tarantino re-shapes other people's ideas in the same way that a rapper might sample somebody else's music in his own work. Nothing wrong with either.
 
I don't think he's a hack. However, i do find his films predictable. When I watch a Tarantino movie I never forget that it's a Tarantino movie. That's good for some people but not necessarily my cup of tea.
I thought of basterds as a pitt movie the whole time i watched it. Somehow he dominated with that crappy accent.
 
'Frankbot said:
Well I'm one of the few 'yes' votes on this, so I may as well post my thinking here. To me, Tarantino is as overrated as they come. Looking over his director credits and outside of Reservoir and Pulp, Kill Bill would be the only film I liked at all.

[*]Reservoir Dogs

[*]Pulp Fiction

[*]Four Rooms

[*]Jackie Brown

[*]Kill Bill (I & II)

[*]Grindhouse

[*]Inglourious Basterds

[*]Django Unchained

Every other film, including Basterds, I just remember rolling my eyes throughout. Something about his movies, and the dialogue, makes me just picture Quentin on the other side of the camera chuckling to himself all smug and self-satisfied like he just shot the greatest thing ever.

Everything he does just feels so narcissistic and self-indulgent to me for some reason, like his personality comes through in every single scene, and I can't stand the guy so I can't stand his movies. I realize that's probably just my own baggage that I'm taking into the films, but still, that's where I land.

To me, I think his most interesting work was when he was first starting out and had this ingrained sense that he needed to prove himself. At some point, I think his ego and his success collided and he became satisfied that the world knows what a phenomenally gifted filmmaker he is... To me, this has taken the edge off of his game. He seems to have gone to more of a "everything I do is gold, so I'm just going to go play in the sandbox again" approach... Everything he does gets progressively less interesting to me.

The other possibility is that I enjoyed his movies, and his style, when I was in my early 20's but now that I'm older I've just outgrown him. I don't know. Either way, I vote 'hack' but only in the sense that he's overrated. He's not really a hack per se.
A very well-reasoned post.However, since you've attributed vanity and narcissism to Tarantino, it begs the question: how would you feel if you knew all the heavy weight directors were vain narcissists? Because I have little doubt that's true. I think when we venture to assume we know what's in an artist's head, we tread into a slippery slope. I think it's safe to assume we wouldn't like most of these people.
Fair point, for sure. With Tarantino though, I'm not sure that I'm assuming those traits - I could be mistaken, but I'm almost positive I've seen an interview with him where he more or less jokingly admited to his arrogance. Regardless, yeah, it's definitely a slippery slope to start judging art based on the artist. At the very least, I'm sure if I loved his films I'd look past the person though - but they just don't resonate with me much anymore.Honestly, I don't think it will happen but I kind of hope Django bombs to the point where he's embarrassed by it. I think some humility could bring out the best in him. It'd be great if his career doesn't end with Pulp Fiction as his critical masterpiece... If his best film was still yet to come.
Funny, because I just saw Tarantino on Charlie Rose the other night, and I thought he came across very well. I see him as a guy that loves movies. I think his enthusiasm comes across as hubris. I don't know, I am a very enthusiastic, passionate dude. I work in the creative field (LOOK AT ME!), and I don't know any other way to be.I know Pulp is widely regarded as his best movie. I think Jackie Brown is every bit as good. It's not equipped with the same tricks. But the acting is outstanding and the dialogue is some of Tarantino's best.

 

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