Rank That: Top five Tarantino films

Quentin Tarantino is one of the best directors of all time, and probably my favorite. He’s the only director nowadays that just doesn’t care what people think of his movies. He’s going to make the movie he wants to make, no matter what, and I respect him for that. His films are all rated R, so if you’re into more tame movies, you won’t like these. With Once Upon A Time in Hollywood coming out this year, there’s no better time to release a top five list of Tarantino’s movies.

The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight brought together eight interesting characters with unique personalities. It was definitely exciting to see how they all interacted. Also, Samuel L. Jackson got a main role for the first time since Jackie Brown. He’s always fantastic in these movies. My one complaint might seem kind of strange: I was always aware that I was watching a movie. Now obviously everyone always knows they’re watching a movie, when they are. But, my point is that I wasn’t immersed in the world. I could tell that the characters were actors, and the plot sometimes seemed a little forced and not as natural. Also, the ending was slightly predictable. That being said, the dialogue was amazing and Jennifer Jason Leigh gave a perfect performance.

Kill Bill

Kill Bill is like an adrenaline rush. It’s an action-packed revenge story. The main character goes through so much trauma that you’re really rooting for her by the end. The use of flashbacks is exceptional. There are some moments that are so horrific, it’s like a car crash so bad you can’t look away. You’ll be entertained from beginning to end.

Django Unchained

This is an inspirational story of defying slavery. Performances don’t get much better than Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx. And Leonardo DiCaprio is terrifying as the slave owner. The costume design impressively makes Django go from a slave to a bounty hunter. I enjoy the moments when it doesn’t seem like there’s any way out of the scenario the characters are in, and yet they get out. The ending is a good example of that. Similar to Kill Bill, the protagonist goes through so much, it’s satisfying when he finally succeeds.

Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds is one of the best original movies of the 21st century. Christoph Waltz is also in this movie and gives an even better performance than in Django Unchained. From the first scene, the audience is pulled in. One of the frustrations with historical films is that you always know how they have to end. I always wanted a movie to just ignore what actually happened for once and surprise us. Fortunately, my wish came true through Inglourious Basterds. There’s not a scene in this movie that disappointed me. It’s the closest Tarantino has gotten to the number one spot.

Pulp Fiction

If anyone tries to tell you Pulp Fiction isn’t the best Quentin Tarantino film, they’re lying. This movie redefined what a movie was at the time. It doesn’t have one main protagonist. The characters you’re following throughout the film aren’t good people. The movie doesn’t even follow a linear timeline. There isn’t a movie out there with better dialogue. I believe this contains both Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta’s best performances of their careers. Pulp Fiction has the coolest characters you’ve ever seen. I’ve heard people call this movie boring, but I couldn’t disagree more. Yes, there are scenes that drag on slowly with seemingly nothing happening. But that just makes it that much more exciting when something does happen. And the exciting moments aren’t just “someone gets shot.” As much as I like that Tarantino does his own thing and includes a crazy amount of violence in his movies, this one actually seems a little scaled back compared to the others. That’s something I enjoyed. All the moments are earned and creatively done. Overall, Pulp Fiction isn’t just the best Quentin Tarantino movie. It’s one of the best movies of all time.