Ruminations on Quentin T.
Aug. 23rd, 2004 02:29 pmSo I saw Kill Bill Vol 1 the other night. I've seen Love & a .45. I've also seen some of Pulp Fiction.
Just my opinion of QT. Nothing more.
The man has style, yes. Style piled on style. Style of his own, style he's made his own, style, style, style. Yes.
He is insanely post-modern. He takes bits and pieces from many different sources and fuses it inot something that he strikes with lightning. His movies are quite literally Frankensteins. Impressive, but lurching.
I just can't really get fully into him. He seems like...well, he seems to be making a teenage boy's fantasy films, and they're really just not my cup of tea. He absolutely has talent. And obviously I am not making feature films, so I really don't have a lot of room to talk here. But I just wonder at the insane style of it all. The plot underneath doesn't seem to interest him as well. And he certainly wasn't looking for a super performance from his actors, though he gets it from a few. It's just that the relentless barrage of old-school kung fu images, homages to directors, wacky slo-mo and anime effects all do not add up to a full film in my book. I know that the suspension of reality is really what he's going for, but I am unable to comply. There are moments where I really caught something, and was interested, but for the most part it is really simply vapid, blood-soaked entertainment. I am just not prepared to lift his films into Great Cinema. (Though I am calling them films, so I am already showing some respect. Just not Grapes of Wrath respect.)
Once, when I was registering for classes at the community college I used to attend, I listened to a conversation between two guys who were standing behind me. They were talking about Pulp Fiction. They were describing the most harrowing, blood-soaked portions of the movie as if they were the coolest things they had ever seen. Every brutal moment was discussed in the most simplistic of terms with obvious adoration. The needle in the heart scene was spoken of in awe. Apparently the violence of it all was the best part of the movie for them, and that's what they left with. I just can't say the same for myself. His characters behave as if they know they are in a movie, and I just wish they acted as if they didn't know the script a little.
Must actually get around to doing work now...
Just my opinion of QT. Nothing more.
The man has style, yes. Style piled on style. Style of his own, style he's made his own, style, style, style. Yes.
He is insanely post-modern. He takes bits and pieces from many different sources and fuses it inot something that he strikes with lightning. His movies are quite literally Frankensteins. Impressive, but lurching.
I just can't really get fully into him. He seems like...well, he seems to be making a teenage boy's fantasy films, and they're really just not my cup of tea. He absolutely has talent. And obviously I am not making feature films, so I really don't have a lot of room to talk here. But I just wonder at the insane style of it all. The plot underneath doesn't seem to interest him as well. And he certainly wasn't looking for a super performance from his actors, though he gets it from a few. It's just that the relentless barrage of old-school kung fu images, homages to directors, wacky slo-mo and anime effects all do not add up to a full film in my book. I know that the suspension of reality is really what he's going for, but I am unable to comply. There are moments where I really caught something, and was interested, but for the most part it is really simply vapid, blood-soaked entertainment. I am just not prepared to lift his films into Great Cinema. (Though I am calling them films, so I am already showing some respect. Just not Grapes of Wrath respect.)
Once, when I was registering for classes at the community college I used to attend, I listened to a conversation between two guys who were standing behind me. They were talking about Pulp Fiction. They were describing the most harrowing, blood-soaked portions of the movie as if they were the coolest things they had ever seen. Every brutal moment was discussed in the most simplistic of terms with obvious adoration. The needle in the heart scene was spoken of in awe. Apparently the violence of it all was the best part of the movie for them, and that's what they left with. I just can't say the same for myself. His characters behave as if they know they are in a movie, and I just wish they acted as if they didn't know the script a little.
Must actually get around to doing work now...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 10:45 pm (UTC)So, uhh... yeah. Hi. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 11:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 11:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 11:12 pm (UTC)OK...I just ran over to
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 11:15 pm (UTC)Oh, do you use AIM or anything like that?
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 11:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-23 11:21 pm (UTC)