Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:33 pm
I feel like I'm in an episode of the twilight zone. Ten years ago I was a huge Tarantino fan, genuinely so and I felt part of a clique of movie fans who can appreciate his work and dismiss those who didn't "get it".
So I was looking forward to Grindhouse. Harry Knowles at aintitcoolnews practically proclaimed it the reinvention of cinema itself. Every review was so incredibly positive, how could it possibly bad?
Well, I suddenly find myself outside the clique. Grindhouse was so smug, so self-important and so self-indulgent, it has put me off both Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez films for good (except the Sin City sequels). And with Death Proof, Tarantino has not only made his worst film but also one of the worst films ever (considering the talent and the budget).
But this is an opinion I can't seem to express. I am accused of not "getting it" (it's an homage of exploitation movies and the director has a foot fetish - is there anything else?) and that I should see more movies. The last time there was this reaction to my opinion was The English Patient.
Now Death Proof is out in the U.K. with half an hour of extra footage, Tarantino is on every chat show going and every review has been unanimously positive (fingers-crossed that Mark Kermode on radio five can talk (rant) some sense).
I can only conclude that the entire planet has been replaced by pod people who blindly worship this movie and I am Kevin McCarthy. You think I don't know... but I know!
So I was looking forward to Grindhouse. Harry Knowles at aintitcoolnews practically proclaimed it the reinvention of cinema itself. Every review was so incredibly positive, how could it possibly bad?
Well, I suddenly find myself outside the clique. Grindhouse was so smug, so self-important and so self-indulgent, it has put me off both Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez films for good (except the Sin City sequels). And with Death Proof, Tarantino has not only made his worst film but also one of the worst films ever (considering the talent and the budget).
But this is an opinion I can't seem to express. I am accused of not "getting it" (it's an homage of exploitation movies and the director has a foot fetish - is there anything else?) and that I should see more movies. The last time there was this reaction to my opinion was The English Patient.
Now Death Proof is out in the U.K. with half an hour of extra footage, Tarantino is on every chat show going and every review has been unanimously positive (fingers-crossed that Mark Kermode on radio five can talk (rant) some sense).
I can only conclude that the entire planet has been replaced by pod people who blindly worship this movie and I am Kevin McCarthy. You think I don't know... but I know!