Death Proof (2007) review

Quentin Tarantino is my all-time favourite film-maker for his brilliant dialogue, his creative stories and his fantastic casting choices which all fuse together to often create a cinematic masterpiece. "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs" and "Django Unchained" hold a spot in my personal top 20 for its incredibly entertaining dialogue, often humorous violence, endearing characters and the brilliant pacing. Going into Death Proof, I knew that this would be my least favourite Tarantino film but what I didn't know was that nothing I loved about Tarantino would be in this film.

The film focuses around a stuntman who has a "death proof" car that he uses for stunts in films. Going by the name of Stuntman Mike, he comes to the position in which he decides to use this car to chase after drunk and idiotic women and kill them.

One of the biggest mistakes made by Tarantino is the idea to kill our supposed protagonists an hour into the film. Unlike in Psycho (1960), in which the second hour picks up from the events of the first, here the story is in almost no way affected by what has happened and we as an audience are forced to take it in. What should’ve happened was having Zoe Bell and her friends being killed off early in the film and then established our main characters (who we saw in the opening hour of the film)

The first hour builds up using various dialogue sequences that unfortunately cannot capture the magic of previous Tarantino scripts. A sequence ensues with our supposed main character and her friends talking to Stuntman Mike but a few minutes later, they are dispatched. This half of the film should’ve come second, especially seeing how the events of the second half are hardly focused on. Stuntman Mike pops up and chases after another bunch of girls who eventually take him down. The film should’ve had these group of girls being taken out fairly early in the film, especially seeing how there were roles by Zoe Bell and a few others. This should’ve been a cameo role in which she and her friends are taken out by Stuntman Mike, who then proceeds to kill another group of girls after meeting them at a restaurant. This would’ve created a bit more tension seeing how our main character does have any sort of connection to Stuntman Mike. 

Tarantino’s strength has always been his dialogue which is always entertaining. He has created some of my all-time favourite dialogue but here, none of his dialogue is slightly entertaining. In previous films, we are able to follow his dialogue such as when Jules and Vincent are talking about “royale with cheese” but here, we are forced to painfully swallow 90 minutes of girls gossiping about sex and boyfriends which is neither humorous nor clever. The group of girls come off as nothing but gossip girls and in that way, doesn’t resemble Tarantino’s earlier brilliance. 

The performances itself were very disappointing, especially seeing how Tarantino is able to get the best performances out of his cast such as with Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Christoph Waltz. In fact, the only worthwhile performance is Kurt Russel as Stuntman Mike but the supporting performances are weak.

The pacing too is horrendous as each dialogue sequence takes forever to move on. In other Tarantino flicks, we are engaged with the dialogue that we lose track of time however horrible acting, terrible writing and poor directing is exposed making us simply feel the need to check out our watch. 

The only positive aspect I could say about the film is the absurd car chase sequences which definitely boost up the overall score of the film. They are long, somewhat funny and surprisingly entertaining. Though some of the most illogical decisions are made, which furiates me, the chase sequences itself were more entertaining than every other aspect of the film combined. The first entertaining scene was about 45 minutes into the film where this girl gets a ride from Mike, who brutally dispatches her. This scene brought the first energetic smile out of me for the whole film. That brought back what Catwoman said in The Dark Knight Rises. “My mother warned me about getting into cars with strange men!”

Earlier, I suggested a different way in which the story should be structured which immediately reveals Tarantino's poor directing. The dialogue itself, which Tarantino is a master of, is absolutely horrendous and the only way in which the film is somewhat enjoyable is through absurd car chases. That said, the end to the film was about as anti-climatic as a film could get and made me laugh. 

Grade- 3.5/10

#4- Pulp Fiction (1994) review

Just before the release of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino wasn’t a big name in the movie industry at that time, like directors such as Martin Scorsese. However, following the release of Pulp Fiction, Tarantino emerged as one of cinema’s greatest writers/directors, all thanks to Pulp Fiction even if Reservoir Dogs was his very first film

Pulp Fiction collectively tells the story of two hitmen, a mob boss, a boxer and the mob bosses’ wife living out their lives and naturally being involved with crime. The great thing about Pulp Fiction is the perfect tying in of every single thing that happened in the film whether it be one of Tarantino’s extremely engaging conversations or just a murder, or a simple joke. 

Unlike other crime films such as The Godfather which is so full of heart, Pulp Fiction is an illustration of what life would be like under crime never showing any hints of emotion even when main characters are tortured as is Butch, in one specific scene. Tarantino was aware that his style and approach towards this now crime masterpiece was unique at the time for various reasons, especially the storytelling which is utter Tarantino brilliance.

When a film does not have heart but more so violence and heavy crime, there needs to be endearing characters spread throughout one of these films for us to really engage and immerse ourselves in such a world where crime is life. Thankfully, Tarantino by this stage had completely mastered how to write not only dialogue but his characters who are some of my all time favorites. Samuel L Jackson plays Jules Winnfield, a foul mouthed hit man and a friend of Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta. The two share incredible chemistry and are an absolute joy whenever they share a moment of screen time. Thankfully, there’s more than a moment! There’s a whole story and a half with the two, which is how Pulp Fiction is told. It is told throughout various stories taking place in different characters’ lives all of which share some necessity to the end of the film, whether it be Jules executing an innocent Brett or whether it be about Butch receiving advice from Marsellus Wallace. Even though ‘The Bonnie Situation’ is my favourite story, I love all three stories equally which is what Tarantino intended and which is what he succeeds at thankfully. However, ‘The Gold Watch’ segment is more engaging than I remember the last time I viewed this film. It is full of humor and is probably the only story that features any emotion depth in any way, yet the film in every way turns out a piece of legend! 

Every single actor does their part perfectly. Jackson and Travolta are the true stars of this film, figuratively and literally. However, the supporting cast consisting of Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer and Christopher Walken all do a fantastic job. Even Tarantino himself has a role in the film and whilst this is one of the weaker performances in the film, it still has some great moments. This is where the film truly dominates most of cinema’s films. Not in the story or the acting, or even the direction. But in the dialogue. I am not someone who gets engaged to dialogue to the extent I have in Pulp Fiction, which is quite possibly the most quotable film I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. Tarantino is able to perfectly place everyday conversations into a unique crime film in a way that not only is it entertaining but it develops characters and a story. Most of the characters are completely understood from the dialogue they say. Some of my favourite dialogue ever came from Jackson and some other fantastic lines from Travolta and Willis.

This film is one of the most perfectly paced 150 minute films. To think that by the end of this film, I truly wonder what has happened to time completely tells that when one is able to forget about the duration of a film, they are immersed and that is what I was. I was taken into a world full of crime and violence, so empty of peace and happiness which is simply not where I want to ever be but was able to take myself and accept myself into such a world. Everything about Pulp Fiction is utterly perfect and when you add the incredible entertainment factor and the high re-watchability factor that Pulp Fiction has, then you basically find yourself having a timeless masterpiece that is not only Tarantino’s best but one of the all time greats. 

Grade- 10/10 

Most deserved!!!!  

#5- Django Unchained (2012) review

#8- Reservoir Dogs (1992) review

#20- Inglourious Basterds (2009) review

Quentin Tarantino is just one of those directors/writers that when one of his films are released, it is simply one of the occasions where missing out on school or work is perfectly legitimate. Prior to the release of Django Unchained, I had decided to watch Inglourious Basterds for the very first time. That was back in January.

Tarantino is simply my favorite director. I adore his work. Every single one of Tarantino's films that I've seen are films I love with three of them already having a spot reserved in my all time top 10! However, Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino's one film that I wasn't sure whether it was a good Tarantino film or not when I first saw it. Due to my love for Tarantino's work, I decided to re-visit Inglourious Basterds and boy..can opinions change so much! 

Not only is Inglourious Basterds the best film of the year, it is also one of the best films of its decade and is also one of Tarantino's top four films, in my opinion. Inglourious Basterds plays out in two separate storylines, dealing with a group of Jewish badass soldiers who call themselves the Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt, whose only job is to execute Nazis and teach them that the Jews are strong and have a strong taste for revenge! Lt Raine expects a 100 Nazi scalps from each of his soldiers and when news comes that the Germans are hosting one of their newest films, the Basterds take this as the opportunity to strike out the Nazis and clear the war. The Basterds plan co-incides with that of a young girl named Shoshana who fled from the Jew Hunter. After witnessing the remainder of the her family killed, Shoshana operates a cinema following her escape. When the film is convinced to be hosted at her cinema, she prepares to take her revenge once and for all. Pretty much, Inglourious Basterds is a revenge tale does in Tarantino style like 'Kill Bill' and 'Django Unchained'



Tarantino's biggest strength is undeniably, his mastery of writing and that is no denying. It is the core of his works and is no exception in this case. Inglourious Basterds is so full of amazing dialogue and provides us with plenty of laughs and frights. His writing is nothing short of masterful and his direction is just as same. A well directed Tarantino film is clearly evident from the amazing dialogue, the great story and sequences, interesting characters and fantastic soundtracks, which this film posses. The acting is unbelievable with scene stealers being, at the time newcomer, Christoph Waltz and Brad Pitt who give out amazing and energetic performances, giving it the very best they got! Other members of the supporting cast do a fantastic job, such as Michael Fassbender and narrator and Tarantino veteran, Samuel L Jackson! 


There is this sequence early on in the film that features the Jew Hunter as he travels to a man's house, who is rumored to hiding Jews. He begins a conversation and comparison about rats and how the rats are indeed the Jews and that we humans, being the Nazis and others, would never let a rat enter the house because they are filthy, uncivilized and dangerous creatures. This sequence was full of clever dialogue, displayed amazing charisma from Waltz and had incredible amounts of intensity and laughs. This is indeed the first chapter of the story and despite going on for over 20 minutes, not at one point did I honestly find it boring, in the slightest. To be honest, there are two issues I had with the film, and honestly, they aren't huge issues. There is a ten minute period in a cafe featuring several Jews masquerading as Nazis in order to get into a cinema. In the cafe, this sequence plays along for a while with a few card games and guessing games, that it actually gets rather boring which is a sad thing to say, considering I have never been bored in most other Tarantino films but this is overlooked as the conclusion to this film is beyond explanation. The second problem being that several of the chapters of the film are subtitled and can be a little more frustrating to have to read, considering that this is fantastic dialogue. Even that is a slight issue. 

My favorite character of the film would be Lt. Aldo Raine, the leader of the Basterds simply because I'm a guy who loves revenge tales and the way his character operates is fantastic! He is intense, hilarious, deadly and doesn't take a 'no' for an answer. When he states that he demands a 100 Nazi scalps from each of his men, you really buy what he says. That line sums up his character perfectly! His enemy being Colonel Hans Landa is utterly fantastic. It is truly a pity that you can't support him throughout the film because he is truly one of the most intense and most memorable villains I've seen in a long time. His character is such an intense and grab you by the face man that every moment that he is on screen is one of intensity. That sequence late in the first chapter where he, in order to trick the hiding Jews, states to the owner of the house that he is indeed leaving and returns with his men is one of the most intense sequences. That scene allows everyone to buy Waltz's character. 

The best sequences in the film, for my money, would be when Colonel Hans gives the signal for his men to shoot the floorboards, the scene with the cinema right at the end and the final scene of the film. That final shot of the film and the final line of the film is just pure Tarantino-ness! It couldn't have ended any better! 


Inglourious Basterds is indeed a war movie and is to some extent, based off a 1978 movie as the title suggests. Some hate Basterds, stating that it depicts the Nazis as too violent and not deserving of the harsh punishments and realities they had to face against the Basterds and others love it, stating that this is a reminder that the Jews were strong and courageous people. I am one of the people who indeed think that this is a genius film, and despite being neither a German nor a Jew, I love this film for how it is directed, written and acted. I do love a good revenge tale, especially one by Tarantino! However, those who expect a straight up war film similar to Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now will be sorely disappointed, because this is a Tarantino film, not an action film. Prepare to see more Tarantino in my top 25!!  

Grade- A+