Hotel Artemis
★★
Hotel Artemis is the most recent poster child for "great concept, wasted execution". The John Wick influence is so strong here, but without any of the style, intrigue, or thrills that made that world of John Wick so interesting
It's a shame because there's a really cool movie and world somewhere buried beneath Hotel Artemis' boring characters, paper-thin excuses for arcs, boring action (or rather lack thereof), and dragging pace. The grounded cyberpunk world mixed with the art deco design of the hotel is a cool visual aesthetic, and the premise of assassins and criminals interacting under the thin veil of rulebound civility has a lot of potential. But Hotel Artemis wastes all of it, never establishing itself as either a great action movie or an interesting thriller but instead lacking in both departments
Death Proof (Rewatch)
★★★
My least favorite Tarantino movie, but "my least favorite Tarantino movie" is still better, more fun, and more exciting than so many other films. The pacing is odd, in that it feels slow but isn't really, and it's certainly never feels dull because Tarantino's dialogue and quirky atmosphere is always enjoyable. The unique structure of Death Proof, with the first half feeling like an extended villain introduction (and what a memorable and unique villain it is), means the second half can quickly set up the stakes and drop us into its maniac finale of a car chase. That chase alone - expertly paced, thrilling, fun and furious - is worth all the build-up.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Rewatch)
★★★★½
I had forgotten how well-paced and...focused this movie was. Outside of the opening and flashbacks, it's very much a pure revenge story, primarily focused on preparing for and taking on one main target
Uma Thurman's Bride is instantly iconic and effortlessly establishes her place in the action hero pantheon, from the brutal opening fight to the blood-splattered finale. It's a shame that she never really did any other major action roles because she absolutely nails every aspect: the one liners, the physicality of the fights, the swagger, the humor, the emotional beats.
And yet despite that focus, Kill Bill feels like such a larger story; it kind of comes across as a predecessor to John Wick, with its feared one-(wo)man army protagonist, stylized assassin underworld, interconnected web of characters-with-histories that know eachother, and vengeance plot.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Rewatch)
★★★½
Vol 2 is one of those movies where I appreciate what it's doing and its intentions, understand why its story is paced as it is; there's nothing that it does wrong, no egregious flaws or anything lacking. But I just don't enjoy it as much as I'd liked, especially in comparison to how furious and efficiently-paced the first film is. That's not to say Vol 2 is lacking in its memorable moments because the fights and verbal confrontations here are just as awesome in their ways as anything in the first, perhaps even more so due to the build-up and payoff.
I definitely enjoyed it more than the first time I had seen the movie though; it seems like the kind of movie that you come around on more with rewatches.
Inglourious Basterds (Rewatch)
★★★★★
I like all of Tarantino's movies, but I like Inglorious Basterds the most. There's just something about its part-revenge plot/part-pulpy war thriller narrative, its gleefully fascinating villain in Waltz's Han Landa, its heroes roster of Nazi-slaying Basterds and vengeful cinema owner and spies, its explosions of ultra-violence and playful tension in-between. Other Tarantino movies may have more iconic dialogue, more violence, more style, but Inglorious Basterds is all of Tarantino's strengths perfectly and leanly distilled into a single film.
