Tarantino's Preemie Top Ten
Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 10:03AM October 5th seems like an exceptionally weird time to deliver a top ten list. It's too late in the year for a "so far" list and too early for anything like completist summation and way way too early for anything like retrospective nostalgia. But Quentin Tarantino has never been known to shut up when he felt like talking so he's revealed his top ten of 2013 (so far) which are, in alphabetical order
- Afternoon Delight (Jill Soloway)
- Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)
- Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
- The Conjuring (James Wan)
- Drinking Buddies (Joe Swanberg)
- Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
- Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
- Kick Ass 2 (Jeff Wadlow)
- The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski)
- This Is The End (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg)
It's very Tarantino and that's all I have to say about that. I only wish he had revealed a top ten of 2012 instead since he never did one for that year. Yes, conflict of interest with Django Unchained or what not, but literally no one would blink if he had put his own film on it. It would've been very Tarantino and that's all anyone could have said about that.
P.S. the world would be a better place if all directors did this, don'cha think? I mean not in October but at all.
Reader Comments (14)
OMG, I already forgot about This Is The End! It was funny though...
Never heard of Afternoon Delight. But Google reveals it actually won something at Sundance. Must check it out.
He really seems to like latter-day Woody Allen. I remember he named Midnight in Paris his #1 favorite movie of 2011, and I seem to remember him saying something about Vicky Cristina Barcelona at some point.
Not a bad list, all told. Whenever Tarantino wants to talk about the state of cinema--even in October--I'm all ears.
@Edwin - I remember him also including Anything Else on his list of favourite films since he's become a director.
And I'm with you 100% Nathaniel; I always like it when artists make lists like these, but this is very premature and unnecessary.
It makes sense why Quentin would never rank movies the year he made one, especially since Pulp Fiction he has always been around these very same people for a while and knows how some might respond if he did not mention their movies.
I do remember him praising Bigelow specifically when both had The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds out when they were at a billion director roundtables, but he is usually reserved about judging other movies the year he has one out.
Shocked that Kick-Ass 2 (a completely terrible sequel outside of Jim Carrey's performance, and I say this as someone who really liked the first movie) made this list over The World's End or Pacific Rim.
I'm more surprised Tarantino, of all people, liked Frances Ha. I could see him arguing for the intentional camp of Kick Ass 2 with ease. Frances Ha must really be hitting artists strongly. I know my favorite part about it was how authentic the story felt to the struggles of trying to make it. Tarantino liking it this much gives me more hope for that possible Screenplay nomination. I mean, anything to get Greta Gerwig on the Oscar red carpet.
The Lone Ranger? QT really is nuts.
Frances Ha owes a lot to early French New Wave/Truffaut/Godard which Tarantino was also clearly into with his first three features. I can see it.
Tarantino also makes year-end list more complete than this and if with categories though. But my problem with that list is he lists some movies with the disclaimer of 'Close but just missed it'. It makes me think, why lists those movies with such faint praise?
Also, while we're on the topic of famous directors' personal top 10 lists, has anyone here ever looked at John Waters's annual top 10 lists? They're very eclectic, even more so than Tarantino's. Actually, with QT, I'm not sure I'd call his lists "eclectic" exactly, as it's getting to the point where you can almost tell what he'll like beforehand. With John Waters, it's unpredictable year by year.
Edwin, that's funny. I was just talking about John Waters annual top ten list with fellow critics at the NYFF. It's always so weird and delightful... but it's so eccentric that i often suspect he's only seen 20 films that year ;)
some thoughts:
-Drinking Buddies is terrific - the chemistry between Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson is simply phenomenal. The most charming pairing in recent cinema. They make the movie really really special.
-Before Midnight is easily the least satisfying of the trilogy. Ethan Hawke is as charming as ever, but Julie Delpy is very grating... and their talk is not as interesting as the first two films. Did we really need a third one? I'm not sure I wanted to know what happened to them after the Sunset... The open ending of Sunset was perfect...
- Lone Ranger: It would've been fun at 105 mins. But it was bloated at 2 and a half hours. And Johnny Depp's goofing around is wearing awfully thin.
-Kick Ass 2: Horrible Horrible Horrible.
-The Conjuring: Not one original thought or idea... Well made for sure, but the overwhelming feeling of "seen that/done that a million times before" brings it to its knees.
-Blue Jasmine is forgettable- it only serves as a showcase for Cate Blanchett, who's brilliant as always. But I'm so tired of Woody's shtick of neurotic women... the more neurotic the better chance of Oscar. Predictable, Boring. And academy falls for it every time. Make no mistake: Cate Blanchett WILL win the Oscar next year. love Cate Blanchett, so I'm cool with it. Too bad her second win will come from playing another one Woody's annoying, neurotic women.
I haven't seen Afternoon Delight, Gravity, This is the end, Frances Ha.
Afternoon Delight is a must see for Kathryn Hahn's performance alone. Master class stuff.