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Jackie Brown - Miramax Collector's Edition

Jackie Brown - Miramax Collector's Edition

List Price: $19.95
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A ultimately overlong crime suspense.
Review: This film was a bit of a disapointment for me after seeing Pulp Fiction. Alright it might be a bit unfair to compare this with Pulp Fiction, but at least when I watched PF I was interested for 2 1/2 hours long. Sadly in this I'm not. It's about a air-hostess who traffics money for a small time gun seller(Ordell- Samuel L Jackson), and on one trip gets caught from a tip-off. She then helps the cops catch their suspect Ordell and smuggles half a million of Ordells money right from under the cops' noses.There are a few recognisable faces who give a decent performence (Briget Fonda + Robert De Niro). This time the script can't make up for the films length.Granted fu** isn't used as often as in Resevoir Dogs but still is excessive so that the realism of the film is spoiled, and trust me if I critize the amount of swearing then the film has a serious problem. Avoid this and buy Pulp Fiction instead, it's much better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: INCREDIBLE!!!
Review: This movie will show one the true genius of Quentin T. What makes this movie so great besides a great cast is the dialogue that takes place between its characters. Samuel Jackson is incredibly believable in the part of Ordell, a small-time gun-runner. Robert De Niro plays a complete idiot (Ordell's sidekick). If you don't enjoy this movie, maybe you should go rent Snow White!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost as good as Pulp Fiction
Review: The seventies music and the general atmosphere is still there in this film ( What do you expect from Tarantino, right? ). And, of course, the diologue is excellent. The always thickening plot keeps you interested in the film, even when not much is happening. On a scale of one to four stars, a 3 and a 1/2. On a scale of five stars? 4 1/2.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A thrilling, suspensful taste of reality
Review: Tarantino does an outstanding job--his best film yet. The characters in the movie are real, everyday people and when one looks beyond the actual content and actions of the film, everyday life is presented so well. The movie shows how it is difficult to trust people in the world and how so many people will do anything for money. The film has a sad ending, but that is why it is so great-because it represents life and life is no fairy tale. A must see, but don't take it for face value.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The music grabs your attention, casting and acting is superb
Review: This movie will entertain you from start to finish,the music is genius, and the casting was calculated, in the Tarantino style. Watching Deniro, in a supporting role takes some getting use to, he pulls it off with class and artistry. The ending is not predictable and does not dissapoint. Samuel Jackson deserved an award for his acting, but then he usually does. If I would have paid to see this on the big screen I would have walked out feeling like I got my moneys worth, that is very rare.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not quite PULP FICTION, but certainly worthy Tarantino
Review: I love Quentin Tarantino. You watch him speak about his art in interviews, and while I realize what I'm responding to might simply be a cleverly-wrought public persona, his energy and enthusiasm for his craft is just so infectious that one cannot help but be energized too. That energy certainly carries over into his movies, and while he may not be the most thrillingly visual director, his undeniable gift for dialogue more than compensates in his films.

PULP FICTION, as of now, is my favorite movie; the dialogue sparkles with wit, and I could hear those lines over and over again without ever getting tired of them. JACKIE BROWN, his follow-up to PF, is just as good as PF, if not quite its superior. Many complained upon its release that this movie was too sluggish and slow-moving (the above Editorial Review calls it "decaffeinated"). Sure, the plot of this movie certainly could become a taut, exciting thriller under another director's hands. But clearly writer-director Tarantino isn't aiming merely for action-movie thrills. He is also focused on his characters, particularly with the two older characters, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) and Max Cherry (Robert Forster), two characters who have an unspoken attraction to each other that brings an intriguing undertone to a majority of the crime story. If Tarantino takes his time developing his characters and laying out the plot...well, the characters' dialogue is consistently full of life; the characters are interesting (and the performances terrific across the board, particuarly Forster's); and the convoluted plot, when it kicks into high gear, is a source of fascination as well. Watching it, I hardly ever felt that it was too slow for its own good: I was too fascinated by what I was seeing and hearing to notice any possible deficiencies in pacing. (Another Elmore Leonard adaptation, Steven Soderbergh's OUT OF SIGHT, took a similarly leisurely approach to its crime plot, and it worked just as well in that film, too.)

In short, JACKIE BROWN is an underrated Tarantino masterpiece. It may not be quite the film PULP FICTION is (since it had a more palpably energetic feel to it, despite both films' running 154 minutes), but it is certainly a worthy follow-up.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: He's 3 for 3, folks
Review: Quentin Tarantino has directed three films now - the low-budget, violent "Resevoir Dogs", the seminal, highly acclaimed and influential "Pulp Fiction", and "Jackie Brown". Prior to "Jackie Brown", it seemed that Tarantino was either lionized as the next Martin Scorsese or thought of as the current flavor-of-the-month. "Jackie Brown" dispels the later notion, I think, adding another notch to the director's belt of cool flicks.

Blaxploitation queen Pam Grier stars as Jackie, a 44-year-old flight attendant working for bottom-of-the-rung Cabo Air. A long-haired and goateed Samuel L. Jackson plays Ordell Robbie, an illegal gun dealer with a half-million sitting in lock boxes in Mexico. Ordell's afraid to try and pick up the money himself so Jackie (who needs extra cash) does delivery runs for him. But she's nabbed early on by an ATF agent, played by Michael Keaton. Worried she'll talk, Ordell gets bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster) to post her bail. And it's Max who ends up driving her home from prison - a nice relationship soon forms.

I really liked the scene where Max shows up on her doorstep the next morning and the two have coffee. She plays a Delfonics record and a few scenes later you smile when Max actually buys a Delfonics tape (the other key music is the carefully considered "Across 100th Street", which opens and closes the film). Also in the cast is Robert De Niro, who plays an ex-prison buddy of Ordell's. And Bridgett Fonda is a perpetually stoned beach bunny - look quick and you might notice she's watching "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" on TV (Fonda's real-life father, Peter starred in that one from the 70's).

I won't give away any of the plot, because there's some fun surprises, even if the film runs a little on the long side. It'll be interesting to see if "Jackie Brown" can do for Pam Grier's career what "Pulp Fiction" did for Travolta's. This one's rated R, so be warned - it contains adult language (lots of four and twelve-letter words).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great! Awesome! Fantastic!
Review: Nobody and I mean nobody makes movies like Quentin Tarantino. JACKIE BROWN is one of the greatest movies of all time. Personally, This is my favorite of Quentin Tarantino's films. So get your copy of JACKIE BROWN today!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: COOL AND INTELLIGENT MOVIE
Review: Based on Elmore Leonards novel "Rum Punch", Quentin Tarantino's cool and classy adaptation is considered by many (in Europe, at least) to be his most mature (agree) and perhaps finest work (probably disagree). However, whilst Jackie Brown may not have the instant impact of Reservoir Dogs or the wide appeal of Pulp Fiction it is still his coolest, most subtle and intelligent movie to date. This movie and Tarantino suffered in the wake of expectation following the critical and popular success of Pulp Fiction, with too many people expecting a retread or at least a faster paced movie. Sadly perhaps due to the dissapointing reception this received, Tarantino has not made another movie since this was made about five years ago but I have to say I loved every minute of it and Tarantino's work is very sadly missed.

However, this movie (or at least the European DVD) is not as advertised by Warner Brothers. It's not an action thriller. It's much more of a slow-burn thriller, starring Pam Grier (as sexy stewardess Jackie Brown), a smuggler caught in the act by an ambitious cop (Michael Keaton), whilst working for gun-runner Ordell (played by Samuel L.Jackson). Add into the melting pot, Jackson's partner in crime ex-con Louis (Robert De Niro in a very understated performance) and other supporting turns by both Bridget Fonda as Ordell's perpetually stoned out bitchin' beach bunny girlfriend and Chris Rock in an impressive straight role and you have a very impressive ensemble cast. And whilst Michael Keaton provides great entertainment as Ray Nicollette, in a role he later reprised in Out Of Sight, the show is stolen by Pam Grier and in particular (the Oscar nominated) Robert Forster as a lonely battle worn bail bondsman who falls for the glamarous but ageing Jackie Brown. I hate reviews that tell you the whole plot, so suffice to say that this is a thriller where most of the principal characters are double dealing and double crossing each other to get their hands on Ordell's money and the rest as they say is in the telling. I certainly don't want to spoil this for anyone who hasn't already seen it (and it's certainly worth watching more than once)!

It's clever, it has wonderful dialogue, an excellent cast, understated black comedy, a typically different, typically classy Tarantino style soundtrack and a great story. It just oozes class. I bought this on DVD in the UK and am pretty surprised that it doesn't seem to be available (at the moment) in this format in the US.

WELL WORTH CHECKING OUT!!! ****(and a half)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Foxy Jackie Brown
Review: "Jackie Brown" was widely received as a disappointing follow-up to Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," but I think it's actually a better movie, if less obviously so. It's hard not to be blown away by "Fiction" because of it's sheer audacity; "Jackie Brown" is a quieter film that shows Tarantino has the potential to become a mature and sophisticated director.

It's somewhat ironic that Tarantino, associated with the young hipster audience, made this film, because at the basic level "Jackie Brown" is about getting old. All of Jackie's motivations spring from the fact that starting over will soon become impossible for her. That the options available to a a middle-aged, lower income level, black woman in modern America are severely limited. Tarantino shows an amazing prowess for getting into the head of this woman. His sensitive direction coupled with Pam Grier's top-notch performance combine to make Jackie one of the most compelling and honest female characters to hit the movie screen in recent years.

The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent too. Robert Forster stands out as bail bondsman Max Cherry, who becomes Jackie's partner in crime, as it were. Samuel L. Jackson does well with the kind of part he seems born to play, but his character is not as interesting as the others and so makes less of an impression. Bridget Fonda is a scene stealer as a California beach bunny, and the contrast between her and Pam Grier is used quite effectively.

It's interesting to note that in the book this movie was based on, "Rum Punch" by Elmore Leonard, Jackie was white. Changing the race of the title character to black adds a whole other dimension to the film that the book lacks. This is one case where the movie greatly improves on its source material.

"Jackie Brown" will take some commitment on behalf of the viewer. It's leisurely paced and more reliant on character study than Tarantino's other films, but these aren't detriments. They merely illustrate that Tarantino has some range as a director, and I hope he continues to explore that range.


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