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Jackie Brown - Miramax Collector's Edition

Jackie Brown - Miramax Collector's Edition

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $14.96
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: THIRD TIMES A CHARM
Review: THIS MOVIE LIKE PULP FICTION IS GREAT BUT NOT PERFECT THIS MOVIE IS EXCITING ENTERTAINING BUT ALITTLE TO FAR FETCHED AT TIMES WITH THE WHOLE DOUBLECROSSING AND EVERY ONE WANTING VERY LITTLE MONEY. BUT STILL VERY EXCELLENT MOVIE THE PICTURE SOUND AND EXTRAS ARE ONCE AGAIN FOR THE THIRD TIME DEAD ON! THANKS QUENTIN.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: my first DVD ever
Review: I just went out and bought this after finally catching up with the masses and getting a DVD player. me and roomies finished watching the special bonus features including the chicks who love guns video and now I can't even continue watching Jackie because it's JUST THAT GOOD that I had to write a review for it... so I am over here at the PC while they toke up and watch but I still got a good view... now at the scene where Jackie (Pam Grier) is bailed out of jail and Max (Robert Forster) sees her for the very first time. People, listen, this is one of those rare gems that is actually too good for most Pulp Fiction groupies to respect, because like Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown escapes Tarantino's tight grip on "cool trophy of the century" mentality. Jackie Brown is simply brilliant. Like Reservoir Dogs, too good for an Oscar. Too good for most audiences to appreciate, so all I gotta say is props to Quentin for adapting an Elmore Leonard book and pulling it off as if it were the original mona. oh, and one more thing, the music is the key. so Tarantino's drivin' a caddy. 5 stars man.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Doesn't quite cut it.
Review: Considering the elapsed time between projects, I would have thought Tarantino was capable of coming up with something more interesting than this. But considering the fact he hasnt done anything since, except re-release pathetic "collector" editions, I'm gonna have to smack him around a little.

You know, I will give him credit for the risky move of trying resurrecting the careers of Pam Grier and Robert Forster but that was a clear mistake. No way to muster any sympathy for Grier's character (see filmaking 101) and Forster's complete lack of cognition ruins what otherwise may have been a success. However, individual contributions by Jackson and DeNiro are terrific as expected, but can't carry this turkey. Bridgett Fonda makes a cute beach bunny though and packs one helluva bowl too. No argument from DeNiro on that one. Is that everybody? Oh yeah, Michael Keaton...yawn.

Hey Quentin, 5 years have passed since this big budget dog. If you ever decide to come out of retirement, here's a word of advice from a fellow Knoxvillian.... throw away all your Kangol caps and lose the gansta/hip-hop vocabulary. It's not cool, and it sure ain't hip anymore. "You know what ah'm sayin'?" A sad 2 stars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Don't pass JACKIE up again
Review: I think like many Tarantino fans I was a bit dissapointed with JACKIE BROWN after seeing it when the film first opened in theaters circa 1997. I walked out of the theater saying, "Ehh, it was OK."

I decided to pick up the 2 disc edition of JACKIE BROWN just to complete my Tarantino DVD collection, and I must say that this film was a joy to rediscover. It's still no PULP FICTION, but now I realize it was never meant to be PF. Tarantino says so himslef on the disc that it wasn't even really made for the same audience as PF! I enjoyed catching little gems in the film that I never noticed the first time around such as the brilliant subtlety of Robert DeNiros's hilarious performance.

Absent from the DVDs plethora of extras is a Tarantino commentary, but we get something just as good: an hour long 1-on-1 interview in which Tarantino not only discusses the film, but the whole atmosphere surrounding the film during it's release, his hopes and dissapointments the film's release brought, and why this project was such a labour of love for him.

So leave your jive expectations of PULP at the door,sucka, and get ready to just enjoy a good movie with outta sight characters and a funky groove that just won't quit. Booyah!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This flick is money yo!
Review: Not only is the soundtrack off the hook but this flick manages
2 B retro n' modern at the same time without lookin' dated.
It's money!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Jackie's DVD Debut
Review: Jackie Brown finally has made its DVD debut five years after its original release. The film was greatly anticipated, as it was Quentin Tarantino's follow-up to his groundbreaking Pulp Fiction. The film was an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch moving the location from Florida to California. The movie was met with mixed reviews at the time and suffered in comparison with Pulp Fiction. The film is a good movie with some great performances. Much like he did with John Travolta, Mr. Tarantino pulled another great acting job from a forgotten 70's icon, Pam Grier. In the title role, Ms. Grier plays the character with the sass and grit that made her famous in the blaxplotation films she is famous for. Another B-movie hero Robert Forester gives the performance of his life as a tired bail bondsman who falls for Jackie and helps in her scheme to screw both a gun dealer and the Feds. Mr. Forester earned a much deserved Academy Award nomination for his role. The cast is first rate including Samuel L. Jackson as the gun dealer, Robert DeNiro playing somewhat against type as a dimwitted, associate of Mr. Jackson, Bridget Fonda as Mr. Jackson's pot smoking girlfriend, Michael Keaton as one of the Feds and in a small part, a young Chris Tucker who meets an untimely end at the hands of Mr. Jackson. As with Pulp Fiction, the dialogue is sharp and Mr. Tarantino's selection of music is dead on combining such 70's r&b gems like Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street" and Bloodstone's "Natural High" with Johnny Cash's "Tennessee Stud" and the Grass Roots' 60's pop classic "Midnight Confessions". While this movie is not up to the level of Pulp Fiction, not many movies are. Mr. Tarantino has fun with the film and overall it is a highly enjoyable movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 'Jackie' -- oh!
Review: Quentin Tarantino's 1997 caper film hasn't been available in the DVD format until now, to the irritation of fans of the director and his star, blaxploitation poster child Pam Grier. "Jackie" strikes it rich the first time out on the Collector's Edition DVD, decked out in handsome images and funkadelic audio. "I wanted you to salivate," Tarantino says of the delay as he introduces the feature.

Tarantino says "Jackie" is best enjoyed with multiple viewings that allow you to "hang out" with the characters. "The first time, there's a plot in the way," he says, citing "Rio Bravo" as a kindred film.

A documentary brings the usual round robins of praise for the director, but the players in particular have some insightful things to say about Tarantino. Bruce Willis calls him a "modern Charles Dickens." Uma Thurman says his gift is to put "everyday minutiae up against hyper-real drama."

Deleted scenes collected on "Jackie" include a fascinating clip in which Grier's character coldly details her plans to scam both cops and crooks. The film would have a much darker tone with the scene in, the director notes.

The stereo-like mix on "Jackie" is especially playful, anchored by a crackling Philly soul bottom. Songs can be accessed directly from the main menu. A recent interview with QT tops the extras. You can compare the film to the script on a DVD-ROM feature that works great.

The DVD set has the same set-up as the "Pulp Fiction" release. That's a good thing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally!
Review: Well, after waiting five years, the DVD of Jackie Brown is finally out! And what a DVD set!

The story is base on Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch," but the screenplay bears Quentin Tarantino's unmistakable and wonderful personality. It's not so much an action film (as the TV ads and trailers made it sound) as a story of double dealing, double crossing, and the desperation of the title character. Leonard himself was quite taken with Tarantino's direction, most especially with the casting of Samuel L. Jackson in the Ordell Robie role.

Jackson is good as Robie (but I love Jackson, and so am no doubt biased!), and brings his brand of character intensity to the role. The real surpise, though, is Robert Forster as Max Cherry, a bail bondsman with no-nonsense yet heart-of-gold sensibilities. Cherry falls for Jackie, and the underlying sexual tension between them, while understated and never consummated, is electric! Pam Grier (of blaxploitation film fame) is excellent as Jackie Brown, and her portrayal really makes the viewer root for Jackie to come out ahead in the end.

The extra material is pretty good, though I'm just happy to have the film on DVD! I was especially amused, though, that the entire "Chicks with Guns" video is included -- truly an unsung classic!

If you've read the book, or liked Pulp Fiction, give Jackie Brown a try. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice, different followup to "Pulp Fiction"
Review: It can't be denied. The strength of Quentin Tarantino lies in his snappy, realistic, and sometimes humorous dialogue. Jakie Brown, like Pulp Fiction before it, is filled with eccentric characters spouting out every day conversations that are believable and fresh.

The charm of Jackie Brown is Tarantino cutting back on the gratutious violence, which is okay from time to time, but essentially to showcase yourself as a director you have to show some range. And with Pam Grier and Robert Forster, two actors that haven't shown what they're made of years before this film, giving fine mature performances that again show what Tarantino can do for an actor's career, the director has found that range, and it should be interesting to see where he goes next.

With a soundtrack that's brings a cool, mellow atmosphere to the film, it's easy to sit back and find your groove while watching the film. In many ways, I find this film superior to Pulp Fiction in that Tarantino takes his time developing the characters and the plot. Perhaps it's an homage to an age when short attentions spans didn't rule cinema, and it's good to see a guy who helped reign in that ADD movie chic calm down and let a movie breathe before giving the payoff.

Grier and Forster make the movie worth watching alone, but you can't deny the powerful actor that is Samuel L. Jackson. He's also a throw back to an age where acting was taken serious as an art and not just a way to get your mug on a magazine and a line of fashion clothes named after you. (Although, today, I suppose you can do both and still be considered a fine actor.) You can literally see Jackson create the character in front of your eyes, by using Olivier techniques of cosmetic props. (Notice Jackson physically looks different in every moive he's played in.) Also supporting the moive is a solid, charismastic performance from Michael Keaton, a quiet, every day character that isn't the norm for one Robert Deniro, and Bridget Fonda, an intelligent actress, perfectly filling in the role of the "surfer chick", with a tiny bit of Femme Fatale thrown in.

Solid work from Tarantino, a great cast, an adaption of Rum Punch. What else can a movie buff ask for.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Missing Top and Bottom
Review: Jackie Brown is a masterpiece, one of my top five favorite movies. I was ecstatic when it came out on DVD. Everything is perfect except for one thing: In order to stretch the movie to widescreen format, they cropped off the top and bottom of the picture. I thought the purpose of widescreen was to show the whole movie! When I put in my old VHS copy, it turns out there is more missing from the top and bottom of the widescreen DVD than there is from the left and right of the normal screen VHS. So what? Bridget Fonda's entire butt is missing off the bottom of the screen as she leaves the room after her "love" scene with Robert De Niro. This is a serious flaw! I hope they someday release a "Standard Edition" that shows the entire original frame. Still, the sound and picture quality are so superior to the VHS, I will be obliged to watch this DVD time after time.


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