Review of Jack Frost (1998) by Manicure — 22 Nov 2020

"Jackie Brown" is one of the most divisive Tarantino films: it gets either praised as his masterpiece or bashed for being too dull.

I understand both points of view: Tarantino's trademark style reaches its technical maturity here in many aspects, but it's indeed rather sluggish and toned-down compared to his most famous works. It's a film that takes its time and focuses on the characters rather than the situations, telling us the story of a bunch of worn-out, middle-aged half-assed criminals (well, that was quite a series of hyphens).

It might be a bit wordy and overlong, but the mood makes it a pleasure to watch. Stylistically a personal homage to blaxploitation, as the tasteful use of the music and the title screen suggest (the "Jackie Brown" logo looks exactly the same as "Foxie Brown", also starring Pam Grier).

Tarantino again managed to put together a great cast, except for maybe De Niro, who didn't seem to blend in well with the other characters (it might be due to the bland role he got). I personally loved Samuel Jackson, Bridget Fonda, and Robert Forster the most here.

Either underrated or overrated, but personally a just fine film without high or lows.