"You just have to fight for yourself; no one's going to save you. That's just life, right?"

Year: 2000

Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku

Written by: Koushun Takami (novel) & Kenta Fukasaku (screenplay)

In the future, 42 students have to fight to the death on an arena against their class mates under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

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I've been meaning to watch Battle Royale for ages. Few days ago I was complaining in NaNoWriMo forums how I have no more movies to watch, and I asked for recommendations. First I got some classics but I noted that I have a preference in violent cult movies, so someone mentioned Battle Royale. Another reason was of course this video, which shouldn't be a surprise.

I really appreciate the idea of Battle Royale, and I've thought about the concept a lot, considering The Hunger Games shares the same idea. The idea of having a certain amount of children fight each other is of course horrifying. The point of the games seem to be different in both Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, but I can't be too sure of that. I need to read the original novel. Anyway, in Battle Royale the biggest reason for the game seems to be punishment. Well, The Hunger Games are also a punishment to the districts, but it's also entertainment to the Capitol. If I understood correctly Battle Royale wasn't shown in TV, it was just talked about afterwards in the media - but I might be wrong about that. The whole concept of Battle Royale is appalling, but it's good to make a novel or a movie about it. Maybe it's not realistic, but it gives the audience something to think about. Why is the government doing this? Is it useful to them in anyway, and a lot of other questions.

But is The Hunger Games too similar to Battle Royale? I don't think so. Writers steal everything that isn't screwed to the wall, that's how writing works.

Battle Royale has several important themes it explores. There's the sort of selfishness, suicide, killing and survival - and if those things are good or bad in certain situations. And of course there's the big question on trust. If you are basically all out to kill each other, who can you trust? Can you trust a total stranger, or your best friend?

The character's aren't introduced right in the beginning like this character is called Blah Blah and they do this and this. The audience learns what they need to know when they need to know it - which is one thing that makes me like the movie even more. Useless explaining is just boring, when important stuff can be revealed otherwise. The only character we learn more immediately is Shuya Nanahara, played by Tatsuya Fujiwara. And knowing about one character from early on is good, because that way we have someone we can at least somehow root for.

The characters in Battle Royale are interesting. They are young, they have the kind of problems young people usually have. And then they should kill each other. It's interesting to see how some are ready to embrace that, while some are ready to do anything to avoid killing. Some are ready to kill only to defend themselves. It's good to see all different kind of reactions to their situation.

The young cast of this film is incredibly talented. Tatsuya Fujiwara is amazing. I've liked him ever since he played Kira in those Death Note movies. And of course I'm in love with Chiaki Kuriyama. Her character Chigusa didn't have a lot of screen time, but every time I see Kuriyama in a film, she's astonishing.

I love how music is used in this film. There are calm classical songs that are now "tainted" by the mindless violence in the film. 

Battle Royale is an amazing film. It's incredibly violent, yet it definitely has some depth, and it's not just mindless, useless action. If violence in films doesn't bother you, then you should definitely see Battle Royale - it's worth it.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

My favourite Tarantino movies

That's a misleading title, because they are all my favourites. So today I will try to put all Tarantino's movies in a list - rank them in the order I prefer them. But to be honest putting them in order is hard, considering I really like all of them. I'll still try my best. 

Normally I'd put the score I've given them here also, but considering I just did all the reviews, they should be rather easy to find.

So here they are, from best to "worst", even though the "worst" movie on this list is definitely amazing as well. I'll also include short summaries of why I like these films, and I'll add links to the reviews.

1. Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs is a clever film, and the time in the film is spent well. There's no moment wasted, and there's no moment I don't enjoy watching this film. The dialogue and soundtrack are both astonishing. Check out Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection, it's such a good track.

2. Kill Bill

Definitely my favourite action film of all time. Revenge is a theme that's been used forever, but Kill Bill still stands out. It has amazing characters, especially the main character The Bride is one amazing character. I hope I still hear people talking about it when I'm 50, and I'm crazy old movie lady.

3. Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is legendary in every way. Most people know some of the scenes of this film, even if they haven't seen the film. That also has a downside: a cynic in me wants to see Pulp Fiction as a totally overrated movie. But once I saw it again, it just is that good. It has definitely earned its status. Every story in Pulp Fiction is good - they are old stories yet when they are connected, something new is brought up in each of them.

4. The Hateful Eight

If I'm not completely mistaken, The Hateful Eight is the first western I've ever seen. But it isn't just a simple western, it's a thriller and a mystery. I love the rhythm in this movie, and I love the story. I've heard people say it's the most boring movie from QT, but I disagree. Where would you even add action? The Hateful Eight also the first Tarantino movie I saw in theatres. The big screen shows the film in its true potential, so if you're able, go see it.

5. Death Proof

The biggest reason I love Death Proof is the characters - so many amazing, well-written badass female characters. It's also very thrilling and interesting, and the bad guy of this story is terrifying in a way that he is so very real. 

6. Django Unchained

Django Unchained, like Kill Bill, is a story about revenge, yet it manages to be different from Kill Bill. Of course Django Unchained is a brutal film, but it's also amazing to watch, just to see all the bad guys die by Django's hand. There's nothing more satisfying than that.

7. Inglourious Basterds

I'm not a big fan of war movies, but Inglourious Basterds was a very interesting experience, mostly because of the two plans overlapping, and interesting and complex characters. It was also very thrilling and satisfying, for the same reasons as Django Unchained. 

8. Jackie Brown

I hate saying that I'd like Jackie Brown the least, considering I still love that movie. The story is exciting and Jackie Brown is one clever, cunning and bad ass woman. The plot was amazing and complex. The reason why it is last on this list was that for a moment I had no clue what was going on, and that the story seems to be missing something, yet I can't say what. Still, Jackie Brown is a good movie, and worth watching.

Of course the readers of this blog have no idea how annoying it must have been to converse with me for the past two weeks, considering I dropped Quentin Tarantino's name or movies to the conversation a lot. It's not like I'll stop talking about him now, but I hope I'll at least calm down with my, uh... Obsession is a rather strong word, but it's the best I can come up with. Anyway, I love his movies and he seems like such an interesting man in every way. I aspire to be like him - at least somehow - once I have my own career in film-making. He's enthusiasm and passion about films is astonishing. 

Okay, that's enough of kissing his ass! 

Anyway, leave a comment on which one is your favourite Tarantino film. I'm also very interested in hearing movie recommendations now that I feel like I have nothing left to watch.

"How do you like the bounty hunting business?" "Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?"

Year: 2012

Directed and written by: Quentin Tarantino

A freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner with some help from a German bounty hunter.

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I had heard a lot of things about Django Unchained before I finally watched the film. Like every movie I hadn't seen from Tarantino, it had been on my list for quite some time because of the peculiar things I've heard. One of the peculiar things that I had heard was how Leonardo DiCaprio accidentally cut his hand while they were shooting, and yet they continued filming. And then there was that rumour going around that the actor Ato Essandoh was actually killed by the dogs during the film. And then of course there's that legendary picture of the Django Unchained screenplay, though I have no idea how authentic that is.

That is clearly some Oscar worthy shit right there!

The story of Django Unchained is interesting and very thrilling. Okay, that's hard to sincerely while that screenplay picture is there, but I really do mean it. Django's character makes everything even better. He is definitely a hero, but he's slightly complicated hero. Usually roles like that are made for white actors, but there's no way to make this story about a white man. There are too few heroes that aren't just white men, especially when we're talking about roles where the hero is forced to act against his beliefs. Meaning Django had to pretend to be a black slaver, and he did his part and seemed almost merciless, and even when you know that's just for his plans, it is awful to watch. 

The love angle is a good add for this story. Of course the revenge theme is very strong here, but the love story of Django and his wife Broomhilda is definitely a nice touch. Maybe the audience doesn't get to see romance that much, but it gives a sort of softer feeling to this.

And of course this movie has created some controversy on many parts, and like QT has said, you can't make a movie about slavery without it creating some kind of controversy. But I'm going to talk about two things in particular, though I don't think I'll be saying anything that hasn't already been said before. First there's the n-word situation. A lot of people are criticizing how often Tarantino uses racial slurs, and he does use them a lot, there's no denying that. And of course I have to point out that my opinion as a white person is of course... not at all meaningful compared to those who hear this word being used against them on a regular basis. The characters using the n-word in this movie are racist. That's the point, no one is throwing it around just like that. White people using that word are racist, no matter how they try to convince otherwise. The characters using that word are racist, and that's why it's used. The audience knows exactly that they are racist. Yeah, of course it could be used less, but I see where Tarantino is coming from.

Violence is another thing that is always creating controversy when we're talking about films - and especially Tarantino's films. Violence in Django Unchained has two reasons: there's the violence that the slaves face. And that's something that definitely shouldn't be left out. Slaves were treated horribly and that's a fact, and seeing that violence on screen makes it harder for people to not talk about it. And then there's the violence where Django gets his revenge, and those are amazing. Firstly there's the catharsis - the bad guys get what they deserve. Secondly, film is a fantasy. One guy fighting ten or more guys and surviving is impossible, and we all know that, but it is thrilling to watch.

It's impossible to talk about Tarantino's films without mentioning the music. Once again, I loved the soundtrack of Django Unchained. It felt different compared to the other movies I've seen, but it was still good.

Django Unchained is definitely amazing movie. It deals with a very serious issue, yet it manages to give a satisfying result to everything. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

10 / 10

After Django Unchained I've seen all Tarantino's movies - well apart from those he has written but not directed, and some he's directed as a guest director (Sin City). Tomorrow I'll go see The Hateful Eight again, so there won't be a review, but I might put all these movies on a list to see which one I like most, even though it seems hard to choose.

"Marcel... burn it down." "Oui, Shosanna."

Year: 2009

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino & Eli Roth (Uncredited)

Written by: Quentin Tarantino

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, both a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers and a theatre owner have a plan to assassinate the Nazi leaders, while their plans overlap. 

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• This review contains spoilers.

I feel like all my Tarantino reviews start like this, but I remember seeing the beginning of this film when I was younger. And like every film, my dad showed me that piece. He was mostly showing it to prove how good Tarantino's soundtracks are. And that's the first thing I noticed about Inglourious Basterds. The soundtrack definitely does it job. The film is thrilling on its own, yet the soundtrack made that thrill even better. And I am very glad to hear some David Bowie on Tarantino's work. I'm starting to think Tarantino is my musical soul mate.

Even when you know about history, you're still very excited to find out what happens, and how the assassination plots turn out. Of course history doesn't seem to mean shit to QT, which means the story develops into something I wasn't expecting. In a way, this is way better. We all know how history goes. Any movie is a fantasy, and unless it's a documentary or a biography, why should we care how it really went down? Another thing I like about the story is how the two plots overlap. You sit there watching and wondering if the two sides ever find out about each other. It's an interesting concept. 

The characters are interesting. They are people with different personalities, different kind of back stories, yet their paths happen to cross. Well, I can't be so sure about the Nazi characters, they didn't seem that interesting - but was that on purpose, on accident or just me? I guess either of those three would tell a lot. But of course Cristoph Waltz' character Col. Hans Landa is very interesting. You start to feel like he'd be one of the most loyal people, yet he's ready to betray all the Nazi leaders if he gets what he wants out if it. That's kind of a plot twist, yet it's not too surprising. How loyal can anyone really be in the end? But almost every character adds something very interesting to the story. Raine, Shoshanna, Donowitz, Hammersmark, Hicox, Stiglitz... They are all very interesting characters, yet it's only Landa I can write about the most. It's his motives that interest me.

I always hate those American war movies where everyone speaks English but just with accent. I thought Inglourious Basterds would be the same. It was a mystery if it would be so good I could forgive the excessive use of English but no! Of course people speak English in Inglourious Basterds, but only when it makes sense at least to some extent. Inglourious Basterds is mostly in German and French. Thank god for that!

Of course I don't have too much experience with war movies, but I've always kind of assumed the violent to be different from typical action movies. Well, of course in a Tarantino war movie the violence is how he does it best.

It's interesting how this movie portrays propaganda films made in Nazi Germany. Well 'portray' is not the right word, because there aren't a lot of ways to portray propaganda. But knowing what kind of film enthusiastic QT is makes it interesting trying to see if you can get his views on propaganda out of the film. It would be an interesting thing to discover and analyse some more.

Inglourious Basterds is a brilliant movie, and it surpassed my expectations, no matter how high they happened to be. I have to say I've chosen my favourite director well.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

10 / 10

"But since you're going the other way, I'm afraid you're gonna have to start getting scared... immediately!"

Year: 2007

Directed & Written by: Quentin Tarantino

Two separate sets of women are being stalked by a stuntman, who uses his "death proof" car to kill them.

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I remember my father showing me a scene from Death Proof years ago. And since the film is made to look like an old movie, I kind of assumed it was at least from the 80's. Later I saw screenshots and started realising that there's no way it's as old as I thought it was. But I love the fact that it looks like that. The slightly grainy shots, how the movie looks like the whole cinematography was half-arsed? All of those make it look like some 80's B-movie, which is definitely a good look for a film.

The characters of Death Proof are all very interesting. Firstly, the stuntman Mike. He's really terrifying and creepy, which is exactly why he is the best possible antagonist for the story. Stuntman Mike could be a real person from real life. His background is just made a lot more interesting than it would be in real life.

I love all the girls in this film. They are well-written, and there's a lot of them. Both of those are unfortunately rare in films. Tarantino also has written excellent dialogue for the female characters of the film. Tarantino's dialogue is always great and so very real, but seeing that he is capable of writing dialogue between female characters, that isn't exactly alike to men's dialogue, but which isn't the complete opposite either. Those conversations are recognisable - I think I've had several of them in one form or another.

The car chase scenes are amazing to watch, and they are very thrilling. Sometimes they just happen to be pretty hard to follow, when you're trying to figure which car was which.

Death Proof is good thriller. It has interesting plot and even more interesting cast of characters. I just don't know how often I could watch this movie.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

"That woman deserves her revenge and we deserve to die."

Year: 2003-2004

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Written by: Quentin Tarantino, Q & U (character The Bride)

The Bride, an ex-member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad wakes up after two years of coma. She was shot by the leader of the Assassination Squad and her ex-lover Bill, after she tried to run away while pregnant with his child. She sets out to get revenge on each member of the squad, and eventually kill Bill.

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I am going to treat both volumes of Kill Bill as one film, since they both are "the 4th film by Quentin Tarantino". Watching and reviewing them separately would just make them seem like different stories, and I'd end up comparing them, which would make no sense. The only problem is it's hard to put this review on IMDb considering I'd have to review them separately, and how can I take anything out of this and make it about either volume? Well, maybe I can skip IMDb this time.

The first time I watched Kill Bill I was 16. I saw volume one with friends. I had to leave the room for a while, so I missed a very big part of the fighting. Then I didn't think it mattered, now I feel differently about it. I still have trouble with most action movies, since the action scenes are very fast, slightly groggy, and extremely confusing to follow. Usually I just space out until it's over. Especially during some superhero movies. Especially during 3D superhero movies, because then the action is definitely a mess. Matthew Vaughn is one director whose action scenes are nice to watch. They are clear and fun. Quentin Tarantino does his fight scenes just as well, if not better. 

In volume 1 there's the fight between the Bride and basically everyone working for O-Ren Ishii. No matter how many of them there is, it is surprisingly easy to follow who she is fighting and when and how. The only thing that you can't keep a track on how many die, but of course you see it later, when most of them lie dead. So a fight scene with so many people works well. How about a fight scene between two people? They are astonishing. The duel between the Bride and O-Ren Ishii is one of the most beautiful fight scenes I've ever seen. It comes close to fight scenes in a Chinese film Hero. The fight between Bride and Ishii may not be that thrilling. Maybe you don't clench your fists in excitement, but it is absolutely beautiful and tragic. And then there's the fight between the Bride and Elle Driver in volume 2. Now that is completley different from the duel in volume 1, but it is also easy to follow. It also shows the different fighting styles. The characters are fight differently, not just echoing each other, which would get boring after a while.

And Kill Bill has definitely made its impact on our pop culture. When someone watches Kill Bill for the first time, they'll experience that "Oh so that's where that's from" -feeling several times. And even if people haven't seen Kill Bill, they recognise the name, and can picture Uma Thurman in their heads. 

One of the strengths of Kill Bill is that it has a lot of very interesting characters. Everyone is someone apart from just target for the Bride's revenge. Even if we don't get to know all of them for a while - like Vernita Green - we learn something more about them. And some of them get their whole history revealed, like O-Ren Ishii, who is one of the greatest and most intriguing characters in this movie. She too was motivated by revenge when she was nine years old. And Kill Bill especially has amazing female characters. All of them are able to kick ass, yet they are all different. Usually it's rare for action movies to have even more than woman who is fighting, let alone ones that aren't just made to be a wet dream for the audience. And usually if an action movie has female characters leading the film, it's always treated as a female action flick. It's treated like it's intended only for women, and that men should go find some macho bullshit. But think about Kill Bill. The main character is mostly called "The Bride", she was pregnant, she was scared for her baby and quit her job so the baby would be safe. That's not something a male audience would want from the main character, yet no one is saying that Kill Bill is only intended for women.

Kill Bill is, in its way, epic. Of course the story is simple. It's a revenge themed story, and those always go pretty much the same way. It's not about what the story is, it's how you make it. And Tarantino has written Kill Bill extremely well, and the non-linear narrative makes it even better. It's not just the Bride getting revenge on everyone, we also see people's back stories, we see how she was shot, even if that whole massacre wasn't shown to it's every little detail. We see The Bride training. We see so many things and they make the story what it is. It's an epic saga, and will probably be discussed about after many years from now. Sure, people have been discussing now either, but most of the public conversation I've seen seems to be about the violence in the movie.

So let's discuss the violence for a bit. Everyone knows Tarantino does violent movies - which is why it's kind of weird when people see his films and complain about how violent they were. You don't see a horror film and complain that it was too scary. That's the point of it. But I tried to watch this one interview. I say 'tried to' because it was annoying to watch. The interviewer barely let Q.T. finish a sentence, now what kind of interview is that? (It's this interview, by the way, in case you want to watch that before reading any further in this paragraph.) Now Tarantino says that innocent people die along the way and that's what revenge is. I agree with that. Of course there are petty revenges, but who would make a movie about that? Most brutal, violent revenges are something that the viewers love. What would Kill Bill be, if there wasn't revenge there? Would the Bride just wake up and be like "oh shit, that happened, well I'll just carry on with my life"? That wouldn't be a story. Revenge as a theme and as a motive is what makes Kill Bill what it is. It is the core of the whole film and it makes it brutal and emotionally raw. Now about innocent people dying... That is debatable. I don't know if any of those who died were innocent. Were they the target of the revenge? Maybe not. Not all of them needed to die, but they certainly were innocent. (If I'm missing something, let me know.)

Kill Bill is definitely brutal both emotionally and literally. It's basically what revenge is, that's how I see revenge - at least revenge on this scale. It's unforgiving and ruthless, and it definitely takes its toll on you.. It takes its toll on the Bride. At 16 I was quite suspicious about the ending. It seemed like 'ehh, okay', Now I'm older and I'd like to think I understand it better. I'm glad it ends like that, it's not just bam, violence, bam, blood, bam, bam, bam, revenge. If it would end just like "I've had my vengeance, that's that", it would feel like we didn't see enough. It doesn't feel like that in any action film, but Kill Bill isn't any action film. The ending is cathartic, you feel lighter after the end is like that. Now as a kid that may feel like a boring ending. When you grow older you're thankful for it. Maybe you like violent films, I know I do, but still the ending somehow washes away everything that was on your heart because of the violence, even if you didn't realise that. It's amazing. And it's hard to talk about the ending without spoiling everything, I hope I was vague enough.

Maybe the dialogue isn't as great as in Pulp Fiction, but why compare them? Maybe they are both from Tarantino, but that's it. They are so very different in a lot of ways. And of course dialogue isn't everything there is to great writing. Kill Bill is written extremely well.

Kill Bill is an amazing film, and I want people to talk about it years from now. I want people to remember it, and I'm pretty sure they will. Kill Bill is the best action film I've seen. It is astonishing. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

10 / 10