Quentin and Me: A 30-Something Fan’s Relationship With a Filmmaker

Films, filmmakers, and actors/actresses define eras of your life. It’s bound to happen when you’re a hardcore movie-watcher. Name any on-screen (or even off-screen) personality, and I can tell you when I became aware of their work. My first look at Quentin Tarantino happened in 1994, and my experience as a movie-watcher has never been the same. I’ve seen every one of his movies on the big screen ever since, with one exception. Much like Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino’s films have paced the last 18 years of my life. I remember exactly where I was when I saw each one.

This is the End (Credits Song List)

I am not one of those people who must remain seated as the end credits roll. More often than not, a spring launches out of my ass and I make for the exits before the second name in the credits has appeared. I don’t need to know who the boom operator was. But sometimes, a movie will play a really cool song that convinces me to stick around. Here are some of the best. Fair warning- since these are the endings of these movies, there are spoilers all over the place.

There Will be Blood (2007)
The Song: Violin Concerto in D Major (Movement III)
The choice of a classic violin concerto adds to the air of the film as a true classic. Moreover, the segue from Plainview’s complete descent into greedy insanity juxtaposed with the powerful but mischievous violins flows so naturally. It’s finished. Take the ride to the 14:00 mark for a tiny taste:

My Life in Original Motion Picture Soundtracks, Part II

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Yesterday, we began the journey through guest contributor Josh Katz’s life via original motion picture soundtracks. Today, we finish our journey with part two:

Slam Trunk: An Abridged List of Movie Characters Stuffed into a Car Trunk

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Everyone likes going on a nice, leisurely car ride… unless they’ve been stuffed into a car trunk. Here’s an abridged list of movie characters who have been stuffed into a car trunk. Today’s list has been brought to you by the letter “Q”, as in “Quentin Tarantino”.

11 Food Items that Altered Character Arcs

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It’s amazing what can set a plot in motion. For instance, as was detailed recently at filmhaze, The Godfather was set in motion by Sonny’s question during the meeting with “The Turk” Solozzo. “You mean to tell me the Tattaglias will guarantee our investment?”, he asks. This sets everything else in motion that leads Michael, the protagonist, into becoming Don Michael Corleone. But these events don’t just happen for the protagonist. Most (all?) primary characters have a character arc that takes them from point A to point B and then point C. And in several cases, food is what sparks them along in their character arc. Here are some examples:

100 More Things I Love About the Movies

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When I passed the 100,000 hit marker in November, I honored the event with what became one of my most popular entries- 100 Things I Love About the Movies. As it turns out, my odometer recently rolled over another milestone- the 200,000 hit marker. As logic follows, I’m due for another stroll down 100 Things Avenue. So without further ado, here are 100 More Things I Love About the Movies:

The Ten Coolest Quentin Tarantino Characters

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Quentin Tarantino celebrated his birthday over the weekend. As a fan of his highly quotable genre mashups, I feel obligated to celebrate. One of my favorite things to do after seeing a Tarantino film is to ask my friends which character was their favorite. Each film has a wealth of impossibly badass characters. Here’s my list of the ten coolest Quentin Tarantino characters:

Winston Wolfe, Pulp Fiction
He’s Winston Wolfe, and he’s here to solve problems like skull and brain bits all over your car. He can make a thirty minute drive in ten. He keeps all the Lash LaRues of the world from jingling and jangling their spurs. And he does all of it in a tuxedo. I don’t care about that guy from the Dos Equis ads- Winston Wolfe is the true “Most Interesting Man in the World”.

Failed Product Endorsements from the Movies

I wish any of these had ever been real.

Swanson Liver and Fava Bean Frozen Dinner

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Toting the Totem From “Inception” into Other Films

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This year, Inception inserted the word “totem” into our vernacular. Here’s the dialogue that defined the totem in the film:

Takin’ Hollywood Down to South Park

You’ve no doubt seen the results of the various South Park character generators on the internet. I spent some time monkeying around with one of them the other day and had a blast. While it’s not necessarily anything new, it was still a lot of fun. The generator I used to create these can be found at www.sp-studio.de. Feel free to visit and play around with it. Here’s what I created:

The Boardwalk Empire Collection
Nucky Thompson, Jimmy Darmody, Chalky White

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