Ranking Quentin Tarantino’s Movies

I don’t know about you but whenever Quentin Tarantino comes out with a new movie, it feels like an event to me. His 9th film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is no different and had a solid opening weekend at the box office.

It seems all we get these days are remakes, sequels, and comic book sourced offerings on the big screen so it’s nice to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood pull in $40 million this weekend, finishing second behind The Lion King.

For comparison purposes, Inglorious Basterds debuted during the summer with $38 million and ended its box office run with $321 million worldwide. Django Unchained, Tarantino’s biggest box office success to date, opened with $30 million over the holidays, and went on to earn $425 million globally.

While it’s impossible to put together a perfect ranking of all of Tarantino’s movies, it’s fun to discuss our favorite, and not so favorite, so have fun in the comments below.

Note: I’m seeing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tonight so it’s not on the list.

While I’m putting Death Proof in the #8 position, that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. In fact, this has gotten better to me over the years but I find that the case with most Tarantino movies. The car chase at the end is especially well done and deserves kudos for being in my Top 3 car chases of all time.

The Hateful Eight seems to get some flack for not doing more with the characters it has. To me, it’s tonal story that relishes in its directness, and not giving us a character to anchor on to . It’s score is amazing and brings the atmosphere on screen alive in a sharper way.

I’m sure I’ll catch heat for placing Kill Bill here but it’s probably the Tarantino movie I’ve seen least thanks to being in two volumes. I know it’s been reedited into The Whole Bloody Affair, and shame on me for not seeing that version yet. I plan on correcting that post haste. Uma Thurman rules the screen and Kill Bill injects a new energy into the story.

I went back and forth on Django Unchained and Inglorious Basterds. Both period pieces come alive with the Tarantino flair and both make excellent use of the gifted and talented Christoph Waltz. Every seen he’s in, his screen presence takes over and I can’t look away. From the saloon scene, pouring the beer in Django to the opening scene at the farmhouse in Basterds, Waltz is pure magic.

While some may be surprised to see Jackie Brown so high on the list, all I can say is please re-watch this one. When it first came out it threw some people because it wasn’t like the Tarantino movies that came before it. Yet, watch it again and everything about this movie stands out. The directing, acting, soundtrack…all fit together making an amazing mosaic of art.

Reservoir Dogs is my favorite heist movie that never shows the heist. Tarantino lets the characters and scenes breath, letting us relish the tension and chaos. It has that gritty independent vibe but presents such strong personalities that it stands easily with the big budget movies.

How can I not put Pulp Fiction in the top space? I remember walking in, spoiler free because that how it was back then, and taking one of the wildest theater experience rides ever. From the time jumps to the dialogue, Pulp Fiction made a new mold on how movies could be made and done. It has immense appeal even today and its scenes are instant classics.

How about you? What’s your Tarantino list look like?