Jackie Brown is generally regarded as Quentin Tarantino's weakest film (although personally, I'd go for Death Proof). It's hard to put your finger on quite why since it has a fantastic cast, interesting set-up and some trademark Tarantino dialogue. Yet somehow it fails to be the sum of its parts and whilst enjoyable, is not quite up to the standards we expect from ol' Banana Chin. As with most QT films, the plot is fairly labyrinthine with layer upon layer gradually being revealed as the various plot strands come together. It kicks off with Jackie Brown - an air stewardess and money runner for a local gangster - getting picked up by the authorities. To avoid ...  Read the complete review

I looked toward watching “Jackie Brown” with very, VERY high expectations that this would be one of the all-time great gangster films of our modern era. I mean, when you look at the credentials, there’s no escaping it, isn’t there? Quentin “Pulp Fiction” Tarantino, master of everything slick, witty, cool and violent adapts Elmore Leonard’s crime novel “Rum Punch”. Elmore Leonard, you say? Well, he was only that guy who wrote the novel, that the fantastic George Clooney vehicle “Out Of Sight” was based on. He’s only one of the best crime novelists EVER, combining (mostly) original storylines ...  Read the complete review

I like to think I know my cinema. I can bandy the word ?noir? around when I get confused, rattle off a dozen French director?s names to impress the chicks, and slag the mass-produced Hollywood blockbusters like I?d be the first to knock $20 million back to star in The Mummy VI. However, the big question I ask, come the end of any film, is, ?Was that cool, or did it suck?? It?s a technical analysis, but one that serves me well. In the case of Quentin Tarantino?s 1997 offering, Jackie Brown, the answer to the all-important question is ?Yes?. Jackie Brown is a very cool film. Although based heavily on ol? Elmore Leonard?s novel Rum Punch, Jackie Brown is clearly a ...  Read the complete review

Of all Tarantino's films, this is the one that lacks something, and for once you can see that on the screen. So it is Tarantino's weakest film. And yet, it's still massively superior to most other films. It still has all of Tarantino's spark, including the violence, the excellently crafted plot, the action and the ever sharp and witty dialogue. But it's a longer film, and sometimes is too slow. But, the pace really is the only problem with it. Everything else from the plot and the acting, through to the action and dialogue is as sharp as a razor. Jackie Brown is was also the first film that Tarantino adapted from a book. Before this, everything had been an original idea.  Read the complete review

While at times I have found Quentin Tarantino's nonlinear storytelling quite frustrating, I do tend to enjoy his movies. Jackie Brown, his third as a director, may not seem like the most stylistic of his works within the first sitting -- especially when it has Pulp Fiction to contend with -- but it's a film that will grow on you each time you watch it. The leisurely pace is one of the main reasons why I like it so much. So, what is Jackie Brown about? Well, the title character (Pam Grier) works as a flight attendant for a small Mexican airline, who also smuggles illicit arms money into America for gun merchant Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson). The FEDS soon ...  Read the complete review