Quentin Tarantino is not a fan of modern Hollywood movies, but he does sing the praises of Ben Affleck’s Netflix crime thriller.
2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is the last film he directed. Quentin Tarantino’s The Movie Critic was meant to be his tenth and final film before retirement, but the project was ultimately scrapped. The acclaimed filmmaker has instead shifted focus to writing a play, while continuing to be outspoken in his criticisms about the current state of the industry.
In Sight and Sound magazine (via Variety), Tarantino reveals that one of the only recent movies he has enjoyed is Netflix’s The Rip, whose cast is led by Affleck and Matt Damon. He shares that it “did grab me and held me for its entire duration” while going on to praise Joe Carnahan’s direction, the cast’s performances, Juan Miguel Azpiroz’s cinematography, and the story by Carnahan and Michael McGrale. Check out Tarantino’s comments below:
A suspenseful new movie has come out that did grab me and held me for its entire duration. The film is an exciting cop thriller with a novel premise that manages to deliver the goods in really clever ways. The whole package worked for me: Carnahan’s direction, the splendid cast, the look of the film (courtesy of cinematographer Juan Miguel Azpiroz) – but the real powerhouse component of this splendid collection is the sensational screenplay by Carnahan and Michael McGrale.
The Rip is an exception to how Tarantino feels about most other movies that have been released within the past six years. He calls modern Hollywood “a flavorless sausage factory” and admits that he now prefers to read a book over watching a movie because of the issues he has with more recent films. Aside from The Rip, he does mention Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga movies among the recent few that he has liked.
Flaws, implausibilities, audience pandering, miscast performers or just plain stupid s*** usually torpedoes every new movie coming out of the flavorless sausage factory that used to call itself Hollywood. These days, the entire concept of what is a movie is more inclined to inspire contempt in me than generosity. Which is fair enough, because by comparison the movies of the last six years make the 80s seem like the 30s.
I’ve seen movies I liked since then – West Side Story (2021); Horizon: An American Saga’ Chapter 1 and 2 (both 2024), a few others, but nothing that really held me in its grip and swept me away to the magical land of enjoyment that I use to visit regularly and was the reason I loved movies above all other artforms. These days I’d rather read a book.
Spielberg’s West Side Story received seven Academy Award nominations, Ariana DeBose won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, and it has a 91% critics’ score and 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. On the other hand, Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga has not received the same kind of recognition. The first movie has a 51% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and the second installment has only been released at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. Its predecessor’s disappointing box office led to the sequel’s theatrical release being indefinitely delayed, and there have been legal issues too.
With a debut of 41.6 million views, Netflix’s best opening since Happy Gilmore 2, The Rip has performed well on the streaming service, and it has a solid 77% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Compared to many of the other acclaimed movies in the past six years, The Rip may seem like an unusual favorite, but Tarantino has made his fair share of crime thrillers and is not known for agreeing with popular opinions.
For now, Tarantino is focused on writing his “swashbuckling comedy” play that takes place in Europe during the 1930s. It is titled The Popinjay Cavalier and will premiere in London’s West End in 2027. There has been no official update on what the tenth and last movie he directs will be now that The Movie Critic has been canceled.
Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is getting a sequel later this year in the form of Netflix’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth. He wrote the script and was among its producers, but David Fincher directed it. Brad Pitt and Timothy Olyphant are reprising their respective roles of Cliff Booth and James Stacy from the 2019 film, while new cast members include Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, and Holt McCallany.
- Birthdate
-
March 27, 1963
- Birthplace
-
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- Height
-
6 feet 1 inch
- Professions
-
Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor, Author