Category Archives: James Parks

2007 Films, Action, Eli Roth, James Parks, Kurt Russell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Michael Parks, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, Slasher, Thriller

Grindhouse: Death Proof-2007

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Grindhouse: Death Proof-2007

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell

Scott’s Review #1,344

Reviewed February 13, 2023

Grade: A

It’s tough to go wrong with a Quentin Tarantino film recognizing that one needs to be a Tarantino fan. His films are for specific tastes that indulge in stylized violence, dark humor, and cartoonish characters.

Grindhouse: Death Proof (2007) is an easy victory for the director and incorporates his trademark qualities with beautiful female race car drivers and a sadistic stuntman.

As usual, revenge is the name of the game and results in a satisfying ending. The thrill is in the chase that occurs mainly midway through and plenty of B movie references and old songs are on display.

The experience is a pure pleasure for any cinema lover that appreciates aspects of the film like editing that too often falls beneath the surface. The scratchy film texture and retro title sequence all help to encompass another Tarantino opus.

The film is part of a double feature along with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and includes a series of mock exploitive trailers.

Both, specifically Tarantino’s, harken back to when exploitative films were shown in dusty movie houses with grainy video and a stale popcorn stench. The mood was immediately set for me while watching the film which enhanced my enjoyment tremendously.

Psychotic stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is a professional body double who likes to meet unsuspecting women at bars and take them for deadly drives for fun. He has a specially made car which he calls ‘Death Proof’ but only for the driver and not the passenger.

The first half of the film involves a group of girls out for a good time in a dive bar. Abbie (Rosario Dawson), Pam (Rose McGowan), and others ultimately fall victim to his shenanigans during a dastardly head-on collision exceptionally filmed.

Later, he meets a tough group of female race car drivers led by real-life stuntwoman Zoe Bell who vows to make him pay for causing them trouble. Their hell-bent vengeance just may be what the doctor ordered to cause Mike’s downfall.

Death Proof is often overlooked by fans of Tarantino and it might be because it’s paired with another film. But, it’s not half a movie either and at one hour and fifty-four minutes, it’s got legs. The film flies under the radar for me too but it’s a high-octane mile-minute experience.

One great part of Death Proof is the throwback to cult films of the 1960s and 1970s, especially Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, a 1965 exploitative masterpiece by Russ Meyer.

These girls are no shrinking violets or damsels in distress who need a man to save the day. Quite the contrary. They kick ass and take names, especially in the flawless second half. Out for blood, the girls assuredly put Mike firmly in his place.

Juxtapositioned with the first half which has a dire ending for the group of girls, the second half is more upbeat and satisfactory. The lighting is also different in the two halves. The first takes place well beyond midnight while the second is in the bright afternoon.

Tarantino produces a brilliant piece of feminist progressivism with nasty muscle and female characters not to be messed with. Death Proof (2007) shows badass characters with hints of humor and discussions about men.

The girlie action flick blends perfectly with the 1970s race cars and the sexploitation theme Tarantino is recreating while still making the film feel modern and relevant.

2012 Films, Amber Tamblyn, Best Film of the Year, Bruce Dern, Christoph Waltz, Don Johnson, James Parks, Jamie Foxx, Jonah Hill, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Parks, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Carradine, Russ Tamblyn, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Savini, Tom Wopat, Walton Goggins, Western

Django Unchained-2012

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Django Unchained-2012

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz

Scott’s Review #699

Reviewed November 26, 2017

Grade: A

Quentin Tarantino, the brilliant filmmaker, can do very little wrong in my opinion, and he releases yet another masterpiece with 2012’s Django Unchained, a western story centering around the delicate subject matter of slavery.

As with several other talented director’s stories, the main focal point here is a revenge-driven tale with plenty of bloody scenes and stylistic ferociousness, making Django Unchained yet another masterpiece in the Tarantino collection.

Certainly not for the faint of heart, the film will please fans of film creativity and artistic achievement.

As with many Tarantino films a stellar cast is used and each actor cast to perfection- it seems almost every actor in Hollywood is dying to appear in the director’s films- this time Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson are the lucky ones, all featured in prominent roles- not surprisingly the acting is top-notch.

An interesting fact to note is that whoever appears in a Tarantino film seems to be having the time of their lives- what creative freedom and interesting material to experience.

A comparable director to Tarantino- as far as recruiting fine actors- is Robert Altman- also tremendously popular with talent.

The saga begins with clear Western flair as Django Freeman (Foxx) is led through the scorching heat of Texas with a group of other black slaves, presumably, to be sold by their abusive white captors- the time is 1858, and the abolition of slavery has not yet occurred the Civil War is still two years away.

Doctor King Schultz (Waltz), a former dentist and current bounty hunter, is on a mission to find and kill the Brittle brothers and realizes that Django can help him find the men.

To complicate matters, Django has been separated from his wife Broomhilda (Washington) and vows to find her and avenge her abductors.

As circumstances lead Schultz and Django to a vast Tennessee estate, the duo becomes business partners and friends. The race to rescue Broomhilda takes the pair to sunny (and equally hot) Mississippi- the home of vicious Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and his dreaded “Candyland”.

The crackling heat and the atmospheric nature of Django Unchained combined with the revenge theme make the film an immeasurable success.

An ode to spaghetti westerns of yesteryear, the film incorporates similar music and grit so that the result is a modernized version of those films, with lots more blood and violence.

Slavery is a tough subject matter to tackle, especially when members of the Ku Klux Klan are featured, but Tarantino does so effortlessly, and as Django gains revenge on his tormentors, there is major audience satisfaction to be enjoyed.

The indignities and downright abuse that several black characters suffer can be quite tough to sit through.

The climactic dinner scene in Mississippi is splendid and the best sequence of the film. Schultz and Django dine with Calvin at his spectacular mansion. Calvin’s sinister and loyal house slave (Jackson) suspects a devious plan is about to be hatched and a vicious shoot-out erupts between the parties involved.

The ingenious and long sequence is a cat-and-mouse affair with all of the characters carefully tiptoeing around the others in fear of being revealed or discovered as fakes.

The scene is exceptional in its craft as we watch the characters dine on delectable food and drink, all the while motivations bubble under the surface.

Django Unchained is not for film-goers seeking either a linear story or a mainstream piece of blockbuster movie-making-Tarantino is not a typical Hollywood guy.

The film is exceptionally carved and constructed in a way that challenges the viewer to endure what some of the characters (specifically Django and Broomhilda) are made to go through. This discomfort and horror make the inevitable revenge all the more sweet and satisfying.

Quentin Tarantino has created masterpiece after masterpiece throughout his filmography of work.

Proudly, I can herald 2012’s  Django Unchained as one of the unique director’s very finest and will be sure to be remembered decades and decades in the future as being able to challenge, provoke thought, and satisfy legions of his fans.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor-Christoph Waltz (won), Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Sound Editing, Best Cinematography

2010 Films, Action, Camp, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Don Johnson, Ethan Maniquis, James Parks, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Tom Savini

Machete-2010

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Machete-2010

Director Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez

Starring Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba

Scott’s Review #501

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Reviewed October 28, 2016

Grade: B

Machete (2010) is a clear, fun homage to exploitation films of the 1970’s movies, directed by Robert Rodriguez (a protege of Quentin Tarantino) and quite heavily influenced by his mentor.

It very much resembles a Tarantino film with the comic, over-the-top elements, and the violence, but is somewhat less compelling in the story department, and lacks the crisp, rich storytelling.

It tells the story of a Mexican ex-Federale (named Machete) involved in a plot to kill a corrupt United States Senator (played by Robert De Niro).

He attempts to flee Mexico for Texas, is shot, and spends the remainder of the film vowing revenge on his assailants.

Machete contains many celebrity cameos and is fun to watch- in a light way. The film is not intended to be looked upon earnestly.

For the interested, you also get to see Lindsay Lohan topless.

The film is a fun, violent, popcorn flick, with a nice political message, but if interested in these types of movies, rent Grindhouse: Planet Terror (2007), which is a better experience.

2003 Films, 2004 Films, Action, Best Film of the Year, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, James Parks, Lucy Liu, Martial Arts, Michael Madsen, Michael Parks, Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, Scott's Top 100 Films, Uma Thurman, Vivica A. Fox

Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2-2003/2004

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Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2- 2003/2004

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine

Top 100 Films #58

Scott’s Review #322

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Reviewed January 3, 2016

Grade: A

Despite being released as separate films (Fall of 2003 and Spring of 2004), Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2 are one grand, sprawling feature.

The films were shot as one, but at a running time of over four hours, it was impossible to release them as one, so director Quentin Tarantino decided to release his masterpiece martial arts film as two sequential films.

I have decided to review them as one since Volume 2 is a clear continuation of Volume 1.

From a story perspective, Kill Bill is a basic revenge thriller. The plot is not complex nor ingenious and is rather ordinary containing B-movie components- think the really bad Kung-Fu films of long ago.

What makes Kill Bill an extraordinary masterpiece, however, is the style that exudes from the film, thanks to the direction and creation of Tarantino.

The film is brimming with good flavor and crackling dialogue of an intelligent sort.

Characters have long conversations with each other-not for redundancy’s sake- in between the endless martial arts and bloody sequences.

We meet our heroine, The Bride (Uma Thurman), in a chapel in El Paso, Texas. About to be married to her groom, the entire wedding party is suddenly assassinated in a bloody fashion by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.

Their leader, Bill (David Carradine), shoots The Bride after she reveals to him that she is carrying his baby.

The film flashes forward four years later- The Bride has survived the massacre but has been comatose ever since. When a hospital worker rapes her, she escapes and vows revenge on each one of her attackers- the revenge culminating with Bill.

Her path of destruction leads her to Japan.

Like most of Tarantino’s films, Kill Bill is divided into chapters and often goes back and forth from past to present.

The brilliance of Kill Bill is its pizazz. We know The Bride will get her revenge on the assassins, we just do not know in what way or how bloody the slaughters will be.

The film contains copious amounts of blood and swords and machetes are everywhere to be found.

The slow drawl dialogue as The Bride has conversations with her prey before she kills them, oftentimes ends in a big fight scene. Her first revenge, against Vernita (Vivica A. Fox), is unique in that it takes place in Vernita’s kitchen as her young daughter is happily eating her breakfast cereal.

The entire battle ensues in the kitchen and we are left watching blood and cereal.

It is Tarantino’s unique style of filmmaking and storytelling, adding violence, and long character conversations, that give Kill Bill, and all of his other classic films, his unique brand, and stamp of approval.

I dearly hope he continues to make films that challenge the norm, for years to come.

2015 Films, Bruce Dern, Channing Tatum, Demián Bichir, James Parks, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins, Western

The Hateful Eight-2015

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The Hateful Eight-2015

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Scott’s Review #319

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Reviewed January 3, 2016

Grade: A

Quentin Tarantino does it again!

The modern equivalent of Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, or any of the great directors, his films are an experience to be reveled in.

The viewer is taken to another world and experiences a great fantasy. This time he dives into western territory with The Hateful Eight (2015), a brutal tale of eight strangers holed up in a shelter during a Wyoming blizzard shortly after the Civil War.

The film delivers blood, unique characters, and brilliant writing.

We are introduced to Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and John “The Hangman” (Kurt Russell) early on, as Marquis hitches a ride on John’s stagecoach.

They are bounty hunters heading to Red Rock to deliver their prisoners and collect a large loot. Marquis has three dead bodies, but John has captured brutal female criminal Daisy Domergue, played wonderfully by Jennifer Jason Leigh, alive and well.

The group then picks up the new Red Rock sheriff, Chris Mannix, who is headed there to accept his new position.

Everyone is in a panic to reach safety before a vicious blizzard hits and the group comes to a shelter where they meet the other film principals, Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), Oswaldo (Tim Roth), Marco the Mexican (Demian Bichir), and General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern).

These eight make up “The Hateful Eight” in the title.

The setting could not be better. The cold, wintry blizzard and the grand mountains of the West are authentic. However, most of the film is set inside Minnie’s Haberdashery, an inn where the eight (and some others) spend most of the film.

I found the setting tremendously effective as the howling wind,  the driving snow through the windows, mixed with the glowing warmth of the lighting and the hot, steaming, soothing stew that they ate, and the hot coffee, which is ingeniously featured throughout the film.

These hot and cold elements contrast so well.

Shot in 70 mm film to ensure a widescreen, epic look, the film succeeds in the snowy, outdoor scenes, though I am not sure I would notice this camera style without it being touted with the release.

The characters bristle with authenticity and engagement and each one is interested in his or her own right- even the secondary characters.

My favorites are John “The Hangman”, Daisy, Marquis, and Sandy Smithers. John is probably the most likable character of the bunch and Kurt Russell (almost unrecognizable under the thick beard), gives the character charm and wit.

As the story unfolds, each character is mysterious, and their motives unclear, which makes the film fun. Are some in secret cahoots with others? When someone poisons the coffee, a whodunit erupts.

This is the beauty- the character motivations slowly come into play and a slow reveal occurs.

The gore/violence is fantastic. Without revealing too much, there are many deaths and the film is non-linear, with the middle portion of the story occurring before the first section. To keep things organized, Tarantino divides into chapters, and over three hours long, the film is a monster.

I like how Tarantino features an interracial relationship (black inn owner Minnie and her white husband).

Favorite scenes include the vomiting blood sequence and the brutal scene of the severing of the arm of a character.  There is also the scene of Marquis dragging a victimized, naked soldier through the snow that is intense and shocking, involving brutal sodomy.

As with all of Tarantino’s films, the characters are cartoonish and not to be taken completely seriously and the violence will undoubtedly offend some, but that is the beauty of his films.

This is a masterful work by a masterful modern director.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Supporting Actress-Jennifer Jason Leigh, Best Original Score (won), Best Cinematography