Rob is constantly being bombarded by people telling him “you haven’t seen ____? You gotta check it out.” Or hearing critics rave “this movie is a classic, a must see.” So Rob decided that from now on every time he actually watches one of these flicks, he’ll give us his take on whether the film will live up to the hype or fall short.

So, what’s the deal with Jackie Brown?

Up until now, Jackie Brown was the only Quentin Tarantino directed film I had never watched. I consider myself a big fan of his work, so I figured I would finally sit down and watch this one. Jackie Brown was the movie Tarantino directed after Pulp Fiction, and it seems like a lot of people didn’t think it measured up to the level Pulp Fiction reached. I took this into consideration before I started watching the film, but I still really enjoyed Jackie Brown. There are some differences between the two films, but there are also a lot of similarities.

One thing that I liked from the beginning of the movie was that it had a strange mix of the 70’s and the 90’s. A lot of what happened in the film, including the set designs and music, felt like they were lifted right out of the 70’s. I always liked how Tarantino would use copious amounts of style in all of his films and this film may have the most style second only to Pulp Fiction. You can definitely see his appreciation for this time in film in Jackie Brown and you can see how he used that feeling of style as a major influence in the film itself. It’s interesting to see him create different types of films that all have his personal stamp, and Jackie Brown fits nicely into his catalog.

There are a number of great actors in the movie. It’s one of the many Quentin Tarantino films to feature Samuel L. Jackson and also stars Pam Grier, Robert DeNiro, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, and Bridget Fonda. A lot of these people are some of my favorite actors and they all did a fantastic job with their characters. I was especially impressed by Pam Grier considering I have never seen her in a movie before. I felt like the first scene between her and Sam Jackson really sparked in the movie. Up until that point it had been a lot of the dialogue heavy scenes that Tarantino is known for, and that I enjoy, but that scene really pulled me into the film. I specifically liked Robert DeNiro in this film as well. His character of Louis has become one of my all-time favorite DeNiro roles.

Jackie Brown has the exact same running length as Pulp Fiction, but JB seems a little longer. I believe this is because of the way that Pulp Fiction is edited. Jackie Brown is done in a more straightforward story telling style. There is a pivotal scene that is repeated three times from different character’s points of view, but each version is important and fun to watch. The pacing is still very well done in Jackie Brown. It actually seems to help build suspense throughout the later parts of the movie when the plot gets heavier. I could still see myself stopping on Jackie Brown when flipping through channels the same way I do when I see Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds. Many of the scenes in the film are entertaining in the way similar to Inglorious Basterds. Very dialogue heavy and well shot. The cinematic elements and camera work really shine in Jackie Brown.

Overall, I would say that I enjoyed Jackie Brown as much as I did the other films by Tarantino. I guess I can understand why it sits lower on people’s radar, but it is as solid of a film as any that he has done.