A Tarantino film for non-poseurs...

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2010)

Pitch perfect. So Tarantino actually made at least one film that doesn't allow viewers to get high on gore, and does require some concentration to get it. No wonder people didn't like it. Jackie Brown is like a Coen Bros. script directed by Tarantino. A bunch of people all scrambling for a bagful of cash - except unlike a Coen Bros. movie, these people aren't all morons, and someone manages to get away. The director executes it like a pro, never letting a viewer's attention wane.
The dialog in this film is smart and sober. Samuel L. Jackson is the epitome of scum, and plus he's badass to the core. Pam Grier is an absolute FOX. These two were born to play their parts. The casting is uniformly perfect - except De Niro. I have no clue what he was doing here - seems like the studio wanted more "star value". He sleepwalks through the whole thing, dragging down the quality of the entire film.
Overall this film is just a BIT slow. A couple of places require some speeding up, but on the whole the mood and pace is perfect. The character of Jackie Brown is one of the most interesting things Tarantino has come up with. He seems to have very quickly realized that his fans don't want anything even remotely resembling substance, and so he went commercial big-time with his next project. Kill Bill struck the mother lode. Its eerie; the man has a frightening grasp of the average movie-goer's likes and dislikes.