[.ca] Jackie Brown

Amazon.com essential video:
The curiosity of Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown is Robert Forster's worldly wise bail bondsman Max Cherry, the most alive character in this adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch. The Academy Awards saw it the same way, giving Forster the film's only nomination. The film is more "rum" than "punch" and will certainly disappoint those who are looking for Tarantino's trademark style. This movie is a slow, decaffeinated story of six characters glued to a half million dollars brought illegally into the country. The money belongs to Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson), a gunrunner just bright enough to control his universe and do his own dirty work. His just-paroled friend--a loose term with Ordell--Louis (Robert De Niro) is just taking up space and could be interested in the money. However, his loyalties are in question between his old partner and Ordell's doped-up girl (Bridget Fonda). Certainly Fed Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) wants to arrest Ordell with the illegal money. The key is the title character, a late-40s-ish flight attendant (Pam Grier) who can pull her own weight and soon has both sides believing she's working for them. The end result is rarely in doubt, and what is left is two hours of Tarantino's expert dialogue as he moves his characters around town. Tarantino changed the race of Jackie and Ordell, a move that means little except that it allows Tarantino to heap on black culture and language, something he has a gift and passion for. He said this film is for an older audience although the language and drug use may put them off. The film is not a salute to Grier's blaxploitation films beyond the musical score. Unexpectedly the most fascinating scenes are between Grier and Forster: two neo-stars glowing in the limelight of their first major Hollywood film after decades of work. --Doug Thomas

From Amazon.co.uk:
The curiosity of Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown is Robert Forster's worldly wise bail bondsman Max Cherry, the most alive character in this adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch. The Academy Awards saw it the same way, giving Forster the film's only nomination. The film is more "rum" than "punch" and will certainly disappoint those who are looking for Tarantino's trademark style. This movie is a slow, decaffeinated story of six characters glued to a half million dollars brought illegally into the country. The money belongs to Ordell (Samuel L Jackson), a gunrunner just bright enough to control his universe and do his own dirty work. His just-paroled friend--a loose term with Ordell--Louis (Robert De Niro) is just taking up space and could be interested in the money. However, his loyalties are in question between his old partner and Ordell's doped-up girl (Bridget Fonda). Certainly Fed Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) wants to arrest Ordell with the illegal money. The key is the title character, a late-40-ish flight-attendant (Pam Grier) who can pull her own weight and soon has both sides believing she's working for them. The end result is rarely in doubt, and what is left is two hours of Tarantino's expert dialogue as he moves his characters around town. Tarantino changed the race of Jackie and Ordell, a move that means little except that it allows Tarantino to heap on black culture and language, something he has a gift and passion for. He said this film is for an older audience although the language and drug use may put them off. The film is not a salute to Grier's blaxploitation films beyond the musical score. Unexpectedly the most fascinating scenes are between Grier and Forster: glowing in the limelight of their first major Hollywood film after decades of work. --Doug Thomas

DVD Features:
The documentary Jackie Brown: How It Went Down is basically a vacuous cast-and-crew lovefest, but their enthusiasm is genuine, and the other bonus features are consistently worthwhile. A 54-minute interview with Quentin Tarantino seems excessive until you fully appreciate the writer-director's passionate devotion to movies and movie knowledge; film students are advised to listen attentively. The gem of the bunch, however, is the complete "Chicks with Guns" infomercial that's partially seen in Jackie Brown; it's like the NRA meets the Snap-on tools calendar girls! For those seeking pop-cultural perspective, trailers for films starring Robert Forster and Pam Grier demonstrate the rigors of survival in Hollywood, making their Jackie Brown comebacks even more gratifying. At least one deleted scene is a classic, as Grier cracks up Michael Keaton with an improvised zinger. Digging deeper, there's a well-chosen archive of reviews and articles, and DVD-ROM features allowing movie playback with informative text and trivia or side by side with the complete screenplay. --Jeff Shannon

greatest movie ever:
i really enjoyed this movie, the plot is really slick and its on my top 25 list. The way jackie manuvers her plan throughout the movie puts Tarantino on the top of my director/writers list.

Great! Awesome! Fantastic!:
Nobody and I mean nobody makes movies like Quentin Tarantino. JACKIE BROWN is one of the greatest movies of all time. Personally, This is my favorite of Quentin Tarantino's films. So get your copy of JACKIE BROWN today!

What are you saying?....Tarantino's world is a cool place:
If you were to take this film, and compare it to Tarantino's earlier work, you'd never guess they came from the same director and yes baby he did a great job with "Jackie." This is one of those films which is strange but yet captivating. You'll definitely feel as though you are watching a "Blaxploitation" flick to the point that you'll be wondering what corner Richard Roundtree was hiding behind. Tarantino slows down a little and shows his skill at plotting an entertaining tale that doesn't tax your patience. In here, you do get less blood and more characterizations than usual and is unlike either of his first 2 movies. In Jackie Brown, Tarantino takes us for a ride as we follow Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), a flight attendant helping an arms dealer named Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) get money where it needs to be. After a flight, she is pull aside by two cops, one being Ray Nicolet (Michael Keaton), who find the cash she is smuggling in for Ordell. Now she faces jail time and Ordell must get rid of somebody who might snitch. What happens now is the bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster) and Brown team up to mess with Ordell and his two pot smoking companions, Melanie (Bridget Fonda) and Louis Gara (Robert De Niro). Now it's a nice plot of how Ordell wants the half a million dollars he has coming to him with these arms deals and how Jackie Brown is the only connection between Ordell and the police and Cherry. This movie received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Forster) and many good reviews. Forster isn't the only one giving a great performance. De Niro, Fonda, Jackson, Grier, Keaton, even Chris Tucker who is in the movie for probably less than five or ten minutes gives a notable performance. The whole ensemble is incredibly well casted and deserves to be recognized. However, this movie is uniquely Quentin T. and exhibits his versatile film making style. When he directs he allows his imagination free rein to experiment and explore. Each of his directorial efforts has been unique, and "Jackie Brown" is another successful experiment. This movie does have great dialogue. Not surprising considering this WAS an Elmore Leonard book with Tarantino doing the scripting. Both men have quite a talent for what they do. It is also clear that Tarantino loves what he does, sometimes a little too much. I have the soundtrack and just loved it. If you own it you will see how great the songs fit in and the dialogue. Loved the scene when they're all going to the mall at the end, and DeNiro's car is playing "Midnight Confession," and Forster's car is playing the Delfonics, "Didn't I Blow Your Mind" (a song that desperately needed re-discovery, thank you Quentin), and Jackie's car is playing "Street life!" and when Robert Forster first meets Jackie as he's bailing her out and "Natural High" comes on!!!!. Yes, QT is BRILLIANT when it comes to the use of music in his films and soundtracks. At the end of this, all the adventures and bizarre paths taken by these characters converge into a great film. What more can I say but to highly recommended this film along with the soundtrack.

The one after Pulp Fiction:
Overall I like this movie. I respect the people that don't like this movie as they have some valid reasons for doing so. One reason, a reason that I might add has made me lose a measure of respect for Mr Tarantino, is the ... borrowing from older movies. Tarantino has been heavily blasted by critics for "ripping off" ideas and scenes from other movies. However, I do not feel that this applies to this film although there is little doubt that he is paying homage to films of the blaxplotation genre. Another fact that I think that curbed the borrowing thing in this movie is that it is not written by the director but is based on a novel called Rum Punch by Elmore Lenard. That being said I have to speculate that because Tarantino had to work within this framework he therefore couldnt take the "liberates" that he has been accused of taking in some of his other films. Tarantino's non linear approach to plot lines and story lines is truely progressive. Not as much of that in this one as in Pulp Fiction but it is present none the less. The acting is very good. This is a very solid movie with a lot of character.

Tarantino's world does seem like cool a place!,:
Tarantino did a great job with Jackie Brown. This is one of those films which is strange but yet captivating. You'll definitely feel as though you are watching a "Blaxploitation" flick from the 1970's. Almost to the point that you'll be wondering what corner Richard Roundtree was hiding behind. Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton and De Niro are all stellar as the extreme characters they play in this movie which focuses on lost drug money. Tarantino slows down a little and shows his skill at plotting an entertaining tale that doesn't tax your patience. In here, you do get less blood and more characterizations than usual and is unlike either of his first 2 movies. However, this movie is uniquely Quentin T. and exhibits his versatile film making style. When he directs he allows his imagination free rein to experiment and explore. Each of his directorial efforts has been unique, and "Jackie Brown" is another successful experiment. This movie does have a very good dialogue. Not surprising considering this WAS an Elmore Leonard book with Tarantino doing the scripting. Both men have quite a talent for what they do. It is also clear that Tarantino loves what he does, sometimes a little too much. At the end of this, all the adventures and bizarre paths taken by these characters converge into a great film. Highly recommended along with the soundtrack.