Quentin Tarantino has a movie out in theaters this year. Arguably, it’s one of his best films, ranking right up there (in my opinion) with Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. But does Tarantino actually think that his OWN movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is one of the best movies of 2019?
Not according to a Tweet by entertainment journalist Erick Weber, a member of the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association who covers the Oscar race for his site, Awards Ace. While attending an L.A. event on behalf of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Weber asked the director his three favorite movies this year, and was told:
Quentin Tarantino has been on that Crawl bandwagon for a few weeks now, professing his love for Alexandre Aja’s alligator thriller online recently. But apparently, in recent weeks, he caught up with Martin Scorsese’s masterful crime epic The Irishman, because now it leads the charge as the best movie released this year, according to Quentin Tarantino.
And do you know what? He’s right! Even with the existence of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – which is EXCEPTIONAL in its own right – the scope, ambition and accomplishment of The Irishman still triumphs over virtually every other movie dropped into theaters (or on streaming) this year. It’s miraculous, and I understand why Tarantino would fall in love with it.
In fact, I recently hit CinemaBlend’s own YouTube channel to tell you why any hate being directed at The Irishman was simply misguided and wrong. Listen to my reasoning.
For his third pick, Quentin Tarantino went with Doctor Sleep, and OK, that’s more than a little unexpected. Not that there’s anything wrong with Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. It’s actually quite good. But third best movie of the year? This leads me to suspect that Tarantino is more of a massive Stanley Kubrick fan, because Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep is a love letter to The Shining as much as it is an interpretation of King’s novel.
Or, Tarantino loves Rebecca Ferguson as much as I do.
It’s getting to be the end of the year, and Top 10 lists will be flying in from all corners of the industry. Some will be predictable. Others will be strange. I’m willing to bet that a LOT them are going to include Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, even though his personal list does not.
What’s the best movie that you have seen so far this year? Head to the comments and let us know your thoughts.
