Quentin Tarantino is sharing his opinion on the new films coming out as of late, slamming them for the “just plain stupid shit [that] usually torpedoes every new movie coming out of the flavorless sausage factory that used to call itself Hollywood.”
The Pulp Fiction director penned a new op-ed for Sight and Sound magazine, where he explained that since the pandemic, he can’t seem to find a new movie that he doesn’t “pick to death.”
“Since the pandemic, for me anyway, it seems almost impossible for a new movie to come out that I don’t pick to death. Flaws, implausibilities, audience pandering, miscast performers or just plain stupid shit usually torpedoes every new movie coming out of the flavorless sausage factory that used to call itself Hollywood,” he wrote. “These days, the entire concept of what is a movie is more inclined to inspire contempt in me than generosity. Which is fair enough, because by comparison the movies of the last six years make the 80s seem like the 30s.”
Tarantino cited a few films that he’s seen since the pandemic that he’s “liked,” still noting that none have really caught his eye — except for one.
“I’ve seen movies I’ve liked since then — West Side Story (2021); Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 & 2 (both 2024), a few others, but nothing that really held me in its grip and swept me away to the magical land of enjoyment that I used to visit and was the reason why I loved movies above all artforms,” Tarantino said. “These days I’d rather read a book.”
The “suspenseful new movie” that self-admittedly grabbed the Oscar winner “and held me for its entire duration” was Joe Carnahan’s The Rip for Netflix, which stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
“The film is an exciting cop thriller with a novel premise that manages to deliver the goods in really clever ways,” Tarantino wrote of The Rip. “The whole package worked for me: Carnahan’s direction, the splendid cast, the look of the film (courtesy of cinematographer Juan Miguel Azpiroz) — but the real powerhouse component of this splendid collection is the sensational screenplay by Carnahan and Michael McGrale.”
The Rip recently made headlines as Damon and Affleck’s production company is facing a defamation lawsuit from two Miami-Dade police officers who claimed the movie has caused them reputational damage because its content blends fictionalized details with facts from their real-life experiences.
As for Tarantino, the director is in the midst of working on his first stage play, The Popinjay Cavalier, which will open on London’s West End in 2027. The show is described as “a rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen.”