Notable and notorious IndieWire film critic David Ehrlich recently put out a social media call for film critic peers to join a weekly survey to discuss movie topics, answer questions, and highlight their work.  Representing Every Movie Has a Lesson, I, along with over 60 other emerging and established film critics including some of my fellow Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle members and Aaron White of Feelin’ Film, accepted the invitation to participate.  I'm honored by the opportunity, and I hope my responses are chosen each week.  

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the best Quentin Tarantino movie and why?

Friends and followers of my work and opinions on social media know that I differentiate “favorite” from “best.” Favorites are personal and very subjective. The things that are best tend to have a few more objective qualities and victories going for them. Sometimes a movie is both. For Quentin Tarantino, that’s not the case for me, but it’s close. My personal favorite is Jackie Brown. I love seeing what QT does within the boundaries of material that’s not his own, which, for me, shows more range that his absolute best self-made stuff. The best-of-the-best, though, is still an easy pick.