Review: Death Proof (2007)

* * *
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Tracie Thoms, Rosario Dawson

Death Proof may be the least, and the least loved, of Quentin Tarantino's features as a director, but it's obvious in every frame of the film that he had a blast making it. The joy of creation that shines through it is enough to make much of Death Proof entertaining as hell, although there are stretches that can be frustrating as hell, too, with Tarantino's customary self-indulgence feeling more draggy than exhilarating. In comparison to the director's other works this is a trifle of a film, but this slick little genre piece, which was part of a collaborative double feature experiment with director Robert Rodriguez, is a fun diversion that still manages to be more artful than a lot of what comes and goes from the cineplex on any given weekend.

Review: Top Five (2014)

* * * 1/2
Director: Chris Rock
Starring: Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson

It's never just a movie. Whether it's a serious film about the Haitian Revolution, or a silly film about a bear who is also a police officer, it means something, and the fact that it exists and how it is received mean something, too. Coming at a time when issues of diversity in film and television have been a particularly hot topic, Chris Rock's Top Five, which tackles that issue in ways that are both subtle and direct, has the benefit of feeling especially timely. It also, however, has the benefit of being an extremely good movie, one which is funny, sharply written, and of all the films that Rock has made (with the exception of the 2009 documentary Good Hair), this is the only one that comes anywhere near being as trenchant as his stand-up.