Quentin Tarantino: Talking trash about his critics

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Apparently Quentin Tarantino was a little wounded after all about the barbed critical reception his new film, ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ got at Cannes this year. In case you forgot, although the movie got a standing ovation, the critics were for the most part unimpressed, with the Guardian calling it ‘an armor-plated turkey,’ Time’s Richard Corliss dubbing it ‘a misfire’ and Movieline’s David Bourgeours saying ‘by the end of the film it’s hard to care much about what happens to anybody on screen.’

I’m heading off to see the film tonight, so I may volunteer a few thoughts myself shortly. But Tarantino, in a new interview with GQ magazine, has decided that -- ahem -- he is probably a far better critic any of the ink-stained wretches that haunt the screening rooms around town. I’m not sure that volunteering this information is going to do wonders for the reviews of ‘Basterds’ when the film arrives next month, but tact has never been Tarantino’s strong suit.

So after dismissing the bad reviews at Cannes as being the work of celebrity journalists, not the ‘bona fide literary film critics’ that he respects, Tarantino went on to say: ‘I respect criticism. But I know more about film than most of the people writing about me. Not only that, I’m a better writer than most of the people writing about me. And I can write film criticism better than most of the people writing about me too.’

That’s called biting the hand that feeds you. And the whoosh you just heard is the sound of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ ’ Rotten Tomatoes score dropping faster than the stock market on Black Friday.

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