10 best performances in Quentin Tarantino's films

I recently rewatched almost all of Tarantino's films - other than Death Proof because seeing it once was enough - and I decided to finally rank my favorite performances in his films. It wasn't easy and a lot of great ones - like Lucy Liu's O-Ren Ishii - didn't make the cut - but it was also lots of fun to go back and appreciate that amazing work. So here we go:

10. Keith Carradine as Bill in Kill Bill
Bill is an unseen force in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and when we finally meet him in Vol. 2 he doesn't disappoint. Carradine is fantastic in the movie - charming, fascinating and completely unpredictable, like in the chilling moment he shoots Beatrix with a dart and laughs. At the end we are almost sad to see him go. That's the brilliance of this performance.

9. Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds

Pitt excels when he gets to do funny things and his delivery of butchered Italian lines is legendary. He also adds the ridiculous accent and charm to his character, injecting humor in every single scene he has. The fact he is gonna be in Tarantino's next film is the most exciting thing about it.

8. Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds

I know that this performance would probably be on top of many people's lists, but as brilliant as Waltz is here it's far from one of my top favorites in Tarantino's films. That said, he delivers a truly frightening villain who so incredibly entertaining to watch because like with the best antagonists, you have no idea what he will do next. He is calm and collected and when he erupts in rage it's absolutely horrific to witness.

7. Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained

To this day I don't know how Tarantino won so many awards for that script. When DiCaprio and Waltz exit the stage in the third act, the film completely collapses. It is also filled with absolute caricatures (the villains) and the lovers played by Foxx and Washington are unforgivably bland. Thank God for Waltz who single-handedly elevates the movie delivering the only character in this entire film that actually feels like a real person.

6. Uma Thurman as Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill

Uma Thurman delivers her best work here - in addition to impressive physicality and whimsical humorous moments for the character, the best scenes are those where we see The Bride as something more than a ruthless assassin - the moment when she wakes up in the hospital, realizing her child is gone and then the scene when she sees that her daughter isn't gone at all, she has survived. Thurman's Beatrix is a fantastic protagonist, one that we root for and care about, in spite of her being absolutely ruthless towards her victims.

5. Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction

This is still Willis' best work. It may not give him that much to do, but he still gets to show much more of his acting skills than he usually does. What is missing from Tarantino's recent films is that most of his characters feel like they couldn't exist in real world, but that is not the case with the characters he gave us in his early films. Butch is just a guy who had enough of being pushed around and wants to be the one who is in charge for once. And Willis' performance when Butch decided to go back and save Marcellus is the finest acting moment of his entire career.

4. John Travolta as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction

Vincent Vega is without a doubt the coolest character in Tarantino's films. Travolta is hilarious in the film, mostly because of his excellent chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson. Their scenes are far and away the most entertaining part of the movie but there's also tons of heart and genuine charm when he shares the screen with Uma Thurman. It's instant chemistry and that is something that contributes to true movie magic in their iconic dance scene.

3. Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction Samuel L. Jackson has been in so many films - huge, memorable, legendary films - but it is doubtful there will ever be a character and performance that has as much of an impact as his work as Jules in Pulp Fiction. In this one Jackson gets to be menacing, compassionate, funny and serious, delivering Tarantino's lines with so much charisma and passion that countless of them became legendary quotes.

2. Pam Grier as Jackie Brown in Jackie Brown

I miss when Tarantino framed his stories around women who felt real. Jackie Brown is a terrific character - she is fierce, driven and quite mysterious. She constantly surprises with how capable and resourceful she is. The film has a very grounded premise - unlike The Bride or Shosanna, Jackie isn't motivated by vengeance but by the difficult circumstances she found herself in, partially due to her own fault. She isn't perfect, she is flawed and human, and those are Tarantino's best characters. There's also such a huge element of girl power in this movie with Jackie being so compassionate towards other women, knowing how hard they fight to survive in men's world. It's such a joy to watch this film and witnessing Jackie outsmart them all.

1. Robert Forster as Max Cherry in Jackie Brown
This is hands down my favorite performance in all of Tarantino's films and one of my all time favorite Oscar nominations. Forster's Max Cherry is so sweet you almost can't believe he exists in Tarantino's world. He is extraordinary by being "ordinary". He is not a brutal gangster, a ruthless villain or a wisecracking criminal. He is a genuinely good guy - and ain't that a miraculous creature, especially in this director's films - and all of that is so beautifully portrayed. The gentle chemistry between him and Jackie, although they are so different, is so endearing to watch and makes that ending so tragically beautiful.