Entertainment Movies Quentin Tarantino Says We're Living in One of 'the Worst Eras' in Moviegoing History Quentin Tarantino said on his Video Archives Podcast that modern day movies, as well as the 1950s and 1980s are "the worst era[s] in Hollywood history" By Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle Tommy McArdle is an editorial assistant on the Movies team at PEOPLE. Tommy joined PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 17, 2022 01:16PM EST Quentin Tarantino. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Quentin Tarantino does not think modern moviegoing culture is in a good place. In last Tuesday's episode of the auteur director's Video Archives Podcast with cohost and Pulp Fiction cowriter Roger Avary, Tarantino, 59, expressed that he feels current-day movie offerings from Hollywood are up there with some of the worst decades in American film history. "Even though the '80s was the time that I probably saw more movies in my life than ever, at least as far as going out to the movies was concerned, I do feel that '80s cinema is, along with the '50s, the worst era in Hollywood history," the director said during the episode. "Matched only by now" he added. "Matched only by the current era!" Tarantino added some nuance to his opinion on modern films, sharing that he finds "the good thing about being in a bad era of Hollywood cinema is the ones that don't conform, the ones that stand out from the pack," can receive deserving acclaim. Quentin Tarantino Says Django Unchained Was Not Kanye West's Idea: 'That Didn't Happen' Though the famous director's thoughts on modern-day moviegoing are clear, he has found some movies that "stand out from the pack" in recent months. In August, Tarantino offered praise for Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick during an interview for CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast in which he said he "f---ing loved" the movie and saw it in the theater. Vivien Killilea/Getty "Normally I don't talk about new movies that much because then I'm only forced to say good things, or else I'm slamming someone. And I don't want to do that. But in this case, I f---ing love Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic," said Tarantino. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "That and [Steven] Spielberg's West Side Story both provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I'd almost thought that I wasn't going to see anymore," he added at the time. Tarantino also noted "the respect and the love of" the original 1986 film Top Gun's director, the late Tony Scott, "in every frame" of the sequel, which was directed by Joseph Kosinski. Michelle Yeoh Reveals Why Quentin Tarantino Didn't Cast Her Opposite Uma Thurman in Kill Bill "I love both Tony Scott's cinema so much, and I love Tony so much that that's as close as we're ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie," Tarantino said. "[Koskinski, 48] did a great job." He went on to say that he could see nods to Scott, who died in 2012 at age 68, "almost in every decision" throughout Maverick, explaining, "It was consciously right there, but in this really cool way that was really respectful." "And I think it was in every decision [Cruise, 60] made in the film," Tarantino said.