Next up: Reservoir Dogs
A group of 6 criminals is assembled as a team to rob a diamond store. In order to keep things "professional," the men are identified not by their names, but by colors, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Orange, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Pink (yes, Mr. Pink). But during the heist, things go very wrong, resulting in 2 members being killed and one receiving a serious shot in the gut. They begin to suspect that one of their group is a police informant, but who?
I learned after seeing Pulp Fiction in the summer, I like Quentin Tarantino movies. I really had only seen bits and pieces of them. Yeah, learned my lesson. Have really liked both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Yes, a lot of violence, but slick and stylish and very well done. I know it sounds corny, but that's the best way to describe this movie - cool, stylish. Maybe it's the sunglasses and the black suits.
I think my favorite part of Tarantino movies is the writing. So entertaining. Yes, lots of swearing, but at the same time, the dialogue is just great. One liners by the handful, and entire speeches or exchanges that are almost over the top, but played so well. Thieves discussing threats to civilians in a robbery they are planning, then "I'm hungry. Let's get a taco." Just seamlessly switching gears, like cutting off a guy's finger is just everyday business. and now we're off to grab a bite. Or bickering over Madonna lyrics, or whether to leave a tip. It's similar in Pulp Fiction - the whole "what do they call a quarter-pounder with cheese in France?" discussion on the way to a hit.
The acting is great. Tarantino has a handful of actors he likes working with, and they suit his movies wonderfully. Harvey Keitel is just cool as Mr. White. Steve Buscemi is wonderful in neurotic side character roles, and is perfect as Mr. Pink. Tim Roth plays Mr. Orange, and he is certainly memorable as a character bleeding to death from a gut wound throughout the movie. It's no wonder this was his breakout role in the States (I remember him as Edgar Lawson from the Helen Hayes version of The Mirror Crack'd myself!) A scene stealer, though, was Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde. A psycho with ice-water in his veins. So disturbing in the torture scene, just humming and dancing to the radio, cutting a guy's ear off...
Tarantino has a very unique style for direction as well. Long takes, some nice camera angle work, and interesting timeline treatment. In Pulp Fiction, the movie was really a series of stories. Here, the timeline is all in pieces. You never see the robbery, or how it got so fouled up. You hear about it in character's conversations, in flashbacks, which even then are of the escapes and not of the robbery itself. You never even really see the store that they are robbing - just a brief outside shot as they are casing the place.
And an interesting observation about the violence in the movie. It's violent, yes, but a lot of it is off screen. The whole point of the violence is more as a setting for the circumstances that the characters find themselves in. It's not gratuitous, despite being so prevalent in the movie, I guess - it has a point, not just violence to glorify violence. Overall, you can see an underlying idea about the consequences of actions. They aren't just shooting to hear their guns go off (well, except Mr. Blonde, but he's a nutcase) and they are in this situation because of their actions. If you think about it as a movie with ideas (instead of just a Saturday afternoon flick), you can see how this world, these ideas were later developed into Pulp Fiction.
Side note - I liked a quote from Michael Madsen (Mr. Blonde) about recognition after his roles. He also played the foster father of the kid in Free Willy (released just a year after Reservoir Dogs) - very very different roles back to back. Kids would recognize him as a good guy, and the parents would recognize him as a psycho. :)
Overall: 5 of 5. Another highly entertaining (albeit violent and swearing filled) slick and stylish movie from Tarantino. Gotta make sure both Kill Bills are on my Netflix now :)
I learned after seeing Pulp Fiction in the summer, I like Quentin Tarantino movies. I really had only seen bits and pieces of them. Yeah, learned my lesson. Have really liked both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Yes, a lot of violence, but slick and stylish and very well done. I know it sounds corny, but that's the best way to describe this movie - cool, stylish. Maybe it's the sunglasses and the black suits.
I think my favorite part of Tarantino movies is the writing. So entertaining. Yes, lots of swearing, but at the same time, the dialogue is just great. One liners by the handful, and entire speeches or exchanges that are almost over the top, but played so well. Thieves discussing threats to civilians in a robbery they are planning, then "I'm hungry. Let's get a taco." Just seamlessly switching gears, like cutting off a guy's finger is just everyday business. and now we're off to grab a bite. Or bickering over Madonna lyrics, or whether to leave a tip. It's similar in Pulp Fiction - the whole "what do they call a quarter-pounder with cheese in France?" discussion on the way to a hit.
The acting is great. Tarantino has a handful of actors he likes working with, and they suit his movies wonderfully. Harvey Keitel is just cool as Mr. White. Steve Buscemi is wonderful in neurotic side character roles, and is perfect as Mr. Pink. Tim Roth plays Mr. Orange, and he is certainly memorable as a character bleeding to death from a gut wound throughout the movie. It's no wonder this was his breakout role in the States (I remember him as Edgar Lawson from the Helen Hayes version of The Mirror Crack'd myself!) A scene stealer, though, was Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde. A psycho with ice-water in his veins. So disturbing in the torture scene, just humming and dancing to the radio, cutting a guy's ear off...
Tarantino has a very unique style for direction as well. Long takes, some nice camera angle work, and interesting timeline treatment. In Pulp Fiction, the movie was really a series of stories. Here, the timeline is all in pieces. You never see the robbery, or how it got so fouled up. You hear about it in character's conversations, in flashbacks, which even then are of the escapes and not of the robbery itself. You never even really see the store that they are robbing - just a brief outside shot as they are casing the place.
And an interesting observation about the violence in the movie. It's violent, yes, but a lot of it is off screen. The whole point of the violence is more as a setting for the circumstances that the characters find themselves in. It's not gratuitous, despite being so prevalent in the movie, I guess - it has a point, not just violence to glorify violence. Overall, you can see an underlying idea about the consequences of actions. They aren't just shooting to hear their guns go off (well, except Mr. Blonde, but he's a nutcase) and they are in this situation because of their actions. If you think about it as a movie with ideas (instead of just a Saturday afternoon flick), you can see how this world, these ideas were later developed into Pulp Fiction.
Side note - I liked a quote from Michael Madsen (Mr. Blonde) about recognition after his roles. He also played the foster father of the kid in Free Willy (released just a year after Reservoir Dogs) - very very different roles back to back. Kids would recognize him as a good guy, and the parents would recognize him as a psycho. :)
Overall: 5 of 5. Another highly entertaining (albeit violent and swearing filled) slick and stylish movie from Tarantino. Gotta make sure both Kill Bills are on my Netflix now :)
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