Film #11: Taxi Driver

What's going down?
Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) is a mentally disturbed Vietnam veteran who gets a job as a night-shift taxi driver to deal with his insomnia. As Bickle becomes more and more angry with the decaying city he lives in and the human scum that populate it, he becomes attracted to campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Sheperd) and meets twelve-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster). After blowing a potential relationship with Betsy, he decides that he must do whatever it takes to change the world he lives in to suit his vision, and begins plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate.

Who's in it?
Robert DeNiro, at his seventies peak, presents Travis Bickle as a man who stands in a gray area between good and evil; he is far from being a hero and his grim philosophy of change by violence is disturbing, but his stubborn determination to liberate Iris from her life as a prostitute keeps him from becoming a villain in the audience's eyes. Ultimately, he is a man with no attachment to the world he lives in, only seeing the corruption and decay that he encounters every night, wishing to erase it all, and surprised when he finds good in the world and in himself. Jodie Foster as Iris jars the audience in a different way: innocence and obscenity collide in the form of her performance. The best example of this is the ironic scene in which she and Bickle converse over breakfast, with the young girl exposing the evils of the world to the confused and violent Bickle (after all, how much lower can society go than child prostitutes?). Harvey Keitel plays Sport, Iris's pimp and lover, painting the character with an obscenity and sleaze that make the audience hate him from the moment he opens his mouth. Sport is a living symbol of everything Bickle hates about society, and his fate unfolds accordingly.

How's the production?
Martin Scorsese paints an ugly, grimy, gritty portrait of New York as an urban hell populated by lowlifes, deadbeats, criminals and prostitutes, a world with little redeeming quality or hope. The film is framed by voiceover readings from Bickle's journal, which present a side of Bickle we don't otherwise see in his character; the entries show intelligence and insight into Bickle's perception of the world and the events that he is part of. The saxophone score by Bernard Herrmann lends the film some character as well, playing over scenes of Bickle driving the streets of New York at night, observing the grim world in inhabits.

The Greatest Scene:
As previously mentioned, it's Bickle's breakfast conversation with Iris. The scene establishes Iris's character and develops Bickle's, showing us a side of him we haven't seen before, revealing him to have some redeeming qualities in his desire to liberate Iris from her nasty profession, rather than take advantage of her (even if such a desire does play out in violence in the end). As previously mentioned, though, the best part of the scene is the irony.

Personal Impressions:
New York has never looked as unappealing as it does here. Scorsese's direction and DeNiro's performance create a vision that disturbs, shocks, and unnerves the viewer. Between the film's gritty location and mentally unstable and violent protagonist, the audience is taken out of their comfort zone; even the films one ray of innocence (Iris) is twisted and polluted. In the seventies, this film must have been truly groundbreaking, and even today, it puts the viewer on edge and forces them to look at a side of life they may try to avoid.

Film #9 and Film #10: The Godfather and The Godfather Part II

What's going down?
In The Godfather, Michael Corleone returns from the war and reluctantly becomes embroiled in the dealings of his father, mafia Godfather Don Vito. As relations between New York's Five Families become tense and war begins, Don Vito's life is threatened and Michael becomes more and more disillusioned, eventually taking his father's place as head of the family. In Part II, Michael leads the family into hard times, with a betrayal by one of his men, a strained relationship with his wife, and a Senate hearing on organized crime all troubling his mind. At the same time, we get to see Vito's origins in Italy and his rise to power on New York's mafia ladder.

Who's in it?
Marlon Brando plays the iconic role of Don Vito, and while he definitely commands the screen and lends some mystique to the venerable mafioso, his performance might be better if he was actually intelligible half the time. As it is, he mumbles a good part of his lines in a gravelly Italian accent, so while his meaning comes across, the actual words are hard to decipher. Al Pacino plays Michael, the films' most dynamic character, with his usual skill, transforming him from an unwilling participant who wants to escape his family's plots to a cold and ruthless Don, willing to whack his friends and family members who get in the way of the family's advancement. Diane Keaton is his foil in the form of his wife Kay, who is disturbed by the violent ways of the family, and who feels guilty about bringing her children into such a life. Robert DeNiro is the young Vito Corleone in Part II, and while the part may have gotten him an Oscar, I really don't see the accomplishment in the role. John Cazale is Fredo Corleone, brother of Michael, who emerges as a sympathetic character, passed over by his father and brothers, only wanting the recognition that has been denied him.

How's the production?
If nothing else, The Godfather films are very pretty to look at; the color palette and composition make every frame look like a painting. My main complaint with the films, however, is in their length, especially Part II; I found it hard to keep the characters and storylines straight when some character or plot point last seen an hour before suddenly appeared on screen. The result is that I have trouble making an emotional connection to the characters and the story, the most important thing that a great movie does for me.

The Greatest Scenes:
For The Godfather, it's the scene in which Michael Corleone kills Captain McCluskey and Virgil Solazzo. After leaving lulling them into a sense of security, following the script he and his brothers have planned, Michael leaves to the bathroom to retrieve a gun that has been left there for him. He walks back to the table and slays the pair, cementing his transformation into a member of the mafia family he tried to escape. For The Godfather, Part II, it's the scene in which Kay confronts Michael about the evilness of his life and reveals that she aborted their baby because of the guilt she felt about bringing children into such a life. The passion she demonstrates makes this one of the film's few moments that actually resonates emotionally with me, and the look on Michael's face when she finishes is enough to make the viewer fear for Kay's life.

Personal Impressions
Biggest. Disappointment. Ever. For all the hype, all the sources that have named it the Greatest Film of All Time, there was so little about these films that I found appealing. For one thing, there's the problem of length: they drag on for over three hours each, and while that in itself may not be a problem (it certainly wasn't for The Lord of the Rings), the truly meaningful moments are spaced out so distantly that I found it hard to stay interested. The best example of this comes at the beginning of Part II: 30 minutes into the film, there have only been two scenes, and virtually nothing of plot importance has occurred. For some reason, this film never really clicked with me, and I never really found myself caring too much about what happened to the characters (though Brando and Pacino's acting is admittedly quite skillful). Far from the greatest films of all time, I wouldn't really consider these films great at all. If anyone has a different perspective on these films, I would be greatly interested to read about it, because I really do not see their appeal at all.

Film #8: American Beauty

What's going down?
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is living in a suburban hell; he hates his job, his marriage has run dry, his wife is obsessed with advancing her career and he barely speaks to his daughter. His outlook begins to change, however, when he meets his daughter's attractive friend Angela (Mena Suvari) and decides to start working out to impress her. Soon after, he meets Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), a teenage drug dealer who rekindles his pot-smoking habit. As Lester begins to restructure his life to the way he enjoys it, his wife and daughter begin to change their own lives... at the cost of their relationships with each other.

Who's in it?
Kevin Spacey leads as Lester Burnham, and it's one of his best (if not his single best) performances. Lester Burnham is not really at all likeable, but thanks to Spacey, we still want him to succeed in his efforts to escape his soulless life. The audience can feel every moment of anger, lust, confusion, and elation as his transformation progresses. Annette Bening plays Lester's wife, Carolyn, who brings some scenes of raw emotional pain to the film, and keeps the proceedings from sinking into comedy. Thora Birch is Jane Burnham, Lester's daughter, in a role that captures the confusion of a teenage misfit perfectly; Jane hates her home life, her father is infatuated with her best friend, and she desperately wants to avoid becoming like her parents. Wes Bentley is the film's most interesting character in the role of Jane's boyfriend, Ricky Fitts, a drug dealer and obsessive videographer with an eye for seeing beauty in the everyday world around him. Bentley gives Ricky an almost inhuman confidence in an understated performance that leaves the audience wishing they knew more about him.

How's the production?
For a debut film, Sam Mendes shows an impressive mastery of filmmaking. There is little in the way of flashy effects or techniques, with Mendes allowing the compelling narrative and interplay between the characters to hold the audience's attention. In an inspired move, Mendes uses rose petals as a symbol of Lester's desire for the teenage Angela. Another potent symbol is found in the video Ricky shoots of a paper bag being blown around by the wind, which becomes a symbol for his view on life, that beauty can be found every day, everywhere around us. The clip is almost hypnotic, drawing the audience's attention and making them think about how much beauty really can be found around them.

The Greatest Scene:
Jane and Angela are talking in Jane's room when they notice Ricky filming them through his window. Angela, who considers Ricky a freak, teases him by posing in the window. Instead of focusing on her, he zooms in past the sex symbol to look at Jane's reflection in a mirror, introducing us to the "look closer" philosophy he uses to find the true beauty in the ugly world around him.

Personal Impressions:
The story of middle-aged, middle-class people trying to escape their boring suburban life has been told many times before, but Sam Mendes manages to tell it in a way that makes what could be a pile of cliches hit the audience hard and forces them to look at the problems and troubles of modern life. Part of the film's power lies in the contrast between the adults and teenagers experiences and views on life; Lester sees himself living in an ugly and boring world where he must make himself stand out, while Ricky accepts that he is only one person in a world filled with hidden beauty. Ultimately, however, they all live in the same world, and its the one we live in every day too. These themes of finding beauty and giving meaning to life allow this film to make the audience think about how they view the world, and may make them stop and, as Ricky does, look closer.

Film #7: Milk

What's going down?
Throughout the 1970's, Harvey Milk was a relentless activist and campaigner for gay rights. This biopic depicts his rise to prominence in San Francisco, how he helped rally and unite the gay community, and how he became the first openly gay man elected to public office in California.

Who's in it?
Sean Penn leads the cast as Harvey Milk, proving himself worthy of the praise he's attracted for being one of the best actors of his generation, whatever he may do in his real life. It's a challenge for anyone to play a historical figure, but Penn makes Milk seem completely and genuinely human, allowing us to experience the triumphs and tragedies of his life as he rises from a closeted 40-year-old to an icon and leader of the national gay rights movement. James Franco is Milk's lover, Scott Smith, who moves with him to San Francisco and helps him open the camera shop that becomes the center of the gay community. Franco plays Scott as a more domestic individual than Milk, tiring of Milk's seemingly endless campaigns for the office of city supervisor. Josh Brolin is Milk's opposition, troubled city supervisor Dan White, who eventually ends Milk's life. Brolin's performance is notable for the subtlety with which he portrays White's gradual slide from confident politician to depression and disgrace.

How's the production?
Gus van Sant conveys a definite seventies atmosphere, with the characters' dress capturing the period and the gay environment perfectly. Van Sant also makes use of video filters and cameras to shoot footage that looks as though it was shot on an old seventies camcorder. Actual historical TV reports and footage of gay rights protests, as well as footage from the documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk lend some historical authenticity to the film, which is framed by an audio recording Milk made before his death in which he recounted his rise and present situation.

The Greatest Scene:
While waiting for the results of the vote on Prop 6 (which would ban gays from holding jobs in public schools), Milk is contacted by a young gay man who had called him a year earlier on the verge of committing suicide. The young man tells Milk that he has become involved the gay community in Los Angeles and that the gays have won the vote in LA county. Soon after, voting results begin to pour in, showing a massive, unexpected support for the gay movement. It's the films most joyous moment, representing both a victory for the gay community and a personal victory for the young man.

Personal Impressions:
Gay rights is one of the hottest issues in America right now, and this film helps in highlighting the origins of the gay rights movement. It seems odd today that, as recently as the 1970's, religious dogma was still used as a foundation for legal process. It also shows how far the gay community has come since then in terms of widespread acceptance, even though their battle is far from over. This film manages to successfully spotlight both Harvey Milk's personal struggles and the larger struggle of the gay community. Even though the world lost Harvey Milk in 1978, his legacy lives on to the present day, making this film both a look into the past and a timely story for the present day.

Film #6: Pan's Labyrinth

What's going down?
In fascist-controlled Spain, a young girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is taken by her mother to live with her new stepfather, a grim, sadistic officer in control of an outpost. As a resistance gathers in the surrounding woods to attack the outpost, Ofelia encounters a mysterious Faun (Doug Jones), who tells her that she is the lost daughter of a Forest King and gives her the chance to return to his kingdom.

Who's in it?
Ivana Baquero leads as Ofelia, and it's quite an extraordinary performance. She manages to convincingly and naturally interact with both humans and creatures of fantasy, lending a sense of wonder and innocence to what is otherwise quite a dark film. Sergi Lopez steps up as the evil Captain Vidal and paints the character perfectly, starting out as a man full of thinly-controlled anger, and emerging as an absolute animal. Maribel Verdu plays the undercover resistance member Mercedes, bravely acting as a mole inside the outpost and standing up to the brutal Vidal. Doug Jones continues his record for donning prosthetics, playing both the Faun (Ofelia's contact to the world of fairies) and the terrifying Pale Man.

How's the production?
Guillermo del Toro's films always have a certain darkly magical atmosphere, and this film captures that essence perfectly. Everything about the film, from the forest setting to the grotesque fantasy creatures that populate it to the themes of innocence and sacrifice are evocative of the fairy tales one expects to find written in old, leather-bound volumes in the back of a library. Del Toro also manages to skillfully blend the contrasting plotlines of the fairy tale and the gritty resistance drama into one cohesive whole - the film would not come together as beautifully as it does if either side of the story were absent. 

The Greatest Scene:
Ofelia's encounter with the Pale Man. She enters his lair knowing that she has limited time to retrieve the object she came for, and that she is facing a creature of terrible evil. When the monster is stirred, she flees from him, only to find that her way back to the human world has sealed. The suspense in this sequence is wire-tight, reportedly causing Stephen King to cringe at the film's premiere.

Personal Impressions:
This was my first experience with an entirely foreign-language film, and the fact that the dialogue is entirely conveyed through subtitles take nothing away from this fantasy masterpiece - if there was ever a question of whether cinema counts as art, this film makes a solid case for the affirmative. Guillermo del Toro brings his trademark style and devotion to what will likely be his magnum opus, a medieval fairy tale reimagined for a modern, adult audience. As for Sergi Lopez... there's a reason that villains are often the most memorable characters in film, and he encapsulates this perfectly; in the final scene he chases Ofelia through the titular labyrinth, and, upon finding her with his newly born son **SPOILER WARNING** pulls out his gun and shoots her in cold blood. Few villains in cinematic history can match his brutality and sadism, and its a performance that won't soon be forgotten.

Film #5: No Country For Old Men

What's going down?
Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is an average man living in a Texas trailer park. When he stumbles upon the scene of a drug deal gone bad and discovers a briefcase containing two million dollars, he becomes the target of psychotic killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who is willing to do anything and kill anyone to recover the money.

Who's in it?
Tommy Lee Jones gets top billing as Ed Tom Bell, an aging sheriff who questions what drives men to commit the acts of violence he witnesses. His ruminations provide the film's philosophical focal point. Josh Brolin is Llewellyn Moss, an ordinary man who sets off a chain of violence he never fully comprehends... until it's too late. The film, however, truly belongs to Javier Bardem, who turns Anton Chigurh into the most intimidating film villain since Hannibal Lecter. In his very first scene, Chigurh murders a cop by strangling him with his own handcuffs, an expression of crazed ecstasy on his face. It's indicative of what's to follow, as Chigurh indiscriminately kills his way toward the stolen money. Woody Harrelson also appears as cocky mercenary Carson Wells, hired to take out Chigurh.

How's the production?
The Coen Brothers handle this film like an old-school western. It doesn't feel like a modern film; it's much more timeless than most of this decade's films.  The Texas settings manage to avoid being associated with a particular era, thus adding to the timelessness of the piece. The script treads some of the same territory as Fargo, with its philosophical questions of what drives men to commit atrocities in the name of money. The entire film is excellently composed, with every shot working to advance the plot; nothing is added unnecessarily.

The Greatest Scene:
Two scenes that help define Anton Chigurh's character. In the first, a gas station attendant, not realizing at first the dangerousness of his customer, finds his fate - life or death - riding on a flip of Chigurh's coin. The dialogue elevates the tension of the scene almost to breaking point, as the audience, but not the attendant, already know what Chigurh is capable of. In the second, and injured Chigurh blows up a car to create a distraction so he can steal medical supplies from a pharmacy. He takes the goods back to his hotel room and proceeds to remove the bullets from his leg and stitch himself back up. The scene only helps to establish Chigurh's methodical, detached take on his own pain, as well as that of others.

Personal Impressions:
They don't make movies like they used to... okay, they do, and this is a prime example. The Texas setting, the running-after-money plot, and Tommy Lee Jones' lawman character all evoke classic westerns... Jones is the white hat, Bardem is the black hat, and Brolin is the not-quite-heroic gunslinger. Rather than the blockbuster action film take on violence, where little regard is payed to the consequences of the on-screen destruction, the Coens spotlight the devastation, emotional and physical, caused to the survivors of the film's events. Javier Bardem is superb in the role of Chigurh, crafting a killer completely remorseless and unpredictable. Tommy Lee Jones also shines as his character realizes that he may not be able to fulfill his mission of maintaining the law forever. The abrupt ending also seems to fit the film - in real life, there are very rarely clean endings; the characters' lives will go on after they have seen each other for the last time.

Film #4: Reservoir Dogs

What's going down? Six criminals, known to each other only by code name, are hired to pull off a diamond heist. The operation falls apart when it becomes clear that someone has informed the police, and the survivors begin to fight between each other as one of them begins to succumb to a bullet wound and another emerges as a far more dangerous individual than he first appeared. Who's in it? Harvey Keitel is Mr. White, who tries to stay level-headed and human in the face of betrayal, violence, and the impending death of Mr. Orange, whom he feels responsible for. Mr. Orange is played by Tim Roth, who manages to convincingly play a man in pain and on the verge of death. Steve Buscemi is Mr. Pink, in conflict with White as the latter's professionalism falls apart as his guilt over Orange builds. Michael Madsen is Mr. Blonde, playing the part with a shockingly detached attitude toward his own depraved acts of violence (Madsen was reportedly sickened with himself on set). Lawrence Tierney is Joe Cabot, the mastermind who plans the heist and gets the crew together. Chris Penn (Sean's brother) is Nice Guy Eddie, Joe's son, who trusts Mr. Blonde and becomes suspicious of the others after Blonde's apparent turn to insanity. How's the production? In true Tarantino fashion, violence and a killer script are in order. Even though we never see the moment where the heist goes wrong, the characters words to each other give us a good enough picture that it isn't even necessary. The most inventively shot sequence is that in which Mr. Orange, rehearsing a story for his future employers, is presented to the audience in the story he's telling, continuing to narrate as his own anecdote unfolds around him. Tarantino also shows that less can be more, with a small cast and one central location providing all the necessary drama. And as for the torture sequence... you won't be forgetting it anytime soon. You may never hear "Stuck In The Middle" the same way again. The Greatest Scene: With the rest of the crew gone, Mr. Blonde begins to torture the cop he has taken captive. Blonde looks the cop in the face and tells him that, although Blonde knows he had nothing to do with their setup, he's going to torture and kill him anyway, just for the fun of it. Blonde's offhand, detached attitude toward his victim's suffering is shocking and impossible to forget. With just a few scenes, Mr. Blonde carves himself a niche among the greatest film villains. Personal impressions: I'm definitely becoming a fan of Tarantino. With this, his directorial debut, we see all the hallmarks of his style come into play for the first time. The ensemble cast comes together perfectly, with Keitel, Buscemi, Roth and Madsen fueling and feeding off each other as tensions build and loyalties are questioned. The flashbacks are perfectly integrated into the present action, with Mr. Orange's providing the best plot exposition. This just goes to show what can be accomplished with a small budget and the perfect cast and crew.

Full List of Films

I've been asked to post a complete list of the 100 films I plan on watching and reviewing, so here it is (in no real order):

The Godfather
The Godfather 2
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
ET
Sunset Boulevard
Lawrence Of Arabia
North By Northwest
Vertigo
Psycho
The Birds
Chinatown
Nashville
Some Like It Hot
Taxi Driver
Apocalypse Now
Full Metal Jacket
The Deer Hunter
Gone With The Wind
Pan's Labyrinth
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Goodfellas
A Streetcar Named Desire
Saving Private Ryan
The Graduate
Raging Bull
Dr. Strangelove
Blade Runner
Schindler's List
The Lives Of Others
2001: A Space Oddyssey
Bonnie And Clyde
King Kong
Dr. Zhivago
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Night Of The Living Dead
Blue Velvet
The Grapes Of Wrath
Do The Right Thing
The Maltese Falcon
The Last Picture Show
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Rosemary's Baby
M*A*S*H
American Graffiti
The Producers
Rashomon
The Seven Samurai
Spirited Away
The Conversation
LA Confidential
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
Spartacus
The Manchurian Candidate
A Hard Day's Night
American Beauty
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Groundhog Day
Dazed And Confused
Reservoir Dogs
Kill Bill
Inglorious Basterds
Milk
Let The Right One In
The Exorcist
Halloween
The Silence Of The Lambs
Blazing Saddles
The Life Of Brian
City Of God
Good Will Hunting
Dead Poets Society
Planet Of The Apes
Edward Scissorhands
Scarface
Gangs Of New York
The Ten Commandments
V For Vendetta
Slumdog Millionaire
Say Anything
Almost Famous
Memento
Black Hawk Down
The Terminator
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
The Social Network
Se7en
Airplane
Caddy Shack
No Country For Old Men
Fight Club
The Shining
The Usual Suspects
The Pianist
Children Of Men
The Bridge On The River Kwai
Rain Man
Ben-Hur
There Will Be Blood

Film #3: The Silence Of The Lambs

What's going down?
Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is an FBI agent tasked with investigating a series of murders committed by a killer known only as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). To aid in the investigation, she interviews convicted murderer and psychopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), who masterfully manipulates people and events, escape always at the front of his mind.

Who's in it?
Jodie Foster has one of the greatest female leads of all time as Clarice Starling, investigating and interviewing her way to finding Buffalo Bill. Then, of course, we have Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, creating one of the best villains (if not best characters, period) in film history. His performance is subtle, terrifying, and intelligent at once - from the moment he appears on screen, we get the sense that he, insane as he may be, could take control of the situation at any moment. His interactions with Foster show that horror doesn't need blood and violence to be effective (although there's plenty of that as well). The film's other villain, Ted Levine in the role of Buffalo Bill, isn't talked about nearly as much, but nonetheless pulls off an unforgettably creepy turn as the embodiment of sexual confusion gone horribly, psychotically out of control.

How's the production?
Jonathan Demme leads the production with an eye for spine-chilling suspense. The sequences of Lecter and Starling consist of little other than close-ups of their faces, but nothing else is needed - Lecter's terrifying stare is enough to make the viewers back away. Demme manages to blend several genres into a cohesive whole - the film is at once a police drama, a psychological thriller, and a horror film. Ted Tally is responsible for the fascinating dialogue between Starling and Lecter, as well as Buffalo Bill's psychotic banter ("it rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again").

The greatest scene:
Hannibal Lecter's escape. The scene is almost a movie on its own, and everything Lecter does, from disposing of his guards to setting up gruesome distractions for the SWAT teams to his unforgettably shocking method of escape only adds to the character's mystique and terror.

Personal impressions:
It takes a lot for a film to scare me, but this one manages the rare feat. Hannibal Lecter presents us with quiet possibly the most terrifying human being imaginable - a man who wants to kill and eat you who can also learn everything he needs to know about you in five minutes. Ted Levine's performance, while overshadowed by Hopkins', deserves mention for being almost equally terrifying, although in a more conventionally psychotic way. 

Film #2: Pulp Fiction

What's going down?
Tarantino's greatest achievement unfolds out-of-sequence, but is still completely captivating and understandable. The plot unfolds in four main chapters (a staple of Tarantino's work). First chapter: hitmen Jules and Vincent (Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta) reclaim their boss's stolen property from some hapless lowlifes (the property in question, a briefcase with unknown contents, becomes the Macguffin of the film). Second chapter: Vincent takes his boss Marsellus Wallace's (Ving Rhames) wife (Uma Thurman) out for the evening and ends up racing to his drug dealer to save her life after she overdoses. Third chapter: Butch, a burned-out boxer (Bruce Willis) breaks his deal with Marcellus and refuses to throw a fight. He runs for his life and ends up captive of two violent rednecks. Fourth chapter: Jules and Vincent get some help from the Wolf (Harvey Keitel) in cleaning up their car after blowing their captive's head off, then get in a Mexican standoff when Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer rob the diner where they eat breakfast.

Who's in it?
Samuel L. Jackson is perfect as the always cool, philosophical Jules Winnfield. John Travolta makes the comeback of the century as Vincent, returning from has-been status to play the more concrete, worldly foil to Jackson's Jules. Ving Rhames is completely believable as the violent, vengeful Marsellus Wallace. Uma Thurman plays the coked-up, spaced-out Mia Wallace, who engages Travolta in some excellently written dinner conversation. Bruce Willis has the film's best role as boxer Butch Coolidge. Harvey Keitel is the film's best supporting character as the unflappable Wolf. Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer are a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde who open and close the film. Director Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Walken and Steve Buscemi all make cameos.

How's the production?
Quentin Tarantino earns his stripes as one of the best film writers, with not an unnecessary word to be found in the killer script heavy on themes of redemption. He also gives us an artfully shot heroin-taking sequence, raw suspense as Vincent prepares to give the OD'd Mia Wallace an adrenaline injection, and a very well-shot and disturbing incident in the basement of a questionable pawn shop. He also shows an affinity for long takes.

The greatest scene:
It's a hard sell between the aftermath of Mia Wallace's overdose, with Vincent frantically calling his drug dealer and desperately trying to figure out the injection, or the infamous basement torture sequence with Wallace and Butch held captive by two rednecks and their leather-clad Gimp.

Personal Impressions:
This is, without a doubt, Tarantino's magnum opus. It's unlike any other film I've ever seen. While Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta and Uma Thurman get most of the hype from this film, Bruce Willis deserves mention as well - his chapter and his tale of redemption could be the film's best. Failing to reveal the briefcase's contents is a smart decision, as it allows the audience to make their own theories (it's rumored to be everything from Marsellus Wallace's soul to the stolen diamonds from Reservoir Dogs). This is definitely one of the great films of all time.

Film #1: Inglourious Basterds

What's going down?
The film begins in the earlier days of the German occupation of France with the slaughter of a hiding Jewish family. The only survivor is the daughter, Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent). Several years later, America has entered the war and a Nazi-hunting unit nicknamed the Inglorious Basterds is terrorizing the occupying forces, always leaving one survivor with a swastika carved into their skull. Shoshanna now owns a theater in Paris and attracts the attention of Nazi war hero Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), the subject of a propaganda film set to premiere before an audience of high-ranking Nazis. Zoller moves the premiere to Shoshanna's theater, and she conspires to burn it down, killing the Nazi high command. The Basterds also plan to attack the theater with the aid of actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger), but things go south when Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) arrives and abducts Basterd leader Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). Waltz and Raine strike a deal as the theater is simultaneously burned down and shot up by Basterds. At the film's conclusion, Raine turns on Landa and carves a swastika into his skull so he will always be identified as a Nazi.

Who's in it?
Brad Pitt takes the lead as southern-accented Lieutenant Aldo Raine, and adapts to the part quite well. Eli Roth is Donnie "Bear Jew" Donowitz, the most memorable and violent of the Basterds (he executes his prisoners with a baseball bat). Christoph Waltz gives a tightly controlled (and completely natural) performance as the manipulative, intelligent villain Colonel Hans Landa (his close-up shots in the opening scene display a mastery of subtle facial expression). Melanie Laurent is the avenging Jew Shoshanna, plotting the destruction of the Nazi high command. Diane Kruger is Bridget von Hammersmark, conspiring with the Basterds in their own plans. Daniel Bruhl is war hero and womanizer Frederick Zoller, who persistently pursues Shoshanna and provides a near-foil for her plans.

How's the production?
For this film, dialogue takes precedence over violence, with long periods of conversation setting up moments of action. This works quite effectively - the pacing is much slower than most modern films, but it's a refreshing change, and it makes the moments of Tarantino's trademark violence all the more effective. There's surprisingly little English dialogue, with French and German being spoken most of the time - and odd choice for a Hollywood film, but one that definitely works as an artistic element. Tarantino knows how to shoot even a twenty-minute dialogue sequence so that the audience never loses interest.

The greatest scene:
A group of Basterds rendezvous with von Hammersmark in a tavern full of Nazi soldiers. When an officer takes interest and becomes suspicious, they skillfully try to talk their way around him, slowly building the tension until everyone finally bursts. Only one person will walk away from the tavern.

Personal Impressions:
 The first thing I noticed about Inglorious Basterds is the infrequency of English dialogue, as previously stated. The second is that, while Tarantino is notorious for his films' violence, he's also one of the best writers around. The pacing of the film echoes older movies rather than the modern balls-out school of action films. Christoph Waltz's facial control in his close-up shots makes me realize how subtle and complex great acting is. Lastly, historical accuracy is thrown out the window, as most of the Nazi high command, Hitler included, is killed in the film's climax.

Welcome to Cinematic Education!

First off, this is my first blogging experience.

This summer, I decided to give myself an education in cinematic history. I made a list of all the great films I've never seen, from black-and-white classics to the great films of the sixties and seventies to more recent buzzed-about films. After I see each movie, I'll post here to give my thoughts on the film.

There's no real order to these films. I'm just going with spur-of-the-moment decisions on what to view next.

Once I get through the first 100 films, I might go back and review some classic films that I've already seen before starting this blog.

Enjoy!