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!