Pulp Fiction
This is a rare motion picture that doesn’t belong to any movie genre; it has a little bit of everything. Action, drama, comedy and etc, but the main plot in this movie, was the elements to deal with pop culture (in 1994). Personally, I think it takes a real movie fanatic to appreciate this film, if you are one of those who prefer main stream movies which were custom made to guarantee a box office hit, this movie is certainly not for you.
Pulp Fiction clocks in 2 and a half hour, and not a single minute is wasted on material that isn’t building up the storyline. The movie was divided in 4 chapters, related characters and storylines. Every scene was skillfully thought out and nicely presented to the audience. No doubt the dialogues are the driving force of this film. Many audiences/critics interprets the dialogue as unnecessary segments, me myself thinks that it was an essential elements to build up the storyline and the character. The characters depth as not as detailed as Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino, 1992), which is a good thing. Quentin Tarantino was subtle in the way he introduces on speeches, the dialogue was like a every normal days conversation between people, it seems pointless and most of the time not relevant to the story, but as the scene goes on, it’s slowly became strikingly true and purposeful. The outcome for the meaningless chit chat was obvious, that is all the characters evolve on screen, and eventually choose their path (to different endings).
Of course we have to give some credits to (almost) all the actors. The casting was great, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Amanda Plummer, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth and the most intense character among all, Samuel L. Jackson. I left out Bruce Willis because I don’t think his role/acting/character’s storyline was that great. I mean, he was huge back then (Die Hard, 1988) but his performance in this file was quite er.. normal. Up against the 2 heavyweights Like Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, he doesn’t stand a chance. Samuel L. Jackson’s character (Jules Winnfiled) is my favorite. The way that he argues about foot massage, eating pork and believes in God’s revelation that leads him to the rejection of a violent gangster life. (Instead of dying in a toilet like Vincent)
The thing I like this movie the most, is that the director didn’t treat the audience like idiots (most other directors do, especially in big budget movies). Tarantino’s excellence lies on tuning the audience’s interest on the movie’s storyline yet have different judgments on the (characters) ending (or beginning, is hard to define in this movie). Another great element in Pulp Fiction is the music, this is by far the best movie OST I ever heard, and all the tracks fit right on with the movie (especially Chuck Berry’s You can ever tell in Jack Rabbit Slims Twist contest).
Personally I think Pulp Fiction is Tarantino’s best movie yet, I like Kill Bill Vol.2 (not so much for vol.1), Reservoir Dogs was a little bit long winded, don’t really like Jackie Brown. Tarantino’s script and directing style were revolutionary and elevates Pulp Fiction above so many other classic movies(even after 10 years). If you are expecting for something different, have no problem with violent, drugs, homosexuality, and don’t mind non-chronically arranged screen play, you will love Pulp Fiction. This is the kind of movie that you have to (can) watch it over and over again, and appreciate it like a fine wine. Pulp Fiction has all the great elements for a good movie, all the subtleties and plot twists are incredibly fantastic. My opinion? Truly a historical classic in many ways.