Reservoir Dogs [R]

In an abandoned warehouse, professional hit men are rendezvousing after a diamond heist goes badly wrong. The only logical conclusion is that it was a setup and that there is a rat amongst them. As the survivors reconvene and try to regain their composure, one of them losing copious amounts of blood after being shot in the stomach, as well as come up with a next move, they form their own conclusions about who the rat is. 

The groundbreaking directorial debut of the infamous video clerk, Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs is a fantastically bloody and brutal movie that delivers all the thrills, cringes, and laughs that marked many of his later films. THIS MOVIE IS FUCKING AWESOME! 

In an abandoned warehouse, professional hit men are rendezvousing after a diamond heist goes badly wrong. The only logical conclusion is that it was a setup and that there is a rat amongst them. As the survivors reconvene and try to regain their composure, one of them losing copious amounts of blood after being shot in the stomach, as well as come up with a next move, they form their own conclusions about who the rat is. 

I think it’s impossible for Quentin Tarantino to make a bad movie. His consistent indulgence in bloodshed and gore added with his eccentric and slightly macabre and warped sense of humour just make a winning combination in cinema. It now has to be said that I’m a fan. 

The basic story of the crime-gone-wrong scenario is great and absolutely perfect for Tarantino’s style of character evolution. Divided into chapters and told through numerous flashbacks and time jumps, as are quite a few of his films, Reservoir Dogs is a violent and blood soaked frenzy of clever writing and witty dialogue. From the opening scene were all these suave ruthless killers are discussing everything from the etiquette of tipping to the true meaning of Madonna’s Like a Virgin, the entire film is a delightful verbal frenzy of memorable lines and discussions with the added references to pop culture scattered throughout. 

I’d like to also draw attention to the soundtrack: Tarantino obviously gets a few kicks out of music because a lot of the warped comedy that seeps into his movies are achieved through the contrast between the scene and the music that it’s set against. Case in point, Reservoir Dogs holds that infamous “ear tableau” where Michael Madsen is hacking off a cop’s ear whilst dancing around to Stuck In the Middle With You. The irony that is achieved through the marriage of the soundtrack and the violence of the story makes for memorable and irrepressible entertainment. IT’S ABSOLUTE FUCKING GENIUS! 

And of course we have to draw attention to the undeniably phenomenal cast. Tarantino has got casting down to an art because in every single one of his films, the cast simply shines and many careers have been resurrected thanks to. This movie boasts phenomenal performances from Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Lawrence Tierney, and Tarantino himself. Filled with violence, brilliant dialogue, comedy, drama, and set against a great soundtrack, Reservoir Dogs is a fucking phenomenal directorial debut from one of cinema’s most infamous writer/actor/directors. IT’S ABSOLUTELY GROUNDBREAKING GENIUS! 

Are you gonna bark all day little doggy? Or are you gonna bite?