Review of Pulp Fiction. What?! Say what again!

Pulp Fiction, directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, among others, has an interesting premise. Take a few different sub-movies, each lasting about 45 minutes, and have them all intertwine with each other. It works. It's a little in your face, but it works. But that's Tarantino's style, and it's a style that shouldn't be forgotten. The acting is surprisingly good, with a very decent all-star cast. With the heavyweights I motioned earlier, there's Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, and even Quentin Tarantino himself appears at one point. The narrative, plot and dialogue are all very clever, too. It seemed to me that almost every line that came out of Samuel L. Jackson's mouth was a one-liner that would go down in history. My personal favorite was the Ezekiel 25:7 quote. Jackson's character is full of glorious Biblical knowledge. Like knowing that a 9MM is actually a shepherd in the valley of the shadow of death. Though the plot was interesting and keeps you thinking, It isn't perfect. There are a few things that aren't explained in the end. Whether or not these plot holes were intentional or not I don't know. But it's forgivable since the movie as a whole is just so... Cool... It's just fun and cool. And I think that's what it was meant to be. In classic Tarantino style, Pulp Fiction is a goreapalooza full of fun.
The Verdict:
Pulp Fiction is funny, cool, interesting, violent, anything you could name is pushed to the limit in a sometimes adrenaline filled time that absolutely should not be missed. Fantastic direction, acting, plot, and dialogue, Pulp Fiction has it all. I give it five ways to think you'll never look at a hillbilly the same way again out of five. 5/5

Review of The Godfather Part I and Part II. I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

Do I really have to review this? I mean, it's The Godfather. Everybody's seen it, everybody loves it. Obviously I'm no different. These two films are works of art, blah,blah,blah. If you haven't seen them, see them. Simple as that. I give The Godfather Part I and part II five fat men sleeping with the fishes out of five. 5/5. Duh.

Seriously I thought both of these films were fantastically and definitely are instant classics.

Review of The Deer Hunter. One shot. One shot.

The Deer Hunter is an epic masterpiece. And that's an understatement. In fact, and I never say this, The Deer Hunter may have a permanent place on my top ten list. It was directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, and John Cazale in his last role, and I was utterly amazed at the quality of this movie. It follows six friends in a small industrial town somewhere in Pittsburgh, three of which go to Vietnam to fight the war there. Going in thinking that it'll be easy and they'll come out of Nam as veteran heroes, De Niro, Walken, and Savage are sadly mistaken and when they are captured, they are forced to play a gruesome game called Russian Roulette, in which a single bullet is placed into a revolver and each person is to pull the trigger on the gun to see if they live or die and this game plays a heavy influence on the rest of the film. Really, this film is split into three parts, the moments leading up to when the pals go to war, the war itself, and then what goes on after Michael returns from the war. Almost all of the time the film is intensely shot with amazing cinematography and special effects, mostly saved for the total of twenty minutes of war violence. While the film is quite long, clocking in at a little longer than three hours, it gives the viewer the opportunity to get an emotional attachment to each of the characters and how they act before and after the war. Meryl Streep is also an important character, serving as the love interest. Go figure.
The Verdict:
The Deer Hunter is a masterful piece of art that should not be missed. There is a great meaning behind the film that is shown throughout about friendship and relationships and that is something in these present times is barely shown. Acting is phenomenal by everyone, especially the leads. Direction is fantastic as well, the score is great. Everything is amazing. And I'm not going to lie, I cried at the end. That's how attached I got. I give The Deer Hunter five clicks and one POW out of five. 5/5.

Review of The Big Lebowski. The quest for a clean rug.

Now there's a man I want to tell you about. His name is Jeffery Lebowski but he likes to be referred to as "The Dude." He's a deadbeat stoner played gloriously by Jeff Bridges and when some loan sharks mistake him for a different Lebowski and urinate on his carpet, he tries to go to the "Big Lebowski" to get a new one but ends up getting entangled in a kidnapping conspiracy with his crazed Vietnam war vet friend played by John Goodman. This is one of the Cohen brothers best films but it got snubbed at almost all awards shows and with such an amzing cast, great cinematography, and an original, funny plot I am baffled as to why. I really don't need to say much more. One of the funniest movies I've ever seen if not THE funniest. It was just so cool. I give it five of the best stoners out of five. 5/5.

Review of The Informant! What's the exclamation point for?

The Informant, directed by Stephen Soderberg and starring Matt Damon, follows real-life Mark Whitacre, as he works for a corn company and becomes a corporate whistle blower once he accuses his company of price-fixing. Really, this movie could have ended up being overly dramatic or overly comedic, but it ends up resting in the middle, with an odd, mixed overtone throughout. On one hand you've got Matt Damon who's thinking about how steam rises up from indoor pools in the winter, and on the other you've got Joel McHale trying to stop a multi-million dollar theft. It's just weird. But the movie does has its moments, when Matt Damon does his voice overs they really are funny and, in a way, cute. They provide most of the comedy in the movie, and it also lets you get into the character's head a little bit but not enough to destroy the plot. I was surprised how everything was kept concealed well and not unintentionally given away at indefinable moments. The score was a nice touch, it gives you the feeling that this is a crime caper, like how Damon's character feels it is, when it really isn't.
The Verdict:
The Informant! was good, but not great. At times it dragged on and parts that were supposed to be entertaining really weren't. Damon gives a nice performance and the suspense is able to silently build up while keeping things joyous. All in all, The Informant is a bit, dare I say, corny?
I give it 3.5 stupid puns at the end of a review out of 5. 3.5/5

Dual Review- A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Naturally.

I've got a dual review for you, folks. I don't usually do two reviews combined but unusual circumstances call for unusual measures. A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More are directed by Sergio Leone and star Clint Eastwood, two of the three films in the "Man With No Name" trilogy. So I'll give a review of both and then give a score of both of them at the end.

A Fistful of Dollars- The first film in the trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars is also a remake of the film Yojimbo, which was a Japanese film. So Clint Eastwood winds up in a town somewhere near the Mexican-American border. Of course, who isn't looking for money? Clint meets with the owner of the bar in town and finds out that there are two factions fighting against each other. He decides to work for both sides and ultimately pinning each one against each other all while making some money in the process. It's a very good story, more or less original. The better mark was cinematography and special effects, amazing for the time and still blew me away. Even better was the amazing score from Ennio Morricone, making some of the best scores of all time, and this was no exception. Altogether, A Fistful of Dollars was a great film, but I could still tell that Leone still had some improvements to make. I'd give this movie, individually, a 4.5/5.

For a Few Dollars More- Definitely the better of the two, For a Few Dollars More gave the illusion that it was a direct sequel to the first movie in the trilogy. That isn't true, in fact, there is no allusion to the first film at all. Weird, huh? Nevertheless, the story is even better than the first, following a lone bounty killer, Clint Eastwood, who decides to take out the wildest man in Texas, Indio, played fantastically by Gian Maria Volonte, for a hefty ten-thousand dollars. But he isn't the only one. Lee Van Cleef, another master killer, is out for Indio too. They decide to work together and share the bounty. Also, this film takes place all over Texas and New Mexico instead of just one town, like in the first. The shootouts are amazing, swift but action-packed. The score is better here as well, yet another from Ennio Morricone, but provides a more haunting undertone to go with the wild moments. Leone definitely learned from his mistakes and put in more tight angles, and better cinematography. I'd give this movie, individually, a 5/5.

The Verdict:
Leone and Eastwood both knew what they were doing, kings of the cinematic west. But with a few missteps here and there in A Fistful of Dollars it's not a must-see, but a should-see. For a Few Dollars More is much better and improvements were made, making it a better experience. Together, these two great films earned themselves a perfect 5/5.

I know what else you were thinking. Where's the review for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? Well, I'm saving that one for a special review and I'm just as excited to see it as you are to read the review, right?

Quick Reviews!

I've been sick these past couple of days so I obviously watched a lot of movies. So I'm just going to name the movies and give a one sentence review and a score.

The Ugly Truth- Funny, and a charismatic performance from Gerard Butler, but fails to deliver in the story category. 3/5

The Boondock Saints- Bloody, violent, and sarcastically funny, The Boondock Saints is a good St. Patrick's Day watch. 4/5

Pineapple Express- A hilarious romp full of cannabis. 5/5

Dirty Harry- With a fantastic leading role from Clint Eastwood and an interesting story to boot, Dirty Harry is a real romp to watch. 5/5.

Magnum Force- One of the many sequels to come from the Dirty Harry franchise, Magnum Force loses its step a bit but still manages to entertain. 4/5