MOVIE REVIEW: Quentin Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)

After watching this movie, I feel like I understand so many more pop culture and Reddit references. Here’s my review:

The entire main cast of Reservoir Dogs

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Quentin Tarantino directed, wrote, and starred in his 1992 film, Reservoir Dogs – a movie about a group of six thieves (all of whom are under the aliases “Mr. (Colour)”), who are in partnership to rob a diamond store. The story follows a somewhat non-linear format, where we flash between the present time and the past, used to illustrate the characters’ backgrounds. The present story line follows the events after their failed diamond robbery, inside a warehouse; a member of the group has been shot and is on the verge of death, some members are no where to be found, and some suspect that there is a rat among their group.

Digression, Part I:

Digression, if you need to be reminded of the definition, is “a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing” (thanks, Google). And this is what I consider to be the best part of any Quentin Tarantino movie, and thus why it has to be the first thing I talk about. In Reservoir Dogs, like in his other movies, you will find some random conversion that doesn’t seem to progress the plot of the movie at all, and doesn’t have to do anything with the movie in general (besides maybe for some character building). It’s what separates storytelling through written forms from storytelling through visual forms – you can spend as much time as you want on something that doesn’t progress a story in a book, but generally not so much in a movie. That being said, the digression done in Tarantino movies are excellent and pretty much necessary – they give his movies the quality and character that everyone who watches his movies know and love. More about the digressions can be found below for those who have watched the movie.

Pretty much my favourite scene in the movie.

Visuals and sound:

So starting off with the visuals, I wouldn’t say there was anything awfully adventurous done with the camera itself, but the way they edited the film to incorporate their back stories is interesting. It seems to be a reoccurring theme that Tarantino would use for some of his movies following Reservoir Dogs. There are a few scenes here and there that looked visually cool, but there really isn’t anything interesting about the visuals aside from the flashback editing, in my opinion.

The sound is more interesting. Reservoir Dogs has as reoccurring theme throughout the movie that involves a not so enthusiastic radio DJ. And with this, that allows the movie to display music that was popular at the time, and thus, allows for some further insight into what the characters are like. It illuminates the fact that they are humans “just like us” and the fact that they are dangerous criminals.

Just dancin’ ~

Recommended for:

I think this movie is really funny, and it is just an enjoyable film for anyone who wants to watch something humourous that doesn’t rely on succumbing to toilet humour. It’s a thoughtful kind of funny – the kind of funny that hits you when you don’t really expect it to, or the kind of funny that lies with subtlty. The flow of the movie is very natural like that, and it keeps the characters interesting. I only wish that there was more of that.

So as a theme of Tarantino’s movies, this movie is more than a “little” bloody. Squeamish? Yeah, I don’t recommend it. I’m not terribly squeamish with blood and gore, but a couple of scenes had me fidgeting in my seat.

I will also say that this movie absolutely does not pass the Bechdel Test (if you don’t know what that is, check out this handy new page that I made), considering that there is not a single significant female character in the entire movie. In fact, I can only recall one significant character who is not a Caucasian male. Reservoir Dogs has a lot going for it – diversity is not one of them. I won’t open a Pandora’s Box on this discussion right now (because there is a lot to discuss on this subject – they are whole university courses); Tarantino probably wasn’t trying to promote the understanding of social issues with this film, but the lack of diversity is worth noting and worth thinking about while watching this movie (or any movie, for that matter).

Now go watch it if you haven’t, okay? OKAY??

Specific analyses (spoilers ahead):

Scroll down to the TLDR/ratings section to see the final verdict if you don’t want to see any spoilers (or if you simply do not care).

Digression, Part II:

The best digression in the movie is (and I’ll be surprised if you don’t agree with me) is the one they open the movie with – where Mr. Pink talks about his philosophy with tipping. Right off the bat, Mr. Pink is set up to be the “funny guy” of the movie. His name being “Mr. Pink”, in itself, is a set up for a joke (and which they do use for a comedic scene later on in the movie). But the tipping thing – when Mr. Pink lays out his arguments on why he doesn’t tip, you have to admit he makes some pretty good and even valid points, even if you disagree with him. And Steve Buscemi delivers and embodies Mr. Pink so, so naturally; his perfect delivery turned something that could have possibly been offensive into something that was funny and relatable for everyone watching. I guarantee everyone agreed with his a little, even if they thought he was being ridiculous.

Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink

Who did it?:

Was it obvious for you who did it? I was interested in the beginning, and I kept tabs throughout to see if my predictions were right. Did it matter? No, not really – or at least the mystery portion wasn’t what kept me interested in the movie. At first I wanted to know who it was that did it (and it became more and more obvious as the movie went on), but soon, I just found myself being more interested in the characters themselves. I really wanted to get to know them; in the end, we never got to see the backstories of some characters – but that’s okay too, because that wasn’t what they were there for. Reservoir Dogs is a movie that you can watch solely because of interesting characters – no one had to be dying for it to be interesting.

Stare down between Mr. White and Mr. Pink

TLDR; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People looking for thoughtful humour, people looking for a movie with interesting characters and funny conversations
Not recommended for: People who can’t handle any gore or violence, people wanting a movie with more diversity

Visuals: 7/10 – Although this movie doesn’t do much that is interesting in terms of camera work, the way the movie is edited and cut to go from flash back to the present time, etc, keeps the visuals of the movie interesting.
Sound: 7.5-8/10 – I like the way music was used in this movie to give more character to both the people who inhabit this movie and to the setting. It really paints a picture of what these criminals may have been listening to at a time like this, and it makes these characters almost approachable – which is an odd thing to think to about.
Overall enjoyment: 7.5/10 – Reservoir Dogs may not be the most exciting movie with the camera or with effects, but that doesn’t keep it from being intriguing. You’re guaranteed to find characters and lines in the movie that will really stick with you. If you’re a fan of Tarantino movies, you’ll really notice how the styles of his later movies reflect the style of this movie.

MOVIE REVIEW: Wong Kar-wai’s CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994)

Another Wong Kar-wai film review… there will be many to come. I believe this is the first Wong Kar-wai film I’ve ever watched. Here’s my review:

“You gonna eat that?”

Synopsis and spoiler-free review portion:

Wong kar-wai’s Chungking Express (Chinese: 重慶森林 chung hing sam lam) follows two storylines, both revolving around heartbroken policemen. The first one, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro as the happy-go-lucky He Qi-wu, and also known as Cop 223. Qi-wu’s girlfriend, named May, recently broke up with him, a month before his birthday (May 1st). He resolves to eat a can of pineapples everyday before his birthday – and if he is able to complete this task, he will take it as a sign that he will be able to get over his ex. During his month of heartbreak, by chance, he encounters the unnamed “Woman in the Blonde Wig” (played by Brigitte Lin). We get to see her own story, which includes a run-in with the law.

The second story in Chungking Express follows our protagonists Faye (played by Faye Wong) and Cop 663 (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai). After 663’s recent breakup, he finds himself frequenting a fast-food Chinese food stand, “Chungking Express”, where Faye has been newly hired. Because of their reoccurring encounters, they eventually form an unlikely friendship.

Brigitte Lin as “the woman in the blonde wig”, from story one.

“Cop 663” played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai (left) and “Faye” played by Faye Wong (right) from the second story.

Why I love this movie so much and why you should watch it even though I know you won’t:

Yeah so this review is going to be a little bias. Very bias. I love how a lot of HK films have this really indie feel to it – but a lot of them that I’ve watched aren’t really… that good. A lot of them have good things about them, but overall, the majority of HK films that I have seen weren’t “good” in my eyes. Maybe I’ve just been looking in the wrong place (feel free to leave suggestions). But a good place to look is in this film.

First off, I loved every single main character in this film. They all had these very endearing quirks about them that made me love them a lot. I felt that there was a lot of attention to details about the characters’ personalities that really stuck with me after the film, and a lot of small things that just makes you really remember a film. This includes the pineapple eating thing that Qi-wu does, as mentioned above, why Lin’s character wears the blonde wig, etc.

I love the dialogue in this film. Whether it’s narration or conversation (to other people, to themselves), the conversations were often really interesting and really funny. I don’t really know how to describe the type of funny I think it is though – it’s definitely not a really outrageous, shocking type of funny. It’s more like a chuckling type of funny. I don’t know – they warm my heart and they’re interesting. The chemistry between the characters are really good as well. Were they ever not friends? Who knows?

One of my favourite conversations in the film – 663 talking to his stuffed animals (Garfield in this one).

Recommended for:

I really love this movie, but I don’t think it’s for everyone. It’s similar to American indie films, in how some people just won’t like it because they don’t see the point in it. My brother’s friend described indie films to be like “two people pointing guns at each other for an hour and a half until someone finally pulls the trigger in the last two minutes of the film.” That’s fine – it’s not for everyone. But I think because it’s split into to halves, even people who struggle to see the point in indie films might be able to get into this. I would still say that it’s “exciting”, but not in the traditional way that American films are exciting if you get what I mean. There’s action – but this is by no means an action movie. There’s romance – but your heart isn’t going to be beating for the characters to fall in love and make out and such. It’s a very unconventional romance film, but I’d consider the characters to be quite “romantic”.

It’s an interesting film with intriguing characters, but don’t expect any really overwhelming emotions to bubble up as you watch it. I’d recommend it for anyone who can really fall in love with characters, and for anyone who can get sucked into interesting dialogues (maybe think Tarantino for the type of dialogues?) I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who only enjoys really epic movies. A lot of the things that are great about it are also really understated.

These scenes with Faye kinda weirded me out the first time I watched it, but I loved it nonetheless.

Specific scene analyses (spoiler alert!):

Just go watch the movie so that you can read this section already! Scroll down to the bottom for TLDR;

Which did I like better? Story one or story two?

Well, it’s hard to choose.

I thought storyline one was more original. I really, really, REALLY love the pineapple thing that Qi-wu was doing to get over his heartbreak. It was just really… adorable, being fixated on pineapples as a cure for heartbreak, of all things. Qi-wu was my favourite character in this film too – I’m sure he’s a lot of people’s favourite though, for those who have watched it. He’s always smiling, despite being so hurt. His phone calls to his other ex-girlfriends were hilarious as well. He has a lot of great quirks.

What was happening with Lin’s character as a part of story one was really compelling as well. It offset nicely with Qi-wu’s happy-go-lucky personality. It’s also funny that he’s hanging out with her since he’s a cop. Her story alone fulfills the “action” part of the film very well. I found myself really fixated on her part of the story as well as Qi-wu’s, though I liked Qi-wu as a character more. Her part of the story added the most “uniqueness” in terms of visuals for the film, with the shaky camera movements trailing her. It’s a great opening to the film, as it really draws you into it, following her through such a shady area.

But I also really loved story two, because I loved the chemistry between 663 and Faye. It’s kind of a weird chemistry though. No one gets quirkier than Faye – she breaks into his apartment to clean. Who does that? And poor 663 is so heartbroken, he doesn’t even notice. Their whole relationship is just odd. I don’t know why 663 was just cool with it after – he’s a cop and someone broke into his home.

As I said before, I really loved the whole bit where 663 talks to his stuffed animals and other non-living objects. My “chuckles” turned really obnoxious while I was watching these parts. Aside from the pineapples, this was my favourite bit from the movie.

So which do I like more? It’s so hard to choose. Through the first time watching it, I was more excited for the first story, but I think I liked the second story more, because I just loved the chemistry between the protagonists, and I loved the romantic quality of it nearing the end. Objectively though, I think the first one is better because it’s more compelling as a story. Qi-wu wins as the best character.

My favourite bit from the movie.

Much yearning from my heart while watching this scene.

Visual style (and also the score which I never really talk about):

Stylistically, I felt this film was really strong for creating a clear image of what Wong Kar-wai’s films are kind of like to me – both with the visuals and with the score. The song which they first play as Lin’s character rushes through the alleyways of Hong Kong creates a great sense urgency at the beginning, that really captivates you right off the bat. The reoccurring playing of “California Dreaming” by The Mamas and the Papas as Faye danced to it in the second story helped cement Faye’s character really well.  In addition, I just like the whole colour tone of this film.

Faye loves to dance!

TLDR;

Recommended for: People looking for an unconventional romance movie, people who like indie films, people looking for a movie with great characters and memorable quirks
Not recommended for: People who like really epic or lovey dovey romances, people who really, really, really can’t survive without COMPLETE closure.

Visuals: 8/10 – The visuals of this film wasn’t anything too crazy, but they were really good at creating a style unique to Wong Kar-wai. The visuals matched really perfectly with the score.
Story: 9/10 – They were just absolutely compelling to me. I can’t really explain them here without giving too much away though.
Overall enjoyment: 9.5/10 – Yeah this probably seems too high to most people, but I LOVE Chungking Express. It’s my second favourite Wong Kar-wai film, or possibly my first (don’t make me get into this argument with myself right now please). The characters and all of their quirks made this film so loveable to me.

Also, for those of you who have watched the movie but haven’t seen this, Quentin Taratino gives a great talk about Chungking Express.