It's hard to realize how much Tarantino changed the film landscape with a decade and a half of hack copycat movies blocking the rearview. But there really wasn't anything that looked like this at the time and definitely nothing that felt like it. Yes, he again gathered up all his favorite cinematic themes and images, all his fanboy crushes, but, also again, he repackaged them in a fresh and undeniably cool way. And, yes, that is basically what I said about Reservoir Dogs. That's a helluva one-two punch out of the gate. Actually, these may be the best first two films of any director ever.
The other remarkable thing about Pulp is that every time you watch it, it becomes a different movie. It's about two hitmen collecting a mysterious suitcase. It's about a hold-up in a diner. It's about a boxer on the run from a mob boss. A dance contest. An overdose. A motherf''n gimp.
Films of Note: (I'll leave The Shawshank Redemption and Natural Born Killers for the V-Man.)
Cabin Boy: If I had one DVD wish it would be to have the complete series of Chris Elliott’s “Get a Life.” That’s not asking for much, is it? Apparently, “legalities” have kept me from being happy. And not in the usual restraining order way. Anyway, GaL, which lasted 2 seasons (!) on Fox despite execs thinking it was “too disturbing and that Elliott's character was too insane,” is one of my yardsticks for judging people. Sure, some people use religion or politics. I use Chris Elliott. It is a show Vin and I bonded over in high school and the rest, as you can behold, is Internet history. My point here is that Cabin Boy has never gotten the love it deserves and Chris Elliott should be bigger than Jim Carrey. I hate Jim Carrey.
Clerks: The movie everyone holds up when they say, “I could make a movie.” Kevin Smith filmed guys hanging out and talking about nothing. What an idea! Hey, no one else did it. Unfortunately, he really wants to drive that point home and has continued to make the same movie with bigger budgets. Usually, they’re enjoyable, though I think we all expected his legacy to be a bit more than that.
The Crow: A personal choice as I have a lot of memories associated with this film. I even have a molto cool Italian movie poster (“Il Corvo”) from my short lived hobby of collecting Italian movie posters. And I stand by my opinion that as good as Keanu Reeves was in The Matrix, Lee would have been amazing as Neo.
PCU: Animal House for the 90s…was actually a pretty dead-on (and funny) look at college at the time. At least my college at that time. And, it featured one of my favorite actresses of the time, Megan Ward, or as I liked to call her, My Backup Bridgit Fonda (she hated when I did that).
Loser: Reality Bites (no link)
One of the first movies I hated just for the fact of its existence. And Ethan Hawke. But more for it trying to speak for my generation in the most condescending, face-punchable way possible. Everything this was trying to say, Clerks said better, more authentically, and for less money than it cost to keep Hawke’s sleaze fresh between scenes.
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