My Better Late than Never review of: Reservoir Dogs

Okay, I know you must think I am living under a rock to have only just seen this movie, but frankly, it never grabbed me, even with the cast it boasted. I think if I recall correctly, I went the Usual Suspects route. Sorry, I would rather look at the ugliest Baldwin than pretty much any of the motley crew assembled in this movie. That and Michael Madsen makes me vomit in my mouth a little every time I see him. But I do love Quentin Tarantino. He is a sick, twisted soul of the cinema who is pretty much a genius. So last night a friend comes over saying that I haven't lived unless I have seen this brilliant piece of cinematic triumph. Excuse me, I would like 100 minutes of my life back. *Warning* The following information may contain spoilers. If you have NOT seen this movie, go ahead and read them, because it's not worth sitting through the thing-

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So here's what I didn't like:

Michael Madsen - in any capacity this man makes me nuts. Do I know why? Not really. I just know I get the willies every time I have to look at his face. Maybe he was my accountant in a previous life.

The blood - Okay I am a fan of Gorror movies, and I'm all for the bloodbath, but the amount of Karo Syrup utilized in this film was kind of unnecessary and gross. And messy. Bleh.

The Story - I must admit when the film started and all the colors of the rainbow were sitting at the diner, I was encouraged, even with Michael Madsen in the cast. The banter was classic Tarantino, so I was kind of thinking this film might just be all that. And then the story just kind of fell apart. Tarantino does his clips and disjointed storytelling, jumping back and forth on the timeline like no other. He is the Monet of that, the Van Gogh of the jump around. And you still follow the story, or at least go "Hell yeah" when you realize you are watching the "past". Pulp Fiction was notorious for it, and it worked so beautifully. Reiteration - this is NO Pulp Fiction.

Chris Penn's chesthair - Chris Penn was a great guy and a very underrated actor. That being said, the carpet on his chest was so distracting, even more so than that electric blue polyester sweatsuit. These guys were not Wiseguys, or the Mafia, just a bunch of crooks. They made Chris look like the Downy Don.

Tim Roth's awful american accent - Just let the guy be English, okay? His trying so hard to be an American cop was distracting. Oh and totally unbelievable.

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So here's what I liked:

Chris Penn's performance - He did a great job with a limited amount of material.

Steve Buscemi - It's Steve Buscemi for God's Sake. Nuff Said.

Steven Wright - What a pleasant surprise to have the voice of Steven Wright as the deejay. He makes me laugh just hearing the voice, I don't even have to hear the punchline.

The music - 70's music in all it's cheesy glory. Some good choices in there, including Stealer's Wheels and Blue Suede.

The contant Pulp Fiction references - If you don't like the movie, here's something to distract you from what's happening on the screen- Check out the Pulp Fiction references. From Michael Madsen portraying Vic Vega (must be Vincent's brother), to some guy named Marcellus who is going to move the diamonds, the little references were very cool. And the best one - Tim Roth in the diner. Play the two movies together in sync, and you will notice he almost entirely mimicked his performance as Pumpkin in Pulp Fiction. That was cool. Now I know that RD came out before PF, so the references should be RD references in PF. But I saw PF first, and I wouldn't have given a tin shit about RD references in PF if I had seen it first, so I am living in my own Tarantino-esque timeline...deal with it.

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So there you have it - my better late than never review of Reservoir Dogs. I am sure there are probably people out there who haven't seen it, there are 6 billion people in the world, and if this review can save just one, then it's all worth it.