day 28 - favorite movie from your favorite director
Hm... again, I don't have a single favorite director, so I'll just go with one that I'm consistently impressed with and what I think is his masterpiece:
Pulp Fiction
I saw this in the theater when it came out and thought it was brilliant. I remember riding home in the car with my boyfriend and he was complaining, "Meh. Didn't like it. It didn't have a plot." And I was like, "It had SEVERAL plots! Interconnected! What are you talking about?!" Really, I should have known at that moment that it was never going to work out between us.
Before that, I'd seen True Romance and I remember the friend I watched it with telling me that it'd been written by someone that seemed to be an up-and-comer. He mentioned Reservoir Dogs, but I'd not seen it yet and didn't make the connection until I rented that after seeing Pulp Fiction. I loved Reservoir Dogs, too.
I saw Pulp Fiction many, many times in college, both on tv at home and in the second run theater downtown. I remember getting a bit too drunk at the bar before a midnight showing once and worrying I might puke during the scene where Uma Thurman overdoses and Rosanna Arquette gives her the adrenaline shot in the heart. Oddly, that scene had no effect, but I felt very queasy when Bruce Willis's girlfriend was talking about the massive breakfast she wanted to eat.
I found Jackie Brown disappointing. I can't deny the performances were excellent, but it didn't have the same slick cool (for me, anyway -- it was probably different if you'd grown up a fan of Pam Grier).
Sometime in between that and his next film, Brian and I decided to watch all the DVD's we owned. (Not a small feat either, but it was a fun project for us, because we'd gotten surround sound and a movie projector.) One of the last ones we watched was Pulp Fiction. We'd put it off mainly because I felt weary even thinking about seeing it again so I always voted it down. I'd seen it so many times back in the day. Eventually, we ran out of other options. Once the movie started, I was reminded of how great it was and loved every second of it. I felt silly for dragging my feet.
I was very nervous when the first Kill Bill movie came out. M. Night Shyamalan hadn't reached Lady in the Water levels of suckage yet, but we'd already begun to feel that he'd blown his wad with his first couple films. I hoped it wouldn't be the same for Tarantino.
It wasn't! It was Tarantino once again at his finest. In between this and his previous films, I'd had the pleasure of seeing some of the movies it paid homage to, as well. Even more awesome. I was bummed that it was split into two volumes, but I supposed that allowed me to savor it. I also thought Inglourious Basterds was fantastic. (I could really see Sergio Leone's influence in that one. Love, love, love...)
Pulp Fiction remains my favorite, however. Some of it is nostalgia, no doubt, in remembering how exciting it was to discover Tarantino, but even aside from that, it is a great film.
Pulp Fiction
I saw this in the theater when it came out and thought it was brilliant. I remember riding home in the car with my boyfriend and he was complaining, "Meh. Didn't like it. It didn't have a plot." And I was like, "It had SEVERAL plots! Interconnected! What are you talking about?!" Really, I should have known at that moment that it was never going to work out between us.
Before that, I'd seen True Romance and I remember the friend I watched it with telling me that it'd been written by someone that seemed to be an up-and-comer. He mentioned Reservoir Dogs, but I'd not seen it yet and didn't make the connection until I rented that after seeing Pulp Fiction. I loved Reservoir Dogs, too.
I saw Pulp Fiction many, many times in college, both on tv at home and in the second run theater downtown. I remember getting a bit too drunk at the bar before a midnight showing once and worrying I might puke during the scene where Uma Thurman overdoses and Rosanna Arquette gives her the adrenaline shot in the heart. Oddly, that scene had no effect, but I felt very queasy when Bruce Willis's girlfriend was talking about the massive breakfast she wanted to eat.
I found Jackie Brown disappointing. I can't deny the performances were excellent, but it didn't have the same slick cool (for me, anyway -- it was probably different if you'd grown up a fan of Pam Grier).
Sometime in between that and his next film, Brian and I decided to watch all the DVD's we owned. (Not a small feat either, but it was a fun project for us, because we'd gotten surround sound and a movie projector.) One of the last ones we watched was Pulp Fiction. We'd put it off mainly because I felt weary even thinking about seeing it again so I always voted it down. I'd seen it so many times back in the day. Eventually, we ran out of other options. Once the movie started, I was reminded of how great it was and loved every second of it. I felt silly for dragging my feet.
I was very nervous when the first Kill Bill movie came out. M. Night Shyamalan hadn't reached Lady in the Water levels of suckage yet, but we'd already begun to feel that he'd blown his wad with his first couple films. I hoped it wouldn't be the same for Tarantino.
It wasn't! It was Tarantino once again at his finest. In between this and his previous films, I'd had the pleasure of seeing some of the movies it paid homage to, as well. Even more awesome. I was bummed that it was split into two volumes, but I supposed that allowed me to savor it. I also thought Inglourious Basterds was fantastic. (I could really see Sergio Leone's influence in that one. Love, love, love...)
Pulp Fiction remains my favorite, however. Some of it is nostalgia, no doubt, in remembering how exciting it was to discover Tarantino, but even aside from that, it is a great film.