The Manic Beauty of the Wacky MacGuffin Conundrum

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2015)

When I was a kid, I had worlds and settings I'd come up with in my head. They were thrown together from different things in movies, music, and pictures. It was how I thought a sci-fi world should be. How I thought a forest of tribal people should look. These were all made of many different ideas, but there was one that wasn't fully formed. It was what I thought of when I saw the neon sign for a burger place by the old Hollywood video store. It had brightly colored jungle leaves and the light of the words. It wasn't a complete idea, but I knew it was electric, bright, lush, and most of all interesting. Pulp Fiction was the embodiment of this. It was an interesting story that was one of the single most entertaining movies I've ever seen.
Though it's considered a sin, I haven't seen much Tarantino. In fact, the only other one I've seen is Inglorious Basterds. So, I'd like to compare it directly to that. Pulp Fiction hit the proverbial mark on every aspect of cinematography, visual style, production design, and interesting shots. The first scene in Inglorious Basterds with the Jews under the floor was supposed to be tense, but dragged on to where it wasn't suspenseful. However, the scene where Vincent and Mia go to Jack Rabbit Slim's was great. As well as how they had an interesting conversation, the camera wasn't left to hang out while the crew went for a smoke break. The shot composition was changed up enough to keep an already good interaction more fun to watch. This constant flow of change-ups doesn't confuse the audience either, but keeps it interesting through every scene (save maybe Butch's flashback).
Thematically, this movie is great. There's a lot to do with the idea of honor, but what was interesting to me is how ethics played in. Living in Seattle, I don't hear lots of conversations in public that go beyond people saying they don't know if they believe in God, but just want to accept everybody for all the stuff they think and stuff, man. Pulp Fiction doesn't struggle with that kind debate. They talk about God right at the start to move into a deeper ethical issue. It's proof that a movie doesn't have to be confusing or psychologically challenging to make you contemplate huge concepts. The content of a movie is not necessarily being promoted by its makers. This movie about killers, thieves, rapists, and addicts had more to say about morals and redemption than the boring Eastern philosophy that suffocates discussions on belief. Those discussions rarely happen where I'm from and it's something all people are interested by.
Sometimes when watching a movie I say, "damn, that's why people love this." A moment that makes the film worthy of its credit. I felt that was every single scene in Pulp Fiction. It had enough energy and information, both thematic and visual, to fill an insane asylum. There are few things I love more in a story than when they approach serious, dark situations with a who-cares attitude. Pulp Fiction did this amazingly, but without making the characters amoral or apathetic. This film had the entertainment drive of District 9 and the Graduate. After a long wait to see it, I was impressed.