Pulp Fiction?

Rating: Null/10 (5 December 2011)

"Does he look like a bitch?" proclaims Jules, the character played by Samuel Jackson. Holding a gun in one hand and a suitcase in the other, he repeatedly berates and interrogates his victim. The victim stutters in response. "English, motherf*cker, do you speak it?" Jules yells again. Vincent (the character played by John Travolta) rests easily on the wall as if this was nothing new to him. Before inevitably killing the poor man, he lashes out another series of vulgar yet shockingly hilarious slur of swears, punch lines, and bible quotes before pulling out his gun and shooting him to death. These quotes are not merely for shock value, and they are spoken in the climax of the movie. They appear within the first 20 minutes of the movie, and are some of the most quotable lines in movie history.
This movie isn't intended for children. If the R-rated warning didn't already give that much away. The movie contains many instances of drug use and profanity. Although it is a movie about hit-men and the drug business, the central themes of the movie do not completely center around it. There is a deeper meaning to the movie itself. Not just every violent, gangster drug related movie can make it to top-ten movie lists (IMDB rates it number 5). While this movie is for adults, it's also for the more intellectual audience. Morons will be attracted to the movie through its violence and profanity, but intelligent people will walk away with much more. The time line of the movie itself is jumbled and isn't portrayed in the way everything happened, and that alone takes time to figure out. The symbolism of Bruce Willis's struggle to get his golden watch is not many will pick up on. Not to mention the symbolic right vs. wrong roles played by Jules and Vincent that inevitably lead to their separate fates.
The characters, despite their rash language and dangerous professions all have redeeming qualities and are constructed individually and interestingly. Samuel Jackson, or "Jules" is more or less the main character who travels around with his companion Vincent doing various tasks for Marsellus Wallace(Played by Ving Rhames). Though all characters carry the same profession, all of them are different in their morals, attitudes, and composure. It doesn't come up until later in the movie, but what separates Jules and Vincent are their decisions whether to stay in the business or leave. This ultimately leads to Vincents death as he chooses to continue his involvement with Marsellus. Jules, being the more superstitious of the two, reaches a "moment" of clarity early in the time line of the story which enacts him to change his ways as he believes that a "higher power" is telling him to quit. Vincent and Jules contrast with each other, which in turn makes them the perfect combination. Vincent, more reserved. Jules, more sporadic. Vincent, a heroin addict. Jules, a clean man. Vincent, calm, cool and collected. Jules, loud and controlling. All characters intertwine themselves and hold various attitudes to each other that amount to gore, violence, death, and even rape. No character is looked down up on.
The movie itself carries many references to pop culture and the movie is constructed around such. Vincent keeps his hair long and in a pony tail and Jules keeps his in a jerry curl – two styles relevant to earlier times (not to mention these hair styles somewhat reflect their characters). The movie for the most part is fairly present, if not a decade earlier than the year it was produced (1994). The music is mostly older music – from the 1960s and 1970s – and no real original score exists as any music played is from these periods in time. At one point in the movie, Vincent takes Marsellus's wife on a date (not a real date, just "good company" as he puts it) to a 1950's diner where many famous celebrities can be pointed out, such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. The music is mostly American rock music, and it is fitting to a story that is very much American.