Comebacks, confirmations and class

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2008)

OK the first thing one can say about this film is brilliant. 2nd thing is Tarantino is one of the great filmmakers. 3rd thing is Travolta is fantastic.
Pulp Fiction is a film where he linked stories intensely intriguing and each one offers a different kind of entertainment. The syringe, the bible passage (Ezeikiel 25;17) and the Gimp. How does one single mind think of these ideas let alone link them in a screenplay and then transfer this onto film. Each shot is cleverly composed and the shots used appropriately. The only thing that annoyed me about Tarantinos effort was how he knew he was good but wasn't sure we knew. By that I mean the use of some techniques like the steady-cam shot at Jack Rabbit Slims, i felt it was unnecessary but i got over it.
Travolta and Jackson give of so much charisma and energy its unbelievable. It's a shame Jackson never achieved this level of form again. But this performance shows what the two are capable of. Travolta acted so well he has become known as 'the Comeback Kid' (got that from Empire) and it's true that Pulp Fiction has reinvented what kind of actor he is. Thurman gives a decent effort and Bruce Willis performed better than expected, and Ving Rhames was so believable as Marcellus Wallace. Tim Roth gave a fantastic little performance, he's one of my favourite actors in all of Tarantinos works. So the cast was at its best.
The soundtrack is phenomenal but what do you expect from a Tarantino film. Each song is chosen for a different purpose and interestingly during the more dramatic sequences he didn't use music like he did in the ear cutting scene during Reservoir Dogs. Which brings us to the script. Similar to Dogs but in its own way it is both better and equal. For instance before they are let into the apartment to pick up the case the conversation between Jules and Vincent is immensely funny.
This is THE film of the 90s. Also catch Fight Club, Trainspotting and Lock, Sotck and Two Smoking Barrels for other classics.