Beautiful.

Rating: 10/10 (27 October 2007)

It's a classic. I think it's a classic. One that was not made to be one, that's not pretentious, that doesn't follow some secret formula to be fun, intelligently-written and intense. I've read a lot of theories on the ongoing themes: but I don't believe it was made to overanalyze, to have one thousand cryptic messages, but yes to spot something new to love every time you watch it.
I love it, I think it deserves every ounce of fame it ever got, but I don't think it is undoubtedly Tarantino's masterpiece  I happen to think his filmography *is* the masterpiece itself, that how we should see his work is as a whole. But Pulp Fiction is definitely a high point.
It *is* the movie that defined the director's style the most. Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer's chat about robbing banks as if they were talking about the weather; a cheap-looking, greasy John Travolta discusses Big Macs and foot massages with Samuel L. Jackson on their way to a mass murder; every character is human in the most fictitious way possible, in a movie that never pretends to about real life, just created to be an extremely fun ride.
The stories are top-notch.
The second story, starring Bruce Willis, was my favourite. From all the scenes that make it memorable, I'm just going to mention the introduction: about two minutes of Christopher Walken, as one certain Captain Koons, eloquently delivering one of Tarantino's famous riffs, fairly more intense than the man himself ranting about Like a Virgin in Reservoir Dogs, better even that Dennis Hopper's astounding performance in True Romance. Only Christopher Walken could make something involving "watch up one's arse" all transcendental and unforgettable.
It's this thing Tarantino has that made, makes him different from every other screenwriter and director. He takes advantage of the personalities he's gifted to write, to the last drop: fills dialogue with unique essence which only pertains to the character who's talking, makes them human in their own little ways.
Uma Thurman is particularly worthy of mention as Mia Wallace the criminal boss' wife, who Travolta gets to take out for a rather intense night. In an interview, Q mentions how, discussing personal aspects of Mia's character with another, unspecified actress who would most probably be earning the role, he felt like he was cheating on Thurman: how could he be discussing her with someone else, if Uma *was* Mia? And honestly, head to toe, she was the perfect choice. Nobody else could have nailed that character, her dry sharpness, the silent chemistry between her and Travolta's Vincent.
Some have regarded this movie as a step back from Quentin's first. I think it may have aged a little *too* well, in that hardly anybody acknowledges what that movie meant back in 1995. It may look like it doesn't have that edge of freshness, of "somebody just *wanted* to make this so much it's maniacal" that Reservoir Dogs had: but it isn't pretentious, it's a movie to lay back and watch without over-analyzing. And for that, I think I deserves to be Top #5 and more.