Quentin's Start to Great Things1

Rating: 9/10 (30 April 2015)

Reservoir Dogs (1992): Dir: Quentin Tarantino / Cast: Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney: Extreme images of violence and torture with criminals representing the dogs of the title. A small group of mobsters are labelled by colour, and then they attempt to pull off a crime for which viewers are given the aftermath and flashbacks. A shootout leaves a few of them dead and others struggling to survive. Interesting developments but very violent. This is a great setup for promising director Quentin Tarantino who exposes the clichés through characters that are believable. Tim Roth is frantic because he is a wounded undercover officer who must rely on those he fooled and survive against the ones who suspect him. Michael Madsen is menacing torturing a cop in a disturbing scene where he severs an ear, but his confidence is overrun to a sudden halt. Harvey Keitel believes Roth's story going so far as to get him undercover after he is fatally wounded, but his friendship is tested in an extreme standoff. Steve Buscemi is given the best lines particularly a scene at a restaurant involving tipping. Buscemi is comic relief but also quite lucky in terms of his survival rate. Lawrence Tierney makes one of his last appearances as the criminal head. A great start for a director whose future is bright. It presents criminal lifestyles as a dead end paved in blood. Score: 9 / 10