Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Reservoir Dogs’

It is nearly 30-years since Reservoir Dogs (1992), the first feature-length movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, was released in movie theatres. The film depicts events before and after a planned diamond heist from a jewelry store goes terribly wrong. The movie looks into the robbery team, the suspicions among members that ensued, and ultimately a resolution for the team along the way. An impactful point of the story is the stress responses in the points in between.

(In the backseat, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink. From left in front, Harvey Keitel as Mr. White/Larry and Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

An early scene in the narrative for Reservoir Dogs includes introducing members of the team in the period before the heist. A notion for the protection of the members of the team seeking to perform the heist is for nobody to know the names of the other criminals involved. Thus, we meet Mr. Pink as portrayed by Steve Buscemi. We meet Mr. White, whom we later learn to be Larry, as portrayed by Harvey Keitel. We also meet Nice Guy Eddie, as portrayed by Chris Penn, whose role in the larger criminal enterprise allows him to not be named with a color. The film does include some off-color humor that gratuitously disparages African Americans.

(From left, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange/Freddy and Harvey Keitel as Mr. White/Larry in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

Tim Roth portrayed Mr. Orange, who we later learn to be named Freddy. We see these two up-close from the beginning of the movie. Reservoir Dogs is not presented chronologically, which is to say that the background information for characters within the story gets shown in flashbacks to earlier points in time that suggest motivations and depth for the individual characters. That the stories of Mr. Orange and Mr. White are strongly connected and emotionally relevant is clear from the earliest parts of the movie.

(From left, Quentin Tarantino as Mr. Brown, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde aka Vic and Edward Bunker as Mr. Blue in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

Parts of the heist, including the plans for the getaway after the heist, include Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blonde / Vic. Edward Bunker portrayed Mr. Blue. The film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, portrayed Mr. Brown. Michael Madsen portrayed Mr. Blonde, who we later learn to be Vic. Arguments ensue after the heist among Mr. Pink and Mr. White about getting medical care for Mr. Orange, who injuries are explained in the course the movie. Distrust runs rampant, yet transforms into something else altogether when Mr. Blonde arrives with kidnapped policeman Marvin Nash.

(From left, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange/Freddy and Kirk Baltz as Marvin Nash in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

Marvin Nash is portrayed by Kirk Baltz. An interesting and brutal scene set to the song Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheels sees Mr. Blonde confronting a sadistic point-of-view in confronting a bound and immobile Marvin Nash. The commentary of place for Mr. Blonde mixed in among the other criminals participating in the heist gives the scene legs.

(From left, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink, Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie and Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde/Vic in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

It’s a conversation among Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde, Mr. White, Mr. Orange and Nice Guy Eddie that precedes that planned confrontation of Mr. Blonde and Marvin Nash. It’s Nice Guy Eddie that ultimately brings his father and ringleader, Joe Cabot, into the dance for addressing the crews getaway after the heist. Joe Cabot, as portrayed by Lawrence Tierney, sees the heist at its clearest level as the mastermind of the theft coupled with the criminal with the fullest awareness of the moving parts of the robbery.

(From left and standing are Tim Roth as Mr. Orange/Freddy, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink and Edward Bunker as Mr. Blue. From left and sitting are Harvey Keitel as Mr. White/Larry, Quentin Tarantino as Mr. Brown, Lawrence Tierney as Joe Cabot, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde/Vic and Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

The larger story of the outcome of the heist, the disposition of the thieves are supporting characters, and the degree of loyalty and trust that were merited in the situation at hand are revealed. Was one of the robbers a police informant or cop? Were loyalties properly laid? Were the outcomes meted out just or satisfying? The positive reception for the film is best rooted in these questions. I grant Reservoir Dogs as directed by Quentin Tarantino 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and the film ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’

Have you ever thought a fictionalized, highly stylized slow burn of a fictionalized telling of the place and time of the Charles Manson murders would come to the movies? 50-years after the events that inspired the story, director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino brought us just such a fictional retelling of the time, the place, and an fact-adjacent retelling of those events in his fictionalized Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019).

(Left to right: Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton and Al Pacino as Marvin Schwarz in the film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

A largely ensemble cast offers a fairy tale setting of sorts to the Hollywood film industry of the late 1960s. Al Pacino is introduced early in the film to introduce the primary protagonists, namely Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth. Dalton is a former television actor in the fictionalized National Broadcasting Company (NBC) series Bounty Law, which is purported to have been a cowboy series starring Dalton as the lead with Booth as Dalton‘s stunt double and close friend.

(Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate and Rafal Zawierucha as Roman Polanski in the film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood has Dalton, circa 1968 and 1969, renting a home next to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. Rafal Zawierucha portrays Polanski as Margot Robbie portrays Tate. The original Manson murders had Tate and others becoming the victims of the murders that are facts that are adjacent to the story in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.

(Left to right: Margaret Qualley played Pussycat, Dakota Fanning played Squeaky Fromme and Austin Butler played Tex in the film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

Three hippies and others from the Manson clan that lived on Spahn Ranch, or Spahn Movie Ranch, at the time the Manson murders were taking place over multiple weeks in 1969. Squeaky Fromme, Pussycat, and Tex were three of the figures portrayed in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Dakota Fanning, Margaret Qualley, and Austin Butler played those three, respectively.

(Left to right: Emile Hirsch played Jay Sebring, Timothy Olyphant played James Stacy and Julia Butters played Trudi Fraser in the film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

In pulling together some of the era exposition of the film, Jay Sebring as portrayed by Emile Hirsch brings Polanski and Tate to a party at the Playboy Mansion of Hugh Hefner. Rick Dalton has dreams of getting closer to Polanski and Tate, yet at this point has no chance of interaction with them per the nature of the social circles of the town. Later, Dalton interacts with James Stacy as portrayed by Timothy Olyphant and Trudi Fraser as portrayed by Julia Butters on the set of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) television show Lancer (1968-1970). It is partly through work such as this that Dalton is able to employ Cliff Booth while maintaining their friendship.

(Left to right: Mike Moh played Bruce Lee, Luke Perry played Wayne Maunder and Kurt Russell played Randy in the film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

Luke Perry‘s final acting role before his untimely death was in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood as Wayne Maunder. Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth both interact with stunt coordinator Randy, as portrayed by Kurt Russell, on the set of American Broadcasting Company (ABC) show The Green Hornet (1966-1967). The pretext for this was an attempt to land Booth work, which led to establishing Booth in a way where Booth meets Bruce Lee as portrayed by Mike Moh.

(Left to right: Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio, writer and director Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt from the film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood).

Much of the above is background to introducing you to many of the people and characters populating the place and time of Los Angeles, California, err Hollywood, back in the time of the Charles Manson murders. The film definitely offers a sense of place regarding the look and feel for what Hollywood is and was. I am assured by those who lived it that the feel of time and era were solidly portrayed as well. The exposition of feel, look, and place were a substantially told and experienced part of the film that I enjoyed. Some may struggle with parts of this, as the storytelling was slow at points. I think this is realized in the Rotten Tomatoes rating for the movie, which landed at an audience score of 70% fresh at 3:00 PM EST on Thursday.

The flourish in bringing about the telltale conclusion of the movie, with flare and the forthright smacking of the audience directly between the eyes from a cinematic perspective, were present. It would have been a significant disappointment for me had this been missing. The final sequence that brought much of the tale to resolution, upon reflection a day after seeing the film, has grown on me since the initial viewing. The style of the film was top notch. The purpose and exposition of the film was appreciated and of high quality in romanticizing the period of Hollywood that Tarantino grew to appreciate film. The slower storytelling through the opening almost two hours of the movie, I think, is perhaps the biggest opportunity of anything I see in this offering. I rate Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood at 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, August 17, 2019