“The Shining” (1980) [R]

     This is possibly director Stanley Kubrick’s best movie, among many other movies he directed that gained much fame in the cinema world. It was one of the first movies that actually scared me in a rational way. Jack Nicholson’s performance was by far at its peak in this film; he can draw the audience in and make them feel as if he really was the character, instead of Jack Nicholson. In addition, this is a great translation from Stephen King’s book of the same name; there were only a few facts in the book which were not in the movie.

     I first watched Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” several years ago, and it was the first movie that really scared me. Sure, there are plenty of so called “scary” movies available, however what most people think of as a frightening movie isn’t what I deem horror. Most people think films about serial killers with literal buckets-of-blood count as something of horror. My idea of a scary tale is one that brings out people’s greatest fears and makes you question all thoughts of truth or reality. “The Shining” does all of this and then some, it pulls out all the stops and holds nothing back for the audience.

     Of all the movies Jack Nicholson has been in and of all of the great performances he’s given, the character he portrays in this film is possibly the most entertaining. The audience can tell that he went through a lot of determination to give only his best abilities at playing his character. Not a moment goes by that the audience thinks he’s someone other than the character. Many people may even forget that he is acting, he’s just that good. Of course, the portrayal of the character is nearly identical to that of the one in the book.

     There have been many stories, especially those of Stephen King’s books, which have been made into movies. Sadly, most of them aren’t anything at all like the original story. “The Shining” is one of the few exceptions, however, for it would seem that the makers of the film actually read the book before bringing it to cinema. There are several portions of dialogue that were taken directly from the book, and many instances of the story that were very nearly like what happened in the book. Of course, there were a few things that they took out of the movie version which I would have preferred to have seen in the film, but the movie was already long enough with all of the other stuff they put in the translation.

          My overall rating: 4.5 out of 5

“Reservoir Dogs” (1992) [R]

     This story of a crime that goes wrong and the shocking aftermath is a groundbreaking film. As Quentin Tarantino’s break into the writing/directing world, this movie has an incredible sequence setup with flashbacks, and the cast, who all gave stunning performances, brought the crime drama together. There is only one thing about this show that can eat away at the viewer’s experience: there was too much cursing in the dialogue. Even though this movie is about criminals, the dialogue went overboard with it.

     This was Quentin Tarantino’s gateway into the world of famous writers and directors. It was released during a time in which there were other lesser known directors making their way to fame, and out of that group, Tarantino was one of the few that have continued on to make even more interesting movies. He seems to have gotten a big influence from classics like Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killer” and Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.” He also took the familiar crime genre and converted it into a psychological thriller. However, it wasn’t only his main idea of the story that made this film into the amazing drama that it is.

     The way in which the movie is set up and structured helped the intensity of the plot as well. Tarantino put the story in a sequence filled with flashbacks, which gives viewers the action of the present and the background of what had happened before the start of the movie. The way the show jumps from present to the past and back again was pioneering for others, and has since then become more popular. The structure for this film is complex, yet easy to follow, allowing viewers to quickly grasp the concept and feel compassion for the characters.

     Truly a masterpiece, this film wouldn’t be as good as it is without the actors. Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, and Lawrence Tierney are just a few of the main actors that helped bring this thriller together even more. They all gave superb performances, fitting in the last piece of the puzzle that made for one of the best crime dramas yet to be seen. There was, however, only one slight problem with the film, and that was the amount of swearing in the dialogue. Now, the story is one of criminals, so viewers will expect bad language to an extent. Although some cussing is necessary for the characters, the dialogue went too far with it. Aside from that, this is an intense and fast-paced drama that changed the world of movies for the better.

          My overall rating: 4.5 out of 5