“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

“Airheads” (1994) [PG-13]

     This movie is one of many that some people call a “hidden treasure.” It’s not an extremely well-known movie, but it deserves more credit than it receives. The actors did very commendable jobs, the movie personifies most musicians of that time, and this is simply put the best comedy of its kind since “Wayne’s World” (1992). The only drawback to this movie is that the story is barely believable even for a comedy.

     Actors for “Airheads” gave commendable performances through the whole movie. The main cast members were both funny and convincing; they didn’t stop the greatness of their characters even once. Even the secondary cast, who played the less important characters, gave noteworthy performances. Viewers can find themselves liking the less important characters just as much as they like the lead roles.

     In addition to the actors’ performances, the movie itself easily personifies most musicians of that time and musical genre. The performances and script shows character traits and dialects that are true to that time and style. The story epitomizes the rebellious scene of the eighties and nineties Californian musicians’ life, and heavily coats it with wacky comedy.

     As far as the comedy of this film goes, it is amazingly entertaining. This is definitely the best “goofy buddy” comedy since “Wayne’s World.” It’s full of wacky, hilarious moments and almost slapstick humor. However many good things there are to this movie, there is one very bad factor. The story is barely believable even for a comedy; there is no way that most of the stuff in the movie could actually happen in real life.

          My overall rating: 3.5 out of 5