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Dan-O-4
Reviews
Pulp Fiction (1994)
*YAWN*
I watched this movie only because of all of the unbelievable press it got, albeit years after it came out (April 1999).
All I can say is, why was this movie so praised?
First, for all the so-called action, it's boring. The whole endless date scene between Travolta and Thurman? The stupid dance contest? Couldn't wait for it to end. And the ending of the date was just as useless.
Then the whole long dragged-out sequence with Bruce Willis...I just kept thinking, who cares? Then the senseless rape sequence. It gets worse!
Then the whole *hour* it seems we spend in that diner at the end. I don't know, it just didn't do it for me. The accidental shooting bit was ok at first, but then it too got dragged out and boring. Quentin Tarrantino should never again appear in one of his movies. He, quite succinctly, sucks as an actor (and he ain't much of a director, IMHO. He's the one responsible for keeping the movie moving (heh!) and it dra-a-a-a-ags...)
To sum up, this is almost three hours of mostly boring crapola punctuated by a few shootings/interesting events and even fewer really funny moments. On the upside, Samuel Jackson's portrayal of a truly terrifying Bible-quotin' gangster was great...up until his "epiphany." He's the only one that deserved an award on this one. I never bought Travolta as a hitman. Thurman is way more sexy in her mind than in fact.
All-in-all, an average effort from the Hollywood grist mill, certainly not the earthshattering event it's made out to be. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has been described as a PF wannabe, but for my money, LS&2SB is 100% more funny and imaginative, the plot is way better and ties up in much more unexpected ways, and is overall a much better film.
And I sat down to watch this movie wanting to like it. Oh well...
L'école de la chair (1998)
Huppert is mesmerizing, but film drags
I went to this film based solely on the reputation of Isabelle Huppert. I had heard she was one of the greatest actresses in Europe.
Well I have to agree, she is fantastically attractive and talented, and you could watch her for hours, but unfortunately that's what this film seemed like. I don't often fall asleep in the movies but I almost did on this one...
I guess my main problem with the film was that there was never any motivation that I could see for why such an ostensibly attractive and successful woman would do some of the things she did: take in this raggamuffin with the dubious past, and then proceed to take all of his bad treatment, infidelity, and neglect, while feeding and clothing him and giving him a place to live. I guess we are to assume he was just that good in bed, but I think the film would have benefited from a little more "flesh"ing out of the reasons behind the actions. Some will probably say I missed the "nuances" but I just kept asking *why* is she doing this, from their first date when she hung around while he played video games, through to the end. To me it just perpetuated the myth that women are suckers for a pretty face.
But all that said, it was still a pleasure to watch Huppert and I will look for her in other films at my video store.