ESSIE SPEAKS OF HER FAVORITE FILM EVER : "PULP FICTION"

I have made a momentous discovery. I have discovered my favourite film. As someone so engaged in films of all kinds, I am hard pressed to pick one. It will always be a close contest. I will always rattle off a couple in close succession, as opposed to one single one. But if you press me for a single one, I am now sure this is IT. Now, you guys know I don’t really write that much about the big classics. I like talking about the “hot” stuff out there along with the ones you may have missed along the way. But come on. This is my favourite film. I have a sneaking feeling it always has been. I want to gush about it for a second. And who knows, maybe I can somehow convince you Tarantino-haters out there (and I really don’t know what to do with you guys but anyhow) to give this a spin. I have a feeling you guys have the impression that all Tarantino films are just jumped-up slasher flicks, you know, with the emphasis on the blood as opposed to any actual content. You are SO WRONG. Ok, let’s get right to it.

There is no one single story here. Actually, there are three. Two of these stories revolve around the gang boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). See, Mr Wallace likes his sports. He likes to watch, for example, a good boxing match. He is also a betting man – and like the rest of us, he likes to win his bets. But he has an advantage over the rest of us in that field. See if, for example, he feels unsure how things will go, he can take precautions. Like taking Butch (Bruce Willis), a good pro boxer who is a tad bit past his prime for example, and explain to him if he should win or lose and at which round. Butch gets paid handsomely for his trouble, and Mr Wallace is happy. If Butch does not comply however, Mr Wallace is not amused. And I think we all know by now that an unamused gang boss is never a good thing. Then there are his two right hand men – Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield ( Samuel L. Jackson). They do things gang bosses do not condescend to tire themselves with. You know, extortion, debt collecting, murder and the like. But Vincent  especially is a little nervous of late  - he has an extra job you see. He has to take Mr Wallace’s dashing young wife (Uma Thurman) out to dinner while Mr Wallace is not in town. He must show her a good time, not offend her in any way, yet not cross any boundaries. I.e., he is on VERY thin ice indeed until the dinner date is up. And then there are two small time robbers. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny. They are planning their last couple of hits before they retire to some exotic location together. And they hit on an idea – why not rob a restaurant? And how do all these people come together you say? You will have to watch the film and see. But trust me when I say, regardless of what you’re thinking the answer is… You’re probably wrong…

Now, take these three stories. Cut them all into a few large chunks and jumble them up. And tell them in completely non-linear order with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Welcome to Pulp Fiction. As you can well imagine, in the wrong hands the formula is an unqualified disaster. But these, you see, are not the wrong hands. The puzzle is constructed in such a way that, although between Mr Tarantino’s penchant for surprises and the way the story is told you have no way of knowing what “comes next” until the last minute, it is, at the same time, clearly done so that you don’t actually have to research the film online later to clearly understand what is going on . On a side note, some people see this “incomprehensible” quality as a major asset – I don’t get it quite honestly. A film is something you should be able to understand as you watch it. Or a bit later, when you think about it. It shouldn’t take research. But at the same time, especially if you watch a lot of films, you want to be surprised. You want to not be able to tell what is coming next. I can categorically promise you that in this film, be it in terms of plot twists or actual pieces of the plot, you will rarely know what is coming next. This is one of the things I truly love about this film. 

The other thing I like about the film – and all of Tarantino’s films as it happens – is his own particularly dark brand of humour. This is what puts a twist on this little number too. Because, by Tarantino’s own admission, the three basic plot lines that are interwoven are as old as the hills. That is precisely the point. You take a classic and you put your own twist on it. How far you can twist it largely depends on your personal talent. I think you see where I’m going with this…

I mean yes, there is blood – people die. But newsflash – it’s a gangster flick.  If nobody died and there was no blood, you’d complain about it being unrealistic. This is something for you cats who want something both truly entertaining and truly original as entertainment.          Just take the plunge man. There is a reason every single person on the planet calls this film a classic. Time you found out why. 

A BLOODY TALE OF SWEET REVENGE : "DJANGO UNCHAINED"

I have been waiting for this film for so long. SO. DARN. LONG. Ok, peeps, please don’t except anything even remotely resembling an objective review of this film. I am such a massive Tarantino fan that I could not possibly… I mean, the guy can do no wrong ok? That’s why there is nothing wrong to find. This is, in a way, the good thing about Tarantino’s films. It’s clear cut. You either love it or you hate it. It is either a whole bowlful of filmic goodness you dive into headfirst or you run from it screaming. As there is no doubt at all which side I’m rooting for, let’s move straight onto the film and what it is about…

Meet Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). To the untrained eye he may well look like just another travelling dentist touring the Wild West, but you couldn’t be further wrong. Dr Schultz is a bounty hunter, and he is one of the best, if not the best there is. Fate brings him face to face with Django (Jamie Foxx). Django is a slave like many, many others you could find in the country at the time, but he holds a specific interest for the good doctor. Back in the days where technology was not widespread, you had to know what the person you were bounty hunting looked like to be sure to “hunt” the right man. And Django just so happens to be in possession of such information about a specific group of scoundrels Dr Schultz happens to be looking for. While he is about it, Dr Schultz frees Django, gets him fresh clothes and a horse, teaches him how to shoot and, when the pair seem to hit it off particularly well, partners up with him in the bounty hunting business. Over time, the pair become fast friends and Dr Schultz agrees to aid Django in a personal matter. His wife is still a slave and she has had the sad misfortune of falling into the hands of a particularly sadistic plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). However, saving Broomhilda (Kerry Washington – Django’s wife) from Monsieur Candie (as he likes to be called) and his motley crew headed by his loyal old butler Stephens (Samuel L. Jackson) is not going to be easy. It’s a good thing our friends have a bit of penchant for short cuts…

There is a reason this film shot to number 41 in the IMDB TOP 250. There is a reason it got 5 Oscar® nominations. First of all, hats off to Mr Tarantino for assembling such a brilliant cast and for getting the best possible performance out of a group of quite extraordinary actors. You know all the hype about Christoph Waltz? Well, guess what, it isn’t hype. He is THAT good. Heck, he is nothing short of brilliant. He deserves any and every glory and award he gets. And the villains? Oh my. Oh my, my, my. Calvin Candie is one of the most loathsome villains I have met in my time and Stephens is the perfect sidekick. OK to be fair, Stephens is actually a tad bit more than just a sidekick. But I’ll let you work that out as you watch. The point is the acting is beyond  brilliant.

As for the plot? Ok, one small thing. It turns out that the original of the film was five hours long. It was CUT DOWN to three hours. Now, personally I don’t see what is wrong with a five hour film, especially if it’s directed by Quentin Tarantino but hey. I guess it is slightly impractical from the cinema owner’s point of view. Now, the problem is, you feel the missing footage. Here and there, there are hints of things that you could have sworn were going to be further developed, but are not. Luckily they are not frequent. As for the blood? The gore? Is there much killing? I hear you ask. To which I respond, is that not why we came? The blood and guts start flowing around 10 minutes into the film and only intermittently stops, with “tarantinian” surprises around every corner. And trust me, if these surprises don’t make you love King Schults / Christoph Waltz even more than you already do, you really have no heart. Or sense of humour.  

Then of course, we really, really mustn’t forget Django. Because, to be absolutely fair, that is what this film is about. And Mr Tarantino makes an excellent point about slavery. There are strong messages in the film, to the point that some may find some of the bits a tad bid didactic. Then again, I think those bits would have gone much better within the five hour framework.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying, in any way, that they shouldn’t be there – slavery was a terrible, shameful time and we need to talk about it openly. This is probably why, in actual fact, Quentin Tarantino is the best man to talk about this. I mean, accuse him of what you will, shrinking from portraying brutality is not, nor ever can be on that list.  But anyway, back to Django and Broomhilda. Jamie Foxx is the perfect Siegfried to his beloved Broomhilda, and if there was any a couple whose sweetness and suffering justified a whole plethora of villains being sent to a bloody grave, it is them.

In short, to all my Tarantino fans, fear not. It’s all we have been waiting for and more. For those who aren’t… 

A WOMAN WHO CALLS THE SHOTS - JACKIE BROWN

As I start my review, I just want to share a weird fact with you guys. Whenever I think about this film the song “Ma Baker” starts going around in my head. No idea why – no connection to the movie. The human brain is weird… Anyway, this, my dearest readers, is another Tarantino movie. One I hadn’t watched until recently. Now, I love Tarantino but this movie isn’t my favorite. It proves one point though: Even the worst Tarantino movie (I’m not saying it is the worst; it’s just that it’s the one I liked the least) is better than a lot of people’s best movies out there… Sorry guys but that’s a FACT…

OK, so who is Jackie Brown? She (Pam Grier) is a flight attendant for a tiny airlines flying between L.A. and Cabo – Mexico. She doesn’t make much money; therefore, she needs to take on a couple of extra jobs. Like acting as mule for arms dealer Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson * swoooon * ). This is all working just fine until the cops bust her. They are not after her, however – but Ordell. The problem is that Ordell has been so successful in evading them and covering his tracks (you’re dead if he so much as suspects you MIGHT talk to the cops) the police (Michael Bowen and Michael Keaton) don’t even know his name. Hence Jackie finds herself in a VERY tight spot. She must either go to jail and risk losing her already modest job for good or collaborate with the police and risk losing her life. But then Max Cherry the bail bondsman enters the picture. He is a sweet guy who falls madly in love with Jackie and with him she hatches a plan to play the police and the gangsters off against each other and walk off with A LOT of money. It’s risky. She will have to get passed Ordell’s henchman Louis (Robert De Niro) and girlfriend (well sort of) Melanie (Bridget Fonda) and of course thwart Ordell himself…

So it’s basically a heist movie. But WHAT a blast from the past. First up it’s the 90’s. People buy cassettes (are you old enough to remember cassettes? I am and realized how long it had been since I had seen one as I watched this). Then of course, no cell phones. The hair and clothes. Then, the actors. I mean, naturally, barr Samuel L. Jackson and Robert De Niro but ask yourself WHEN did you last see Pam Grier? Michael Keaton – I mean he was BEETLEJUICE for Heaven’s sake!! He appears to have tried his hand at directing and voiced over in Toy Story but when did you actually see him in something? In my case, I’m thinking years… Robert Forster was nominated for an Oscar® for this performance – but I honestly don’t remember seeing him in anything else… The film isn’t just a “brainless American flic” either – even the Berlin Film Festival nominated Mr. Tarantino for a Golden Bear. Samuel L. Jackson actually made off with a Silver Bear. And that’s only a tiny snippet of awards and nominations it received…

If you find Tarantino movies overly violent this one is good news. It isn’t as violent as his other stuff – not by a long shot. I mean sure there is violence (this IS a gangster movie you guys beef up a bit!) and sudden deaths but not in anyway that would upset… Let’s say your average cop drama viewer. And it contains all those other things that make me swoon over Mr. Tarantino’s work – a smart plotline, A LOT of excitement and witty repartee (and that last one you HAVE to admit is a rare gem in films today!)

OUT OF SYNCH BUT NEVER OUT OF STYLE – MEET THE “SOUL MEN”

Soul Men is neither brand new, nor an award winner. But I happened on it the other day and had the chance to watch it and I knew I had to share this with you! Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac it is one of the funniest and most endearing films I have ever watched. Now first of all, heads up all 70’s lovers. For the older ones, prepare for a trip down memory lane. For the younger ones, prepare for a toe-tapping time! Well, with a title like “Soul Men” and Emmy® nominee Bernie Mac on board, you can expect nothing less…
Here’s how the story goes : The Real Deal was massive in the 70’s. They were a soul trio and did quite well for a time, but after two of the members – Floyd (Bernie Mac) and Louis (Samuel L. Jackson) had a fallout the band split up. While their lead singer raced on to solo stardom, Floyd and Louis vanished into backstage oblivion… Until said lead singer passes away 25 years later. All of a sudden the two of them have a chance to shine. Well, it is a memorial concert but still, the stage is the stage… For Floyd (now retired from a successful car dealership business and very bored) it is a chance to get back into the limelight he simply cannot refuse. For Louis (now finally out of jail) it’s a pain in the backside and not worth bothering with. And the organizers for the memorial concert want both of them. Just one will not do. So there is one thing left for Floyd to do. He must somehow hunt Louis down, convince him to go on stage again, sort out their differences, get to the Memorial concert 4 days later on time and in the meanwhile somehow get the very rusty remaining members of “The Real Deal” back into shape…
You may say “2 old geezers rocking and rolling. Really?” I have to say “Yeah, really.” Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac are one hell of a comedy duo. The music is absoloutely superb (if you like Soul that is – and I do). And there are even a few musical surprises (in the nice sense) further down the line. In short, for a Saturday night movie, you simply could not ask for more…