Category Archives: Movies

#229- Pulp Fiction

Quick recap: Told out of order, Pulp Fiction interweaves stories about hit men, a boxer and a couple about to rob a diner.

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Fun (?) fact: To prepare for the role, John Travolta researched what it was like to be on heroin and was told to down a bottle of Tequila and then get in a hot tub. The more you know, kids!

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My thoughts: Let me tell you, this has probably been the hardest review I’ve ever written. Not because the movie is bad or anything, but because what could I possibly add to something so perfect? Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece and I have yet to run into anyone who doesn’t like it. It’s Tarantino’s best, hands down and every moment is gold.

I had the opportunity to watch Pulp Fiction on the big screen at the Alamo Drafthouse and I’m so glad I did because that’s how it’s meant to be seen. It was a Quote Along, which I was initially hesitant about but then warmed up to the idea once I was given a cap gun and a syringe pen. It’s been awhile since I had last seen the movie so I wasn’t sure I would be able to remember many of the ‘quotable’ lines, but once it began, it didn’t matter. There’s just something wonderfully cathartic about saying ‘motherfucker’ with about 100 other people.

Yes, there is a lot of violence and language but I’m not really sure what you were expecting from a Tarantino film, if that sort of thing bothers you. I wouldn’t use the word ‘gratuitous’ to describe the killing, especially compared to his newest, Hateful Eight. I think I was most surprised by how perfectly everything fit together. Every line said, every gun fired was necessary. Pulp Fiction has a lot of ‘rambling’ anecdotes but somehow it just works. I loved this film when I first saw it years ago and I think I’m even more in love now.

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Final review: 5/5

Up Next: Pan’s Labyrinth

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#228- Duck Soup

Thank you to Andy (that guy I married that one time) for recommending this movie and helping me to appreciate Looney Tunes just a bit more. 

Quick recap: Rufus T. Firefly (played by Groucho Marx) is put in charge of the fictional country of Freedonia. Shenanigans- as well as hijinks- ensue.

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Fun (?) fact: Duck Soup is one of the few films where Harpo Marx doesn’t play a harp and now I want my money back.

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My thoughts: As hard as I may try, there isn’t much for me to add to Duck Soup. It was funny, although there were so many jokes and goofs that I probably missed some really good ones. So instead, I’m going to rank the Marx Brothers!

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Zeppo Marx, 1933

Zeppo Marx, 1933

He played the ‘straight man’ in Duck Soup and shortly after this movie was released, quit acting altogether. Fun fact- Zeppo Marx’s least favorite Marx brother is Zeppo Marx.

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Harpo Marx

This one is controversial, I know ( shut up, Andy), but my reasoning is this- HIS NAME IS HARPO AND HE DIDN’T PLAY THE HARP. All throughout Duck Soup, Harpo ran around cutting stuff with scissors. It was funny but also a little disturbing. Given the chance of watching another movie, I’m sure he would win me over but he’d damn well better have that harp next time.

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Chico Marx

Fun fact- I didn’t even know there was a Chico Marx (or a Zeppo). Chico won me over with his weird Italian (?) accent and sharp comedic timing. I loved the scenes when he and Groucho would argue about something and very quickly change sides. Maybe lesser known of the Marx brothers, but I’d love to see more.

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Gummo Marx

Ok, but really, it’s Groucho. Of course it is. Dude’s a genius. Maybe I wasn’t rolling on the floor laughing (or ROFL for all you youngsters out there), but I appreciated his craft. I’ve seen so many impressions of Groucho that it was refreshing to see the real deal. Back to the timing, it was perfect. And before you have a chance to recover from one joke or think too long about it, he has another 5 ready to go. The physical comedy isn’t usually my favorite but I could watch the mirror scene over and and over and not get tired of it.

Final review: 4/5, only because the musical element was a little weird and threw me off when they started singing.

Up next: Pulp Fiction at the Drafthouse!

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#227-Now, Voyager

Quick recap: Charlotte Vale is a Crazy Cat Lady without any cats. On the verge of a mental breakdown because her mother is basically the worst, her doctor at a sanatarium  helps her come out of her shell. While on a voyage, Charlotte meets Jerry Durrance who is handsome, sweet and also married. The two have a very heavy affair and at the end of the trip, decide to part ways. As anyone who has ever been in love can testify, that’s easier said than done.

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You can never go wrong with a makeover montage! Too bad they weren’t around when this movie was made.

Fun (?) fact: People went nuts after seeing Paul Henreid’s act of lighting two cigarettes. He couldn’t go out in public without someone asking him to light one for them.

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Cancer is sexy as hell

My thoughts: Makeover scenes in movies generally make me cringe, but Now, Voyager takes it to a whole other level. I couldn’t decide which one was the worst: When a niece of Charlotte ridicules her during her nervous breakdown, or when the doctor breaks her glasses because she doesn’t need them now that she is ‘normal’ or when Charlotte shows Jerry a younger picture of herself to which he calls her the ‘fat lady with the heavy brows and all the hair’. But I guess women were cool with stuff like that back then because she fell in love with him shortly after. Damn, girl.

So, I’m torn with how I feel about Charlotte. Good for her for gaining all that confidence although the only thing that really did any good was getting a man. Later on in the film she breaks off an engagement to a guy because she isn’t feeling it, which is awesome, except that she still in love with Jerry, who is still married. I came around a little when Charlotte checked herself into the sanatorium when she feared another breakdown, until it became apparent she was only there to get close to Jerry’s depressed daughter, Tina. Damn ,girl.

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different Tina

I guess the love Jerry and Charlotte had was cute, but the thing with Tina kind of ruined it for me. When she initially saw the girl at the sanitarium and befriended her, I thought that was kind of sweet, especially seeing as how the two had a lot in common. I was even into the scene where Charlotte helps Tina call her father because she missed him so much and I admired her for not jumping on the phone and declaring her love for him. But then that night, Tina had a nightmare and Charlotte went in and cuddled her. Still a little sweet until that voiceover when she spells out that she had her lover’s daughter in her arms. I cringed even more when Charlotte had the girl call her the pet name Jerry gave her on the voyage and then at the end when she admitted to Jerry that keeping the girl felt like she was raising ‘their’ child. Damn, girl.

Final review: 2/5

Up next: Duck Soup

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#226- Amadeus

Thank you to Josh for recommending the movie, thus ensuring that I have ‘Marriage of Figaro’ stuck in my head for many days to come .

Quick recap: The incredibly sad story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by the guy who hated him most.

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Fun (?) fact: Director Milos Forman didn’t even bother having the actors use an accent in the movie because he wanted them to focus on their characters. It almost makes me feel bad to think about all the things I said about Tom Cruise and his lack of accent in the movie Valkyrie. Almost.

 

My thoughts: Of course I loved Amadeus. I may not get the point of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? , but I’m not a complete monster. Then again, I also uploaded a video of the Bloodhound Gang, so let’s just say I break even and move on.

The very first thing I did after finishing the movie was head over to Wikipedia to see how much of Amadeus was true and it turns out- it’s actually rather accurate. Of course there are scenes that probably didn’t take place, but seeing as how the movie is about a guy who lived over two hundred years ago, it’s a little difficult to pin facts down. Most scholars believe that Salieri didn’t really hate Mozart all that much, although they certainly weren’t BFFs or anything. It’s this detail that keeps me from embracing the film completely, although I certainly understand the reasoning of having a villain. Man versus Himself is much harder to portray on film, even though it is closer to the truth. Mozart was a genius and he knew it, and I think that’s what ultimately did him in- that he saw the genius in himself when others didn’t. I mean, he was celebrated while he was alive, but he also died penniless and was buried in a pauper’s grave. As for Salieri, the film does an excellent job painting him as a villain, but also someone that, although it is uncomfortable, we can relate to as an audience. Jealousy is an ugly thing and also something we all wrestle with.

What I loved most about the film, I think, was the way the music was woven into different scenes. Not only did I get to see snippets of some of his operas but I was also able to experience the music as it related to who he was. I’m by no means a genius composer (or AM I?) but I am consumed by music from the time I get up until I go to sleep and sometimes even while I sleep. The music I listen to is not a hobby, it is who I am. I have a playlist on Spotify that if you listen to it chronologically, it tells a story of me and all that has happened the past few years. In Amadeus, Mozart gets so obsessed with Requiem that it almost kills him. He didn’t just compose the music, he WAS the music and the two could never be separated.

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Final review: 5/5.

Up next: Oh, Voyager

 

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