Once Upon a Time in the West, Pulp Fiction, RED

#1 - ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST

Stars - Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Gabriele Ferzetti

Director - Sergio Leone

Memorable Quote - 'He not only plays. He can shoot too.'

Review - Good lord, Morricone is a genius of our time, is he not? The musical score in this is spine-tinglingly good, to the extent that some of the action was actually written to the score - a technique that delivers amazing results. Even in less obvious compositions, such as the frankly amazing opening scene, sound is all-important and used to its full potential. Harmonica Man may actually be less famous than his own theme music, but he's a damn good Western character, with a tragic backstory to avenge, a preternatural ability to only show up at pivotal moments, and the ability to outfox every other character on screen. Cheyenne is a lovable rogue, a man you almost want to see end up with the heroine after all, and his final scene is both poignant and a great summary of the character himself. Frank is suitably evil throughout, while Morton is instead a pitiable figure; Jill, meanwhile, is a perfect female lead for a Western: gutsy, strong of character, and not afraid to play a few games herself. The plot is driven, and it drives us on to the finish - as each character tries to outwit the other, we gradually boil away all of the deception and bravado until we finish with the simple contest of two men, who will blink first, and who is quicker with a gun. This is Western movie gold.

Here's a final thought to sum up the awesomeness of this movie: the three guys on the train platform at the start were originally supposed to be Blondie, Angel Eyes, and Tuco. Imagine that as the start of a Western. Imagine that. 5/5

#2 - PULP FICTION

Stars - Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta,  Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames

Director - Quentin Tarantino

Memorable Quote - 'They speak English in "what"?!'

Review - What a classic! One of the most quotable films in existence, you can't go far on the internet before running across a line from this. Like many of Tarantino's films, it is punchy, bloody, and memorable. Each character is well-formed and distinct, with even Bruce Willis managing to look as if he's actually acting. Jackson is clearly the stand-out performance - not surprising when you consider that the role was written for him - but Roth is also a star as the restaurant-robbing 'Pumpkin'. I could go on and on about how awesome this movie is, too, but if you've seen it you already know that. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting around reading this review for? Go watch it now! 5/5

#3 - RED

Stars - Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban

Director - Robert Schwentke

Memorable Quote - 'You just got your ass handed to you by a goddamned retiree!'

Review - There's one thing I'll always stand by: no one does insane guy who wants to kill everybody like John Malkovich. I mean, Steve Buscemi's pretty good at it, but come on... John Malkovich! Here at his rambling best, he joins a cast that have certainly seen better years - though I actually fail to see much difference in the age-based evolutionary stages of Bruce Willis between now and the movie above. When they talk of aging it is with a certain poignancy, since these are actors who have graced our screens since they were much younger, now finding themselves relegated to the older-person roles. It's funny, convincing, and above all fun, and while it won't be winning any awards for the cleverest film, it's certainly more than enough entertainment for a night in. Who can argue with a cast list like that, anyway? Stick any more screen legends in it and you wouldn't have room on the front of the DVD! 4/5

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