Reservoir Dogs -- 1992 -- R

Catching another flick of Quentin Tarantino that makes the top 250 list, as most of his films have done. He has a knack for creating a good story and good characters, and this was an early effort for him.

The plot involves a group of hoods who plan to heist some diamonds from a wholesaler. Everything is worked out before hand, and it seems all the bases have been covered. However, something goes terribly wrong. The cops are right there to nab them, and the shooting begins. There is a rat on the team, but no one knows who it is. There is no investigation here. We are placed on a journey into each character's life prior to the event to fin out for ourselves who is in it for who.

When it comes to plotting, this one is as unconventional as Pulp Fiction, but in a simpler manner. We get some literal BS-ing at the beginning to introduce us to everyone, and then flash right to the end of everything to make us wonder what the heck happened, and then flashback to each character's prep prior to the crime. Wonderful way to build a world, and a style that Tarantino does a lot in his films to ensure the audience stays interested in a very, very simple plot.

The film is played for the characters and dialogue. This is Tarantino's forte right here. This is the most important part of any film and he knows it, and it is milked to its fullest. We know each character by the time the end comes and though twists will happen, none of them come as a big surprise. Instead of being shocked and instead of playing into an inevitability, we don't really know what will happen, but when it does, it works.

I don't have any major problems with this one with the exception of some of the dialogue scenes running a bit too long on occasion, but this is a perennial problem in Q's films which balances out his strengths.

It's a classic flick in film history, and established Quentin Tarantino as a formidable force in the business. Definitely something worth watching, but not for the squeamish or bleeding eared.