Capiche...me ole' China?

Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut might be less flash and less epic than Pulp Fiction. Yet, Reservoir Dogs retains it's own charming qualities that make it every bit as good of a film. Everyone involved gives an exellent performance and the supreme mix of humor, tension and violence make for very enjoyable viewing. The ear cutting scene is also among the coolest (and nastiest) sequences ever committed to film. Sick, twisted and ultimately genius.

Quentin Tarantino's postmodern Neo-noir is an auteuristic gem. More elaborate than Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction builds on everything his first film started. With it's supreme mix of intertextuality, violence and philosophy Pulp Fiction seems to have something for all. It also brought John Travolta back into the frame, launched Uma Thurman into the big time and ensured Samuel L. Jackson's place as the coolest guy in recent film history. An instant classic.

Continuing the long and glorious tradition of British realism in cinema, John McKensie's The Long Good Friday is a brutal piece of early 80s pulp. The major kudos go to Bob Hoskins, whose dangerously deluded Ganster Harold Shand attempts to wage war with the IRA whislt renovating the delapitated London docklands. Indeed it is Hoskins more than any one else who shines through in this film, as Shand flip flops between passivity and aggression; showing concern for Eastend social decay one minute and then contributing to it the next. Helen Mirren also makes for a good supporting presence as Shand's atritocratic wife along with a whole plethora of future televison and film characters and a surprise early role for Pierce Brosnan. But this is still very much Hoskins' movie, proving that there was once a time where he stood at the pinnacle of the British actors column.

Few people do the gangster genre (or any film involving Robert DeNiro) better than Martin Scorsese. I think it's best for you to watch this film rather than have me explain it to you.

Brian De Palma's directing career has taken a major dive as of late, having not made a major film since Misson To Mars, although Scarface still stands firm as the reason he was so reveered in his heyday. This incredibly violent take on Howard Hawks' 1920s classic, penned by Oliver stone, has Al Pacino thrust into the role of former Cuban convict, Tony Montana, who is shipped to the United States to 'be with his family'. What Montana in fact does is create anarchy on the streets of Miami. Best described as the Cuban equivalent of Harold Shand crossed with MacBeth, Montana murders all his potential rivals, snorts endless amounts of cocaine and buys up every major business in town whilst abusing trophy wife Michelle Pfeifer. And woe betide any one wh tries to lays a hand on his sister. Like the Untouchables, Scarface is laden with heavily iconic imagery: Pastel coloured streets, brightly colored suits, floral shirts and neon lights all contrast heavily with the gore and grit apparent in many gangster films. This was also the first film to showcase DePalma's passion for spectacle. The mansion set used for the film's final scene is worth a small fortune on its own. Overhyped it may be, but Scarface is still definately worth a watch purely for the production design and for Stone's script.

The athouse nature of Point Blank makes the first viewing of this film seem quite non-sensicle. However, the more times you watch the more sense it makes. The dialogue is a bit shonky in parts eg. "You're a bad man Walker!" and some of the more shocking aspects simply come across as comic by today's standards but it is still a good film nonetheless. Be avised, however, the sight of Lee Marvin in swimming trunks will scar you for life!!!!