The great thing about "talky" movies....










It's been a while since my last posting....some of my "adoring fans" (ehm...ehm.....) even buzzed me up aka via e-mail asking me when would I crank up my fingers next to type new posts. Wow....didn't know that people actually keep tab of my inconsistent rants...heheh. The reason for my temporary hiatus (well, close to 3 weeks without any new posts sounds a bit sluggish to some I suppose!), was that I was quite tied-up with some pressing matters at the office....(not too say that I have abundance of free time now, but I do have some breathing space in the interim! Heh!).

Right....let's get it on!

Recently, I had been re-watching some of the movies which some would label as 'talky movies'....or dialogue-laden films. To some, these may sound boring, especially when you're expecting films full of explosions/action-packed chase scenes/shoot-em-up fiascos etc. For some unexplained reasons, I got hooked onto these silly talky movies even before the genre was given their name. But despite the so-called talkative nature of the movies, they do have those action-packed scenes, just that the emphasis of these movies relied heavily on the dialogues and monologues of the characters...

In my opinion, Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith (pictured above respectively) is the 2 most influential talky movie directors in the field right now. Coincidently, my first exposure to these movie genre was by watching Pulp Fiction & Mallrats (directed respectively by Tarantino and Smith) in the early 90s. I can't erase the images of Vincent and Jules from the moment they took that stroll in their car arguing about what people call a Big Mac in Amsterdam till they eradicated the threat in the diner aka last scene in Pulp Fiction. The same goes to Mallrats. Who would ever consider doing a movie about a bunch of slackers who do nothing but hang around at their local shopping mall all day....yet, these movies are uber-cool! They define a generation....and they still do for the generations which came next.

Smith's offerings started with Clerks in 1994, though I was only pre-empted to watch that after I saw Mallrats. To my surprise, it was even geekier with topics ranging from the Death Star in Star Wars (see my previous post) to love and life's complicated journeys. After that, I guess the floodgate just opened for me, as I began to watch every movie that Smith put out which contained his Silent Bob moniker...Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back, Chasing Amy etc. just to name a few.
What about Tarantino? He gained recognition in the early 90s as an independent filmmaker whose films used non-linear storylines and has a knack of violence. His films include Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2 and Death Proof. His films have earned him numerous awards and he has even been nominated for Emmy and Grammy Awards. He is currently editing Inglorious Basterds; a WW2 movie planned to be released in May 2009.
One has to grasp the messages that exists between the dialogues and not merely concentrate on the action solely to enjoy the sheer genius of these 2 directors. They are not just great directors....they are also great scriptwriters. I was (and still do) intriqued by the way certain issues were metaphorized by the characters in these movies. Although I do not recommend that these movies be shown to children (for obvious reasons....violence, harsh language and all etc.) but for us mature audiences, capturing the true meanings behind every dialogue lines could prove to be a daunting task indeed.
Sure, some of the dialogues are harsh, rage-laden and full of profanities.....but use these at the right context, you might find yourself sounding very cool indeed among the nerdy/geeky kinds...hahahahah! But seriously, these are the movies which are NOT bound by the norms imposed on normal stereotyped movies. Both directors have a passion for B-movies which by our definition, are supposed to be really crappy movies (aka low budget, sloppy acting, terrible effects etc). Tarantino, especially, incorporated the elements of 70s B-movies into his offerings and the results are staggeringly incredible! Crude fight scenes with squirting blood (just to name a few) are the trademark of these cheap-production movies...but for some unexplained reasons, these work well in his movies.
The same goes for Smith. His approach to love, relationship and life is subtley expressed in his movies. Though not in very conventional ways (like the instance when a character in Chasing Amy metaphorizes how Star Wars was actually a post-Nazi propaganda....mannn, that was hillarious!) but we get the idea of the messages that he intended to convey to his audiences. The other thing is, Smith seemed to have cultivated all of his pop-culture interests in each of his movies, most evidently on comics and Star Wars; where constant references have been made to "the Force" and the Empire. Talk about being geeky on-screen (subconsciously at that!)...
I can't say much on how cool these movies are. It may prove boring to some....again for the obvious 'talky' reasons. But if anyone should ever come across any chance to start watching any movies from these 2 great directors, then these 3 (from each) should be watched first (with no order of preferences!)....Nuff' said! :



Comments

darthmental said…
talky movies memang layan bro. asyik tengok movie sepak-terajang-tembak-pecah-kepala ja, bosan gak. smith & tarantino memang hebat!

chasing amy berat skit, tapi topik dia menarik. pastu scene potong telinga dalam reservoir dogs memang takleh lupa, haha.
The Rebel said…
cool, Darthmental...a Smith fan as well I presume?

yeah, Chasing Amy was a bit heavy on the 'les-bo' thingy/argument.....but yeah, Tim Roth's performance and the ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs made it very memorable indeed!!!!