Number Three: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Let me first start of by clearing something up. This is the first movie I have on the list (and there will be others to be sure) that is seemingly out of chronological order. Well it's not! Even though Quentin Tarantino's Reservior Dogs made the rounds of the festival circuit in '91, and I'm sure many of you had seen it before me, I had my first taste in 1994 on Superchannel in my parents basement. I clearly remember walking by as Harvey Keitel was telling us about Madonna's big dick coming out of his ear and I was entranced. I sat down and devoured the entire experience as though there no other options available.

Being fourteen, I'm quite sure the violence and foul language was attractive, but there was something more. While many could rightly point out the clever dialog, or rich characters, marvel at the clever use of scene chronology as the narrative jumps from the present to the past in one monologue where Tim Roth recites his "commode story", or even the wit of a heist movie that never shows the heist and in fact only refers to it in past tense, I had a wholly different experience. I finished this fantastic story, (as if I could leave halfway through!) and faced my parents who had somehow materialized during the film. (I didn't notice when, they could have been there the entire time for all I knew!) My mother turned to me and said in an incredulous tone, "You liked that?" What a question! Of course I had! Didn't she? Had she missed something? And this was an awakening. I could see clearly that something had quality where my parents could not. Sure, when you're a child, you're enamored with all kinds of fun that adults allow with a smirk or a dull nod as you try to fill them in on your afternoon exploits in the woods behind your house. This was something else. This was adult fare that they couldn't seem to relate to, but I could. It spoke to my generation and not theirs.

I'm sure a person could make this same list with music albums, and while music holds a special place for me as well, this list could only be movies for me. Reservoir Dogs showed me that dialog could be more effective than explosions. In a world where actions speak louder than words, Tarantino proved otherwise.