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With the possible exception of the "zombie versus shark" scene in Lucio Fulci's Zombi (coming soon), there may be no greater scene in film history than the exchange between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper at the midpoint of True Romance. Hyperbole aside, it's the kind of scene that true cinephiles salivate over the prospect of, and no doubt that actors dream of performing: two great personalities locked into a magical rhythm, creating character and making history even as they seemingly talk about a whole lot of nothin'.

The first time I saw True Romance was during its theatrical run, when I invited two female friends unfamiliar with Quentin Tarantino to see the film with me. While they were shellshocked by the abundance of profanity and violence the film contained, I was endlessly captivated – perversely so – with Tarantino's indefatigable penchant for crafting clever, memorable dialogue that celebrated itself as much as the films and pop culture highlights to which it referred. But even having been a longtime devotee of Reservoir Dogs – which to this critic remains his best-ever work – I was unprepared for this scene between Walken and Hopper, two acting masters, as they slowly and subtly engaged in a power struggle that would necessarily – if satisfyingly – end in cathartic tragedy.

Ironically, the sequence is only tangentially connected to the main narrative, a love story between a comic book store clerk and a call girl who accidentally stumble across a small fortune in drugs. Walken plays Vincent Coccotti, a mob boss who stumbles across Clifford Worley (Hopper) while looking for the former cop's son. Coccotti initially exerts physical pressure on Worley to reveal the wherabouts of his son, but as Worley realizes that he's in a no-win situation whatever he tells Coccotti, he decides to tell the Mafioso a story that will provoke his adversary without necessarily having to compromise his dignity, much less his son's location.

I've never seen this mash-up before, and when I came across it on Buzzfeed earlier today it absolutely blew my mind to see how well this scene from The Muppets Take Manhattan matched up with the tipping scene from Reservoir Dogs. It's like the two were made for each other! (Plus there's just something about Muppets and foul-mouthedness that just cracks me up. Double plus: I haven't listened to this scene in awhile, and I forgot how much I loved it.) I think Quentin Tarantino should move on from Inglourious Basterds and write and direct a small film like Reservoir Dogs, with limited sets and powerful performances. But that's me. Meanwhile, the Muppets will soon return to the big screen, with Jason Segel currently hard at work developing a new film. Yay! Perhaps he and Tarantino should collaborate on something that resembles this ...

(Warning: This is the tipping scene from Reservoir Dogs, and as such there's a lot of nasty language that definitely makes this clip NSFW. Watch at your own risk.)

(In honor of Mother's Day, we're launching a series of posts today written, in part, by our mothers after we asked them one simple (yet very complex) question: What's your favorite movie and why?)

My mother, Deanna, is not much of a cinephile, but she claims to have at least learned from me different ways of appreciating movies. For example, she was always a huge Rogers and Hammerstein fan, and still cites The Sound of Music and South Pacific, as well as the non-R&H musical My Fair Lady, as some of her favorite films. But after I went to film school in the mid-90s, she became a fan of Quentin Tarantino dialogue and added Reservoir Dogs and True Romance to her list. However, it was dropping out of college that caused her to subjectively choose Good Will Hunting as her most favorite movie of all time:

"I love GWH very much because of how much the lead character reminds me of my son (Christopher) and how gifted/intelligent he is ... and how frustrated friends and family of his (like Will's) were when he decided there was no need to return to college and get his degree ... etc. But now that Christopher, as Will did, has come to his senses (!!!!) and did go back to school ... and he graduates with honors this month ... and how happy Chistopher's friend's and family and especially his MOM are.... well, I won't tell you the ending! You'll just have to watch the film and come listen to me brag on and on and on about my Christopher!!!!"

Now that Blu-ray will officially take over the HD market with regards to DVDs, it's about time you pick yourself up a player. You'll find, though, that once you purchase a Blu-ray player, the DVDs are crazy expensive. Some, like massive special editions, cost up to $40-50. I'm sorry, but that's a lot of money for a movie. In fact, ever since receiving my Blu-ray player (in the form of PS3) back at Christmas, it took me forever to purchase my first Blu-ray DVD. That film came this past weekend when I splurged and picked up I Am Legend (for a whopping $35!). Ah, but now, Amazon has a wicked deal for those of you who desperately want more Blu-ray DVDs, but don't have the money to shovel out.

Right now, Amazon is running a buy two, get one free on a lot of their Blu-ray discs. Better yet, the discs are already on sale. For example, the Blade Runner (Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition), originally priced at $40, is now only $27.95. You can even get 300 on Blu-ray for $23. Throw both of those in your queue, and you get to pick out one Blu-ray DVD for free! Not a bad deal if you ask me. Some of the DVDs they're offering on Blu-ray include Monty Python's Life of Brian ($19.95), The Departed ($23.95), Unforgiven ($19.95), Reservoir Dogs ($20.95), First Blood ($20.95) and a whole lot more. So check it out and have a blast -- you have until April 18.

[via Slashfilm]

Over on his blog at the Chicago Tribune, critic Michael Phillips (a very nice and knowledgable guy who James Rocchi and I chatted with at Sundance earlier this year) has a fun piece up on movies that he's walked out on. Then he asked a bunch of Tribune staffers to share what films they've walked out on.

Some of the picks are predictable -- Evita, Reservoir Dogs (one of my own least favorite movies of all time, though I actually sat through the entire violent mess), and Forrest Gump (blech) are on there, along with a few I wouldn't have thought of, like Prince's Under the Cherry Moon and Cat People, which I remember watching with a certain fondness as a midnight movie on TV in my youth (it wasn't that bad, was it?)

I'm one of those sadistic movie fans who will generally force myself to sit through anything, even at a film fest, when a lot of folks will slip out with the excuse that they need to catch something else that's overlapping a film they really just want to walk out on anyhow. I generally try to avoid up front seeing a film I know I'm really going to hate, but sometimes I'm assigned to review something, and it can't be helped -- I just have to suffer through it so I can write the damn review. Here are a few movies, though, that I suffered through but wish I hadn't. If only I'd known then that even print folks at a place like the Tribune walk out on films, I might have saved myself some misery ...

Although the audio tape is pretty much dead, people still love making mix tapes, even if they now come in CD form. It's funny how this ritual of appreciation has transcended age and time. We used to scour radio stations for the perfect mix of songs, and now we whip up aural delights from thousands of mp3s. Mixes were useful to tell that certain boy or girl that you liked them in school, and today we often send mixes to say hello, or to gently shake a person and show them all the good music that they are missing.

There's also no short supply of movies that have absolutely fantastic soundtracks that work like a visual mix tape, sending the viewer through an optical pathway of music, sometimes even bringing new meaning and depth to the tunes that are played. While I would love to gush about Beethoven's music set to drama in Immortal Beloved, or even the brilliance that is Simon and Garfunkle in The Graduate, this space is reserved for the films with varied soundtracks full of a myriad of sounds and artists, which somehow all morph together into a cohesive and enjoyable whole. Sometimes they are just great collections of music, and sometimes they completely make you rethink something you might have heard many times before. If only I could list 14, or even 21! But I can't, so here are 7 films to inspire you into a mix-making frenzy:

High Fidelity

This almost seems like cheating, being such an obvious and no-brainer sort of choice, but you really can't talk about the power of mix tapes and movies without talking about the film that is all about creating musical mixes that portray slices of life. John Cusack stars as Rob Gordon, the music store owner who is at a crossroads in his life -- his serious girlfriend is leaving him, and through music, he delves into his less-than-desirable relationships with women. The beauty of this movie's soundtrack is how many different slices of music it tastes -- from the melodic Dry the Rain from The Beta Band to Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady. The old is mixed with the new, introducing us to what we might not have heard, while reminding us of songs we might have forgotten.

With only the most-anticipated blockbusters, fans can expect special midnight screenings the night before a movie's official release date. Certainly this will be the case with upcoming sequels Spider-Man 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and maybe even Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. But in a bit of a surprise move, Dimension will be offering such a sneak peek of its eagerly awaited double-feature-within-a-single-release, Grindhouse. The only problem is that it is being limited to select cities. So, if you aren't near a major metropolis, you'll just have to wait about ten hours until your local theater opens for the first matinee.

There are definitely enough followers of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez to make these exclusive screenings sell out, so if you can get to one, make sure and order your tickets now. And if you want to make this event on par with the other release-eve sneaks that I've been to, you should dress up as your favorite character from the duo's other films, or if you so desire, from one of the two films they've made for Grindhouse (if anyone can do Rose McGowan's machine gun leg, I want pictures!). If you can't attend any of the shows tomorrow night, you can still at least watch Eli Roth's fake trailer that is included in the Grindhouse package, as it has already popped up online.

Here is the list of cities showing Grindhouse Thursday night: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC. (I guess Austin doesn't need another bonus, huh?)

For more of Cinematical's exclusive Grindhouse coverage, check out the following:

Grindhouse Junket Report, Part 1: QT Talks Future Grindhouse Projects, Rose McGowan Talks 'Black Oasis,' Zoe Bell Talks Stunts, Jordan Ladd On 'Hostel II,' More!

Grindhouse Junket Report, Part 2: Kurt Russell On Remakes, Rosario Dawson Talks 'OCT' Film, Marley Shelton Gives Deleted Scene Details, More!

Austin Grindhouse Part 1: Planet Red Carpet

Austin Grindhouse Part 2: Critic Proof

Cinematical Seven: My Favorite Grindhouse Movies

Apparently John Waters mis-cast Cecil B. Demented when he put Stephen Dorff in lead role. It seems that Quentin Tarantino is the real guerilla filmmaker, or at least, he was willing to be. Reports say that the director recently told Culture magazine: "I would have died for Reservoir Dogs and I would have died getting a shot for Pulp Fiction." I can just see Quentin running around with crazy hair, getting cinematic shots while dodging gunshots. While he holds those films close to his heart, the same can't be said for Jackie Brown: "I don't know if I would have died for Jackie Brown and that scared me a little." I think we're all right there with you, Quentin. However, if you want, you can try to rationalize this as something other than the fact that it wasn't as good: "I think the reason was that it was based on a novel, it wasn't an original thing born from me."

The director goes on to talk about the curse of aging. He's quoted as saying: "Directors don't get better as they get older. They get worse and they get out of touch." I'm a bit surprised that he's saying this. Following his previous comments, which don't include Kill Bill or his upcoming Death Proof, does that mean he doesn't like them as much because he feels older and out of touch? Is this the end of Tarantino? Has he forgotten that he is pushing 50? To top that off, he also stated: "There is this weird thing with movie-making where you king of figure out how to do it. You're pulled along by experience. By the second one you know a hell of a lot more than you did on the first one." Methinks Tarantino is getting a little confused, especially since he followed it up with: "I don't want to be a professional. I like holding on to my amateur status." Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tarantino stopped being an amateur long ago.

I was fortunate enough to attend a special screening of Smokin' Aces a few months back, and after the movie ended I (and a bunch of other writers) got to sit down and shoot the breeze with writer/director Joe Carnahan. First off, say what you will about the guy, but he sure does know his movies. I've met filmmakers whose eyes got all glassy when I mentioned Walter Hill or Michael Ritchie, but Carnahan can movie-geek with the best of 'em. But when one of the journalists raised the topic of Quentin Tarantino, well, Joe had a lot to say about that.

According to this juicy article at the Sydney Morning Herald, Joe Carnahan will bite your head off if you compare his latest movie to Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction ... but I think this writer may have misrepresented Joey's tone of voice. When we sat down and discussed the exact same things that are covered in that article, Carnahan spoke quite respectfully of QT. He did, however, make it a point to say something like "Hey, Quentin didn't invent guns and hitmen and rapid-fire dialogue, you know!" -- but I never once got the impression that he was knocking Tarantino at all.

Is Smokin' Aces, in your opinion, too reminiscent of Quentin's flicks? Is it unfair to call one filmmaker a copycat of Tarantino if QT spent his entire career copycatting other filmmakers? (Don't get me wrong; I adore Tarantino's movies, but to label his subject matter as "original" is kind of a joke.) Frankly I don't think Carnahan deserves the copycat label, although I can plainly see where the comparisons are coming from. Smokin' Aces actually reminded me more of Running Scared than Pulp Fiction, but if a director wants to do a hard-R, tongue-in-cheek action flick, it seems he's bound to get painted with the Quentin brush. Kinda unfair, if you ask me.

It might be hard to believe, but Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs turns 15 today. Now, before you haul out the abacus, you've probably noted that 1992 + 15 = 2007. Reservoir Dogs premiered in October of 1992 the last time we checked, and it seems like only yesterday there was much fanfare over the tenth anniversary edition of this film (which was released in 2002), complete with five different covers for the same DVD ... collect them all! Perhaps 14 just wasn't as sexy of a number, and of course Lionsgate wants you to double dip when the HD-DVD version comes out at some point, so that leaves us with a 15th anniversary edition a year early. Although if you want to get extremely technical with the dates, Tarantino actually workshopped some of the scenes from Dogs at Sundance in 1991, so is this the date they're shooting for?

At any rate, the packaging alone is pretty cool on this release. They've housed the DVD in a metal case that looks like a gas can, and when you slip the interior packaging out, it is in the shape of a huge matchbook from "Uncle Bob's Pancake House," which is where Steve Buscemi tells everyone "I don't tip" as Mr. Pink. The whole package is sort of a gruesome reminder from one of the scenes in the movie. When the tenth anniversary DVD came out, Lionsgate sent out fake foam rubber ears announcing the release, which have become highly collectible among fans. I guess they like reminding us how violent the torture scene in this movie really is.

Tarantino's now cult-classic film opened the door for ultra-realistic violence in films, but it also helped usher in a new era of non-linear storytelling. After this movie came out, writers and directors began to play with the concept of time a lot more often, using flashbacks and flash-fowards to help make a simple story a lot more interesting, to show it from different angles and perspectives, and to flesh out character development. Tarantino didn't pioneer this technique, but he made such extensive use of it that you can still the effects of it in movies today.

The film also helped establish Tarantino's visual "look," from the black suits with the skinny ties, to the minimal sets with dialogue-heavy scenes. It also showcased his love for vintage and 70s music through "K-Billy Super Sounds of the 70s," on the radio throughout the movie, and DJed by deadpan comedian Steven Wright. Additionally, he took chances on B- and sometime C-list movie stars who had either fallen from the limelight, or had not worked in quite some time, which is something he continues to do -- reviving the careers of John Travolta, Robert Forster, Pam Grier and others.

Tarantino is a self-proclaimed cinephile, and in this movie he has lifted several scenes and plot elements directly from other films, particularly from Ringo Lam's excellent City on Fire which stars Chow Yun-Fat. If you haven't seen it, rent it some time and you'll see how similar the two films are, down to exact scenes. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and while Dogs isn't a direct ripoff, it comes close at times. Tarantino has claimed that he steals from all of his favorite movies, and if that's the case, then Dogs is no different.

Today also sees the release of the Reservoir Dogs video game (featuring the voice and likeness of Michael Madsen), which promises to bring the same ultra-violence to your home gaming systems. It seems an odd choice to make a game out of this film, given the extreme violence and open and closed plot, but we've also seen Scarface and The Godfather made into games as well recently, so stranger things have happened. Just don't look for Jackie Brown: The Game anytime soon. We hope. ...