Reservoir Dogs

"Reservoir Dogs," the exhilarating debut film of 29-year old writer/director Quentin Tarantino, is a ballet of macho posturing, gun-pointing, and the creative uses of every four-letter word imaginable. Its testosterone level is off every chart, and it happily wallows in its own juvenile love of criminals, violence, and vulgarity. Taking a note from Sam Peckinpah, Tarantino populated his film with morally ambiguous outlaws. Yes, these are criminals and killers, but damn, if they aren't …

…not realistic. In some way or another, every character is a cliche, but because Tarantino knows this from outset, he is able to work the cliches to fit his own devices. It's obvious that he's in love with the material, and his affection spills into every corner of the frame, making this an amazingly animated and inspired film. If a few more directors had this kind of gusto and brass, Hollywood would produce better movies.