Reservoiarmageddon

Round five presents to us a David and Goliath type confrontation, but I don't think that the special effects Bay has in his slingshot are going to knock down Tarantino. I'm going to try and go through this quickly, Trojan Horse already did a thorough job of criticizing Michael Bay.

The Rock

I've seen this movie so many times and never really considered it's quality. I don't go see Michael Bay movies to get high intellect, but just for a fun action flick. The movie stops being fun once you start to notice Nick Cage's terrible acting (ugh, most annoying voice ever), the incredibly contrived and ridiculous plot devices, and the over-the-top dramatic scenes and screen-shots. The car chase sequence reminded me of a level in Burnout (the aim of that game is to cause as much monetary damage as possible with a car crash). The nostalgia factor of this movie was high, but other than laughing at a few lines, I didn't enjoy it when I paid too much attention.

Reservoir Dogs

When I saw this movie the first time I was overwhelmed by the violence. Watching it closely, the violence still shocked me, but I noticed more of the fascinating aspects of the dialogue and length of non-violent scenes. Tarantino is adept at creating interesting characters and then allowing them the space to talk, and the choice of actors was fantastic as well.

Armageddon

I realized when closely watching this film that it is simply a series of overly dramatized versions of what WOULD NOT HAPPEN if a meteor were headed towards Earth. This movie did nothing original and interesting for me, and again, I'd watched it a lot when I was younger and it first came out. I used to love this movie, a child drunk on over-saturated film and knee-jerk trained emotional reactions to trite images. I've realized that this movie was a very preemptive campaign advertisement for George W. Bush. That is all.

Pulp Fiction

I have loved this movie since I first saw it at the likely inappropriate age of 12 (or maybe 11, I'm not sure). The changed sequence of events captivated me, the characters enchanted me, and the entire movie gave me striking images that wouldn't leave me. The red marker on skin, the gold light shining from the case, the intensity of Samuel L's eyes, and the cab driver's lips when she said "Butch." It's still engaging for me after multiple viewings and growth in maturity.

Michael Bay produces BIG FUCKING MOVIES. But he hides the lack of substance and novelty with special effects. And like so much makeup, it begins to rub off and reveal the plain skin underneath and we discover we were looking at someone trying to be someone else. I'm interested to see how Quentin Tarantino will hold up against John Huston in the next round. Thanks for playing, Bay. Better luck next time.