The film that gave rise to the prominence of independent filmmaking in the 90s and ushered in Miramax as one of the most important and artist friendly studios in the world, Reservoir Dogs is Quentin Tarantino's first foray into film and what a glorious debut it is. What could have been an incredibly over the top, dull heist thriller becomes an intriguing mystery surrounding 6 criminals and 1 unknown cop. The dialogue and story structure really help to elevate the film beyond its overdone setup and into something completely new for the genre. The narrative is told in a nonlinear fashion while the cast of veteran character actors elevate the dialogue and characters immensely. Reservoir Dogs works as many different films, where some scenes feel like they were taken from completely different movies yet fit in perfectly with the overall tone of the film.