MOVIEW REVIEW: INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
Inglorious Basterds
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
TRT: 152 minutes (R) For strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality.
Cast
Brad Pitt as Lt Aldo Raine
Eli Roth as Sgt Donnie Donowitz
BJ Novak as PFC Smithson Utivich
Mike Myers as Gen Ed Fenech
Michael Fassbender as Lt Archie Hicox
Diane Kruger as Bridget Von Hammersmark
Christoph Waltz as Col Hans Landa
Melanie Laurent as Shonsanna
Peacock Feathers (3 1/2 out of 5)
By Marcus Thorpe:
Think of the reasons you go to your favorite restaurant. The things that probably come to mind: familiarity, quality, you simply enjoy the sights and sounds that accompany the trip. I think most people hear the name Quentin Tarantino and head to the theatre to see his movies for many of the same reasons, you know what you are going to get. In Tarantino’s latest work “Inglorious Basterds”, movie-goers will certainly get what they came to see, and I think will rate it up there with some of his best work.
Tarrantino’s recipe for success has been pretty consistent over the years. Find a lead actor that you can market a story around, get everyone out to talk about the movie, then deliver a wild ride of twists and turns that don’t seem too add up, until he pulls you back around and ties it all together. Brad Pitt is the lead actor here, and boy does he bring in the crowds with his name alone. But over the years, Pitt has found a way to sculpt himself into an actor that is certainly more than just a pretty face. As the beautifully crafted Lt. Aldo Raine, Pitt gets to go back to his roots, the south! This Oklahoma boy picks up a bit of a different accent here, with grunts and groans he is certainly believable. The “I want my scalps” line used in the trailers still works, and it works because of Pitt. It also works because Tarantino finds the perfect way to give you some of Pitt and his character, while not giving you too much.
The plot weaves you through a time where many around the globe shook with fear. The Nazi regime had taken hold of much of Europe (specifically in this film France), Hitler was on a hunt for Jews in all countries, and small bands of war-types had banded together to try and find a way to get inside the German stronghold to overthrow the Fuhrer. In “Basterds”, we meet the latest group to try and hunt and kill Nazi’s terrorizing the world. He brings a young girl’s hatred for German soldiers to adulthood. He finds a way to marry humor, hatred, love, pain
Tarantino’s style is what really stands out in the film. He loves movies, even making sure the final scene takes place inside the exact same place you are watching his work. You realize how much he stays true to what he has done over the years. You still get the loud music intervals, the chapter style of film making, the ferocious scenes of violence and gunfire, and the one actor you may have never heard of that steals the show. That person is the amazing, talented, wonderful, all other adjectives you can think of, Christoph Waltz. Playing the deplorable Colonel Hans Landa, Waltz nails every scene with the heartless, vile, wretched, loathsome personality you want in a villain. The first 25 minute scene with Waltz front and center in “Basterds” is flawless. It is shot perfectly, acted perfectly, leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen in the home, while another situation is happening just feet away or below.
Is “Basterds” a perfect movie? Certainly not. Tarantino, as he does with all of his movies, falls in love with scenes. You wonder if he is making films for himself, or for his audience. But the good outweighs the not so good here. Waltz deserves to be nominated for an Academy Award. I’m not sure who he will go against in that now, but I am not afraid to say that he should win it now! Tarantino does not disappoint, he is big and bold, he not afraid to challenge history, not afraid to let his “hero” characters take a beating. There is a reason you go to your favorite restaurant time and time again, only this time you invite an Inglorious group to the meal and everyone gets overshadowed by the Colonel!
MT
Want to see movies where I do? Check out showtimes for the Arena Grand at http://www.arenagrand.com
What did you think? Inglorious Basterds… Tarrantino’s best? Leave your comments below.
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on 08/28 at 03:22 PM
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