REVIEW: Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino is one of those directors who usually inspires a whole bunch of disproportionate criticism/praise. There's no middle ground with him; it's a love/hate type of thing. Unless you're me. Personally, I could lean either way. I've seen almost every film he's directed (the exception being Deathproof) and while I've enjoyed the majority of them, they're not knocking on the door of my favorite movies of all time. So while I was expecting a good film when I went to see Inglourious Basterds, I wasn't expecting anything amazing.

I was wrong. Inglourious Basterds is one of the best films I've seen this summer and one of Tarantino's best.

Inglourious Basterds definitely fits into the director's style. Instead of gangsters or assassins, this Tarantino film deals with characters in the realm of WWII. The film, broke into five chapters, has three major character groups that become more interwoven as the film progresses. There's the evil Nazi, the femme fatale Jewess, and the gung-ho American soldier.

Even though this film uses actual history as a starting point, that doesn't mean that Tarantino is going to take said history seriously. Has he ever taken anything seriously? The intentionally misspelled title should tip you off that this is going to be parodic in nature. And it is. Actual facts are thrown to the wayside as fictional characters mingle with real people and major aspects of WWII are changed drastically. How to explain the over-the-top accents of Brad Pitt (his character, Aldo Raine, pronounces Nazi like Yahtzee with a N and a hard A), Michael Fassbender, and Mike Myers than to realize that the director/screenwriter is just having a good time? And, in that same thought, how to justify the inclusion of a comedic actor like Mike Myers?

But the parodic nature of the film doesn't mean that it lacks gravitas. Two scenes in particular, the opening scene on a dairy farm and the basement bar rendezvous, deliver tension and suspense in spades. Both feature inordinate amounts of talking capped by moments of extreme violence. That would be a good description for the entire film, lots of talking punctuated with violence. But that's not a bad thing. It's the great verbal banter that keeps this film moving through its 2 1/2 hour runtime.

The true surprise of this film is unknown (at least in this country) Austrian actor Christopher Waltz as Col. Hans Landa, the Jew Hunter. Waltz takes the character of Landa above and beyond typical villainy, creating a smooth-talking, smarmy, evil Nazi that you can't help but stay focused on. Rather than casting a "name" actor for his villain, Tarantino searched for someone who was right for the character, who could act in four languages, and Waltz is his perfect match. Great casting is another strong point of the film. Other than Brad Pitt (who is just a piece of the ensemble), there are no big names. Actors are cast for their similarities to the characters. Germans are cast as Germans, French as French. Its another quality aspect of the film that can be chalked up to Tarantino (I sure am giving him a lot of praise, but its really his movie, through and through).

So whether or not you enjoyed Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, or Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds is really something to behold.

Wade: 4.5/5 stars

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the highly anticipated film from director David Fincher starring Brad Pitt as the title character. The film centers around the life of Benjamin Button, who, as his character states early on, "was born under unusual circumstances." These unusual circumstances lead to Benjamin being born as an "old man" baby, a wrinkly infant with cataracts and arthritis, and aging backwards to a "baby" old man, a little kid with dementia.

Oh, where to begin. So far, this film ranks as my biggest disappointment of the year, even more so than the abysmal Australia and the underwhelming Doubt. I have been looking forward to this film ever since I saw the first preview. Its been on all kinds of critic's top ten lists, its seems to be penciled in for a Best Picture nom, its got great actors in Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton, and a very capable director, with really tight, well constructed films like Seven, Zodiac, Fight Club, and even Panic Room on his resume. I mean, this should be a great movie, right? Believe me, it is not. It's bloated, meandering, overdone with CG-imagery and boring. And the thing that bothers me is that there is a great movie somewhere in there. The interesting thing about a guy who ages backwards is how that affects his relationships with other people. I don't want to know about the backstory about how he was born the way he was (in the movie), or how he reconnects with his father through booze and brothels (in the movie), or how he goes to war on a tugboat (also in the movie). Those things are not interesting considering your main character's special circumstances.

The only time the film presents an interesting story is about two hours into it's over 2 1/2 hour running time. Here we finally get to see Benjamin and his love interest Daisy, played by Cate Blanchett, spend some significant time together and also begin to question how the relationship will work when Benjamin keeps getting younger. That relationship is where the heart of this film lies. Someone should take a hatchet to this thing, hack away all the superfluous fluff, a create a great 90 minute film about Benjamin and Daisy's relationship from childhood to death. That would be a great use of the source material, which, by the way, is a F. Scott Fitzgerald short story.

As far as the acting goes, Cate Blanchett does a good job as Daisy and Tilda Swinton is admirable in a small role. I don't see all the hubbub about Taraji P. Henson's role as Queenie, Benjamin's adoptive mother. Seemed a bit false and overdone to me. But Brad Pitt's performance sums up the movie as a whole. It's blank and lifeless.

Kinsey: 3.5 stars

Wade: 2 stars

Tara: 3 stars