GenPion

I still can't stop thinking about this. It floored me. I'm going to go see it again tomorrow with a friend. He's not as big of a Tarantino fan as I am but I expect he'll love this.

mike7162

I get what you're saying - if someone in the crowd could be turned on to G W Pabst or Morricone, it's all good. But it's always been a point of pride of mine that I came by my knowledge organically, seeking out films, directors, etc - it's the journey that's been the joy of my life. Tarantino is like that guy in the record store that hands an album to you and says, "You should really check out this group" - I enjoy the nods as well, but it might be time to dial it back a bit.There are times when I find myself in conversations with friends or family and begin pushing a director onto someone, or mentioning an obscure film, and completely killing the conversation (perhaps I should look into acquiring more sophisticated friends!).
Thanks for the compliment on my collection! I'm also seeing the Basterds again tomorrow.

Lastblade

Me 2. And I hope it wins. If Slumdog can win, well, this is 10x better than Slumdog (and I liked Slumdog, but it is pretty forgettable).

There are so many memorable scenes, it is like a flashback to Pulp Fiction days when I can't believe what I just saw and want to see it again as soon as it is over.

Love the sound track.

dino88

How great would it be if, when they release the Grindhouse SE dvd, they added a fake trailer for a Hugo Stiglitz movie during the intermission?

RForte1189

huh?

Um... OK...

aJOHNymous

Overheard while leaving the theater:



The guy had to be in his 30's.

MBoyd

Maybe it was one of his doubles!

Patman

Sometimes a long running time is good if the writer/director makes good use of the time, but in the end, for me, "Inglourious Basterds" ran far longer than needed, and short-shrifted the viewers with pertinent backstories of characters who turned into plot devices far too many times for my tastes.

The underlying thread for the plotline is that German-occupied France has seen horrific war atrocities from the Nazis towards the Jews, and a squad of Inglourious Basterds (mainly enlisted or recruited Jews) has been dispatched to turn the tables on the Nazis. The IB are led by Aldo Raines (Brad Pitt), and they make their mark on the war efforts. Unfortunately, their actual screentime is limited, or far too passive in certain chapters, which play out as a series of a game of Gotcha!

Quentin Tarantino still needs an editor who will chop out so much lengthy dialogue that meanders, yeah, sure, there's a point in it all, but rarely a large enough point to make it worth its running time. And yes, that's QT's cinematic signature, but eventually he'll figure out that less is more at times. With the chapter vignettes outlining the film, the film just starts and stops and looses narrative drive on many ocassions.

Easily, this is a 2-hour film given its plotline and focus, but it runs a good 30 minutes too long. Plus Quentin so loves his musical choices, it gets repetitive in how he'll build to a climax of a scene and employs unsubtle musical cues to get there. The build-up of tension in the first chapter was solid (though the scene just would never end, it seemed), but then it sort of gets away from QT in subsequent chapters. By the time the film gets to its final chapter, it simmers to underwhelming boiling effect for its conclusion (it's almost Mel Brooks-esque in comedic undertones).

That being said, I enjoyed staring at Melanie Laurent (Shoshanna), and Christoph Waltz's Landa is sure to pick up a Best Supporting Actor nomination (as he looked like he had a lot of fun with his game of Gotcha!). Brad Pitt's character was somewhat under-utilized, but Pitt mined almost every line of dialogue for solid dramatic or comedic effect. The rest of the supporting cast was hit-or-miss for me, some stood out in a good way, while others did not.

Overall, I think I liked about 75%-80%, so I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

story

Like The Dark Knight last summer, I had no idea what was going to happen from moment-to-moment, with a ton of suspense built up throughout the film. That's what made it work for me and it's definitely something I'll see again.

mike7162

Please tell me that was a joke!

anomynous

I'm really surprised at how good Eli Roth was in the movie

Granted, he wasn't in it A LOT, but still. Suprised me, he can actually act

mdc3000

^And he gets one of the coolest moments in the film, where he's got that gun glove on and blows that dude's brains out!

Jack Straw

Perhaps they're willing to sit through it knowing what's likely to come at the end?

Jack Straw

redrum

The punch guns were sick

Sessa17

OK, I saw this last night, if anyone has seen my posts in the other thread for this film, you'll know I had pretty much zero interest in seeing this movie, & aside from growing bored w/ Tarantino, a major reason I didn't want to see this movie was b/c I don't like Pitt & I cringed from him in the trailer.

Now, that said, I really really enjoyed the movie, but I also thought it has some huge flaws. I thought Pitt was fantastic. Mιlanie Laurent was my favorite part of the film, & if Tarantino has brought more attention to her in the states, then this film was worth it.


However, I am completely tired of Tartantino simply riffing on other films & even more tired of his boring, swiping of songs from other films & even himself to make these lazy soundtracks. I never get all the people gushing over his soundtracks, they are almost entirely songs that are in other films, yet nobody seems to care about them until Tarantino uses them. And personally, I thought the use of the Bowie song was atrocious.

Another week spot of the movie for me was the supporting cast. Outside of the scene stealers in Pitt, Laurent, & Waltz, I thought especially for a QT film, the cast was extremely week. I still think Roth was poor casting, I hated the Myers cameo, didn't like at all the actor that played Zoller, & I can't even remember any of the Basterds.

After seeing two weeks of films in the theater that epitomize the modern-ADD-MTV style of filmmaking w/ GI Joe & District 9, that I utterly loathe, it really emphasizes, one of the things that is great about Tarantino. That he holds shots (accept for the horribly overused 360 spinning camera when two people are talking), & actually requires the audience to listen & sit through a scene as it slowly develops. Personally, I always enjoy his lengthy dialogues, the opening scene & the bar meet-up two of the most drawn out scenes in the film were my favorites.

Matthew Chmiel

Disagree. There is no real composer out now who works in the industry that would be able to mimic Morricone, especially since this is Tarantino's WWII answer to Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I personally rather have Tarantino use the Morricone tracks rather than have a composer attempt at do one. I thought the use of "Un Amico" (as others have mentioned) was downright brilliant as was "Rabbia E Tarantella" at the end.

One of the more interesting parts for me that each scene involved a different selection of Basterds so that almost all of them get their indvidual chance to shine rather than have everybody bunched up throughout the film.

I thought the 360 shot worked well, specifically in the restaurant scene with Shoshana. I also loved the overhead shot as Shoshana walked out of the projectionist room before the premiere.

Sessa17

That was a fantastic shot, very similar to a shot in Kill Bill though. I was mostly thinking of when Landa & Hammersmark first encounter each other at the theater & the camera is just spinning round & round them. It's just personal taste, I'm sick of seeing this move in films. It's become so redundant.

Dr. DVD

Yet you still plunked down the money to see it. In all my time here I have never been able to figure out why so many posters express no interest in a movie, think it will suck, and then go see the movie anyway and come back here to talk about all they found wrong with something they were prepared to mostly dislike from the start.

Sessa17

Did you not read my post? Where I say how surprised I was & admit how much I enjoyed the movie. That is exactly why I "plunked down money to see it", that & when you are with a large group as I was, you go to see whatever everyone wants to see. I for one, can never understand why people have such incredible problems, with someone that simply has an opinion, & doesn't see everything as perfect & flawless all the time. Just b/c I like a movie, doesn't mean that a film is perfect, & that I can't make observations about what I didn't like. At the same time, I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong, in fact there is nothing I love more. I posted that disliked Pitt (I still do), but that he was wonderful in the film. That just makes the movie experience better for me.

Dr. DVD

I read your post, and notice I said mostly didn't like. I wasn't referring to you specifically, just people who do this kind of stuff in general and used a bit of your post as an example. If you liked a lot of it, good. I found flaws with it as well, though I liked Bowie's song placement a lot more I think. My main problem just stems from people who have no interest in seeing a movie and go anyway.

Sessa17

I'm just curious, not arguing, but do you only see movies that you are interested in, nothing else?

For me, that is simply impossible to do & I'm glad for that. Often, my favorite film experiences are films I previously had zero interest in seeing. I guess you are lucky, but for me, often my girl dictates & chooses what we are going to see, so I don't always have say in the matter. But that's fine by me. Also, I usually go to the movies in large groups, or just let someone else choose what we are seeing, many of my favorite films have been movies that I never planned on seeing that friends have turned me on to.

But I guess that is why so many here don't criticize anything much, b/c you only see movies you know you are going to like.

Daytripper

Loved loved LOVED this film! Welcome back Tarantino. I thought both "Kill Bill 2" and "Death Proof" were long winded bore fests. But this has EVERYTHING! I did not want it to end and I'm very anxious to see a director's cut one day. It's obvious many of the more violent scenes were scaled down for an R rating. This better get a Best Picture Oscar nomination. And now that the Academy Awards are allowing 10 films, I'm sure it will. I also feel there are several Oscar worthy performances. I'll be seeing this again very soon.

Mondo Kane

Saw it again for a 2nd time.

And when the DVD comes around, I can't wait to play with the slo-mo button. Regarding the basement scene: