Inglourious Basterds

Spoilers... I try to avoid them, but you should definitely see this film before reading this review!

To say that I was eagerly anticipating this movie would be a drastic understatement. Quentin Tarantino is my favorite film maker. His films offer such an intense entertainment experience, equal parts action, comedic, and suspense. He makes films that he would like to watch, always focusing on the viewers experience above all other motivations. In my opinion, Tarantino's second film, Pulp Fiction, is the best film ever made. It's a master class in story telling, brilliantly using non-linear chapters filled with hilarious dialog and intense moments of violence to piece together a classic tale of betrayal and redemption, all while using completely unconventional and innovative script writing and film making techniques that have sense been copied to death by other screenwriters and directors.

I have loved all six of Quentin's films leading up to Inglourious Basterds to varying degrees, but the anticipation hasn't been quite this high for me, this being his first "epic" since 2004's Kill Bill: Vol. 2, which combined with it's first volume, is the best film of this current decade. Even though I love Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Death Proof, I particularly love what Quentin refers to as his "Mount Everests." These are massive undertakings for him, often taking many, many years to get on the page, much less actually production.

Leading up to opening night, which was 12:01 AM on August 21, 2009, I had heard mixed reports coming from Cannes, but I knew that the art house crowd that populated the critic's screenings at that festival didn't always appreciate the wildly entertaining pulp classics that Quentin consistently provides his audiences. The trailer for the movie purposefully mis-marketed Inglourious Basterds as a bloodthirsty action movie, like a mix of The Dirty Dozen meets Hostel. It didn't completely appeal to me, but I knew Tarantino had way more up his sleeve.

Inglourious Basterds is a story of Jewish vengeance, represented by a band of Jewish American soldiers (a.k.a. the Basterds, led by Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine) terrorizing Nazis behind enemy lines, and a young Jewish French girl seeking revenge for the murder of her family. The man personally responsible for this atrocity is also the one character that ties the entire film together, the antagonist Col. Hans Landa, played brilliantly and enthusiastically by German actor Christoph Waltz, as he is in almost every chapter. The quality of the performance is at least equal to other powerhouse performances this decade (e.g. Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood and Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men), but I cannot recall the last time I saw an actor this charismatic and so obviously in love with his craft. He won the Best Actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and I fully expect him to take home an Oscar as well.

The film is divided into five chapters, the first of which is titled "Once Upon a Time, in Nazi Occupied France..." This title, the beautiful opening shots of the French countryside, and the sampling from the scores from many Sergio Leone films and other westerns gives this scene the feel of a Spaghetti Western set in World War II. Once Hans Landa arrives on screen and enters the dairy farmer's house, there is about twenty minutes of typically great Quentin Tarantino dialogue, only we're having to read it in subtitles! Heaven forbid the mainstream masses knew about that before going to see the latest Brad Pitt movie! Hence, the (brilliant) mis-marketing. The majority of this film is actually in a language other than English, about equal parts German and French, with a dash of Italian for good measure. Our good friend Mr. Christoph Walt speaks each of these languages fluently throughout the film, adding to the already tour de force performance to the point of showing off. Back to the scene. It turns out that Col. Hans Landa is not only an expert linguist but a master detective hired by the Nazis for the express purpose of hunting Jews that have managed to escape the grasp of the German army. As he interrogates this dairy farmer (who looks suspiciously like Stanley Kubrick), the camera gives us more information, and tension builds until the camera finally puts us directly in front of the Col., staring into his heartless eyes for a few very uncomfortable moments. Excuse the hyperbole, but I feel that this is one of the best scenes Tarantino has ever written.

It's not until the second chapter that we're introduced to the Basterds, and most of this scene is spent in the woods during an interrogation of a few hostages that the Basterds have taken after killing and scalping most of the Nazi unit. Here we meet Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), who gets his own flashback, and Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth), also known as the baseball bat wielding "Bear Jew." If there is one thing wrong with this movie, it's the amateur delivery of each of Eli Roth's lines. He doesn't have too many, but whenever he opens his mouth I found myself cringing; in my mind a slight casting misstep, in an otherwise flawless cast (yes, I even liked Mike Myers). We also get to see a very animated Hitler, played deliciously over-the-top by Martin Wuttke, rant about the Bear Jew to the point of delirium.

Chapter three re-introduces us to the heroine Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), now the owner of a quaint movie theater in Paris, and her reluctant relationship to a young Private in the German army. This Private (Daniel Bruhl) is the catalyst for all of the events that follow, although Shosanna is obviously displeased by his advances. His playful banter and her distinct annoyance give us some lighter, humorous reprieve, before thrusting us again into the violent foray. This chapter also contains a great scene featuring a conversation between her and Landa over desert. The way Tarantino uses camera angles and close-ups to evoke the same feelings of tension he made us feel in the opening scene... Simply incredible.

Chapter four features the longest scene in the film that has been described by some as a thirty minute version of Reservoir Dogs that takes place in a basement tavern. There are several moments during this scene in which Quentin's pacing seems to meander until he suddenly causes you to hold your breath in anticipation. The scene builds and builds and when the release comes, it is quick, violent, and glorious; a small taste of things to come.

The fifth and final chapter culminates at the Shosanna's movie theater, at the premiere for a Nazi propaganda film which most of the German high command is attending. Each respective party of vengeful Jews gets basically the same idea, and the beauty is in the execution of each of these plans. One is a plan of desperation in which everything seems to go wrong. The other is a long gestating, deeply poetic, primal scream of a plan that culminates in some of the most haunting and enduring images Tarantino, or anyone, has put on screen.

I've listened to and read many critics and film geeks argue the meaning and purpose of this film, and some have submitted some pretty good arguments. There is definitely much irony throughout the film, especially when related to the violence. When a German officer is beat to death with a baseball bat, Tarantino presents him as an honorable soldier rather than a repulsive monster, which makes the beating and subsequent guffaws from the audience sit uneasily with a discerning audience member. Then there are the images of a grossly over-animated Adolf Hitler and his cronies, in a movie theater, their laughter and cheers erupting into a blood-thirsty frenzy as they watch a propaganda film that glorifies the death of hundreds of American soldiers. All the while a group of blood-thirsty Americans clap and cheer at the insanity that ensues, which can be described as a violent orgasm of death, or maybe... a holocaust.

There is so much substance here to be analyzed and scrutinized, but Tarantino himself has mentioned that he doesn't even try to examine the subtext of his films, although he recognizes it is there. Mostly he is determined to create a masterpiece each time he makes a film, and not for art's sake, but for ours. He is determined to create entertainment for an audience to enjoy over and over again, always finding something new to take away from it. I've seen Inglourious Basterds three times so far in the theater, and plan on seeing it once more before it leaves. Each time I notice more and more, and it leaves me somewhat contemplative, but always smiling.

One obvious theme is the power of cinema, and Quentin has mentioned that this film is essentially a love letter to cinema. Tarantino has always been accused of stealing from other movies, however, the accusers hardly attempt to apply the same level of scrutiny to other beloved directors (e.g. Martin Scorsese) who have not only revolutionized film, but as devout students of film, borrowed heavily from the great film makers who have come before and inspired them to make film in the first place. With Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino has melded together classic themes, settings, camera shots and musical cues with his unique style of writing and directing to create a completely fresh and unique experience. The final scene is delivered almost like a punch-line, or maybe the closing message of a morality tale; either way it is just the right touch to top off his cinematic masterpiece.

Monsieur Tarantino, to you, your cast, and your crew I say, "Bravo!"

He chose...poorly

When Jonathan asked me if I would be interested in contributing to Cinematic Pontifications I was both thrilled and honored that he would grant me the privilege to share my ruminations on film as well as provide updates on current developments in Hollywood.

Simply put, the movie business is a fascinating world where the creativity of the mind is pitted against the value of the almighty dollar. The end result of these two dynamics is what you see when you go to the movies. Too often, I feel, that the movies that we are patrons of end up as over-commercialized, quick cash-ins, and more about what will put people in the seats over what maintains the integrity of a narrative. Few directors carry enough clout to simply be given "carte blanche" to do anything they want. Often something great gets lost in the process of creating a film and it's interesting to see what Hollywood has coming down the pipeline and how it's development may impact the final product and sometimes it is more interesting to wonder what could have been had the right minds been at work behind a film.

I had originally intended my first contribution to this blog to be a review of Neil Blomkamp's District 9, which I fully intend to give its due, but I happened to come across some curious news regarding one of my favorite franchises that seemed appropriate.

According to interviews with Shia LaBeouf and twitter posts from Producer Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg has supposedly "cracked the story" regarding the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones trilogy.

While that is all well and good, and might make for a nice topic of conversation at a cocktail party, I figure unless it's coming from the mouth of either Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, or Harrison Ford, it was simply not a topic worth debating.

Well, I now stand corrected. Harrison Ford recently conducted an interview with the French newspaper, Le Figaro, and had this to say regarding Indy V....

"The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I'll be very happy to put the costume on again."

I thought Kingdom of the Crystal skull was a major letdown, and felt overly campy and sagging heavily in pacing, dialogue, acting, lighting, writing, and pretty much every other category possible. I can't say i'm too pleased at the prospect of another crappy installment in one of franchises most beloved by myself along with multiple generations of movie-goes around the world. I do hope that Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford are able to re-capture the magic that made the original trilogy great and avoid the cheesiness of KOTCS.

Thoughts?

Originally post from AICN

Honeymoon in Alaska

The Great Buck Howard
This was the first of two films I was able to watch on the plane trip to Alaska. It was actually a movie I wanted to see, which is more than I can say for most of the movies I watched on this trip. This film is worth seeing for John Malkovich's eccentric performance as the title character, a some what washed up magician, I mean mentalist, still making the rounds to small town America. He's proud of the ridiculous amount of Johnny Carson appearances he made and still seems to think he has something worthwhile to offer as he attempts to make a comeback and hopefully get a regular spot at a casino in Las Vegas. The story is told from the point of view of an assistant, played by Collin Hanks, Tom's son, and Tom also plays his father in the film. Collin is adequate in his role, but lacks the charisma that his father had at his age. This is an average movie, but worthy of your time if you find yourself trapped inside a speeding metal cylinder in the sky for seven hours.

He's Just Not That Into You
This was the second film I watch, so you can probably guess that there wasn't that great of a selection. I was just not that into this movie, or the title for that matter. If you found that last statement obnoxious, trust me, the movie was ten times more obnoxious. Sure, there was decent performances from Ben and Jen (sad that I don't need to use last names, huh?), but mostly there were annoying whiny twenty-somethings complaining about how hard it is to find someone worth having a meaningful relationship with. First, try looking somewhere besides a bar. If you happen to find someone great outside of the bar, but their married, leave them alone! I can't support any movie that condones taking the easy way out of a difficult marriage, but that was just the sour icing on this tasteless, unfulfilling cake.

Away We Go
Grace and I watched this together in our motel room in Anchorage the night before we got on the boat. It's the newest film from Sam Mendes, whose first two films, American Beauty and Road to Perditin, I absolutely love. His third, Jarhead, was pretty good, but I wasn't able to catch last year's Revolutionary Road. However, it seems to me that the quality of his films have been taking a steady decline. Away We Go focuses on a couple who discover they're pregnant, but they have no idea what they are doing, where they're going to live, or about anything else in their lives. There are several humorous moments throughout the films, but mostly it seemed to be haphazardly trying to uncover this strange mystery of parenthood, only to have these hopeless characters end up even further from the truth than when they started. If anyone else has seen this and got something meaningful out of this movie, I'd love to know what that was.

Crank: High Voltage
I really don't have much to say about this one... We watched it one night on the boat and dosed off toward the end. It was pretty much an exercise in shocking imagery (pun intended), but had literally no substance behind it. Sure, you could read it as a real life video game, but there was no intelligent commentary on the matter, and as a work of pure mindless entertainment, there are countless better movies out there that would fit the bill.

Yonkers Joe
We also watched this one on the boat. It features Chazz Palminteri, of Usual Suspects and A Bronx Tale fame, as a professional con-man who is rudely confronted with his fatherly duties when his mentally challenged son is required to leave the special school he's been boarded at for his entire childhood. In order to send his son away again to a better more expensive school he must first complete one more big score to cover the financing. Besides the obvious questionable morality of the main character for which we are supposed to identify with, the movie kind of meanders to its conclusion, at which point our buddy Chazz finally achieves some sort of humanity. Mildly entertaining, but overall a forgettable movie.

G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra

Normally, I wouldn't go to a movie like this (I try to see mostly good movies), but I was hanging with a bunch of my friends two nights before my wedding and we decided to go see the midnight showing. Most of us grew up in the 1980s and played with the toys, and thought, "Hey, it could be fun." Boy were we wrong...

To start with we got there about 15 minutes before it started and ended up having to sit on the second row. Needless to say I was not expecting that kind of crowd for G.I. Joe. The last time I sat that close for a movie was the opening night midnight showing of Pirates 3, also a terrible movie and experience altogether.

This movie was all over the place, with editing that would make Michael Bay dizzy. I mean, I know it didn't help with us being so close, but I honestly don't think I could have followed it from the best seat in the house. Also, the acting was atrocious, and the story... well just don't ask me what happened. Not even an unrecognizable Joseph Gordon-Levitt could save even one scene from this pile of crap.

If it wasn't for Bruno coming out this year and offending every essence of my being, this would be the worst movie I've seen (this year). It'll have to settle for second place.

Funny People

Funny People is Judd Apatow's third movie as director, and most assuredly his most personal endeavor. Featuring a very good performance from Adam Sandler and just about everyone involved, this film is very funny at times, but goes for laughs much less than either 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up. There is a somber, realistic tone throughout, and one could imagine that this is an accurate portrayal of comedians in their everyday lives. One major disappointment for me going in was the fact that the trailer not only focused on the weakest part of the story, but also gave away a very important plot point. Since it's in the trailer I won't refrain from mentioning it myself.

Famous Hollywood actor/comedian George Simmons (Sandler) finds out he has a rare form of cancer, and thus tries to reconnect with some of the people/things that brought him joy earlier in life. One of those things was doing stand up, the other was an ex-fiance who had since gotten married and had two kids. More on that later. George's first try at performing on stage in a long time is simply a disaster. This is where he meets Ira Wright (Seth Rogen), a young struggling comedian trying to make it in the biz. Sandler, who doesn't want anyone to find out about his disease, hires Ira to be his personal assistant and writer, and spends the remainder of the film either verbally abusing Ira or whining to him like a selfish child. The dynamic between these two characters is what makes the movie. Ira genuinely feels a sense of love and loyalty to Simmons, and struggles desperately when confronted with the truth about George's condition, not wanting to be the only confidant.

George continues to drag Ira into his demented world as he makes it his goal to win back his ex-fiance, Laura (Leslie Mann - Apatow's wife), despite her being married with children. Sandler plays George as simultaneously likable and repulsive. There is much depth to this character and made me wonder if Sandler felt any personal connection with this character and his handling of immense fame and fortune. Unfortunately, the last third of the film that focuses on this attempted reunion descends into a weird, awkward place and doesn't return to form until the last scene of the film. At least we get to see an interesting performance by Eric Bana as Laura's loud, abrasive, cheating husband.

While it takes a lot of risks, I ultimately loved this movie and believe that the reward is greater for it. This film has generated some strong reactions from critics, both positive and negative, which says to me that it at least makes you feel something one way or the other, and that's a good thing. I'd recommend it for the performances alone, because in addition to Sandler and Rogen and the others mentioned above, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman also contribute great supporting work. While this films does contain equal parts drama and comedy, the comedic elements work so well for me that Funny People is my favorite comedy so far this year.

Moon

Moon is a small, low budget movie starring the ever amazing Sam Rockwell and the voice of Kevin Spacey, and is directed by first timer Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie. When the trailer came out I was so intrigued by it's suspenseful, dark tone, and minimalist aesthetic. However, when I discovered Clint Mansell was composing the score, my interest could not have been higher. Clint is my favorite film composer, and his score really added to the personality of this mysterious science fiction film.

Sam Bell (Rockwell) is looking forward to going home to Earth after a three year assignment on the far side of the moon, overseeing the harvest of helium-3 for a company responsible for supplying forty percent of the world's energy. Trouble starts when Sam has an accident while out on the moon's surface checking on a malfunctioning harvester. I do not want to reveal any of the events that follow in case you get a chance to see this film without any knowledge of the major plot points. However, even if you know most of what happens going in (as I did), this film has such a unique ambiance, it captivated me throughout.

Speaking of captivating... Rockwell's performance is one of the best I've seen this year, maybe the best from a leading man. Although he shares the screen with no one but himself and a robot, he chews it up, convincingly displaying a wide array of emotions. His character skates on the edge of insanity, forced to question everything he knows to be real. As anticipated, the emotion of each scene is amplified by the brilliant score from Clint Mansell. He sets the mood with ethereal piano melodies, ambient strings, and entrancing percussion. Easily my favorite original score of the year to date.

Moon has the feel of classic science fiction in that deals with mature themes such as corporate greed, even effectively exploring what it means to be human. It's truly amazing what Duncan Jones was able to do with such a meager budget ($5 million), and in his directorial debut at that. The special effects are not like anything you will see in Terminator or Transformers, rather each set piece and model is simply what was needed to tell the story, and it is a haunting one. Excuse me if I seem to be overselling this movie (did I mention Sam Rockwell delivers a tour de force performance?), but Moon is one of my favorite films of the year, and it simply deserves to be seen.

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is the best Iraq war film ever, and one of the best war films since Saving Private Ryan. It's a taught thriller, wrapped in the rough, sandy exterior of the war in Iraq. Part of the reason The Hurt Locker succeeds is that it's primarily a character study and stays away from political analysis and opinion about the war itself. This is easily Kathryn Bigelow's best film, and is sure to win her some Hollywood clout when it comes 'round to awards season.

At the center of this film is an EOD squad (explosive ordnance disposal), made up of three men, who must constantly disarm roadside bombs of all shapes and sizes. Each scenario is different, but the suspense is palpable. These men have to not only worry about disarming the bomb, but are constantly on the lookout for the enemy hidden in plain sight amongst the Iraqi civilians (who watch the EOD squad eagerly and intently), ready to set off the bomb.

Jeremy Renner plays the leader of this EOD squad, and his performance is superb, with a mix of super-hero like bravado and emotional gravitas. His character is complex and mesmerizing, but ultimately I was frustrated by the direction this film went with him. Whether you respect him or not, it's impossible to take your eyes off of him. His squad mates are also complex characters and the dynamic between this team is volatile, heartwarming, and even comedic at times. Throughout the film there are other characters the squad comes into contact with, usually played by big name actors, but each is handled with such a deft, understated touch that really increases the sense of realism.

If you only see one movie this year that's set during a war, see Inglourious Basterds. If you see two, check out The Hurt Locker. The pacing of the story, the beautiful cinematography, the acting and direction all deserve to be seen.