Business is a-Boomin'

Rating: 8/10 (25 August 2009)

Greetings again from the darkness. Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers are whom I depend to always deliver something never previously seen on screen. Creativity of itself is not sufficient ... but when combined with a love and mastery of film-making, more often than not we are treated to something special. QT certainly delivers that with the Basterds.
I found Chapter One (of Five) to be a mini-spaghetti western film short replete with perfect music, anticipation, stare downs, word play, a shoot-out and ultimate escape. Christoph Waltz immediately seizes his role as Col Landa and never lets go. He envisions himself, not as the "Jew Hunter" (a moniker he relishes, nonetheless) but rather as a super sleuth in line with Sherlock Holmes (hence the pipe!).
Chapter Two introduces us to the titular Basterds led by Lt Aldo Raine with Brad Pitt as the hillbilly ring leader of the Dirty Dozen-type band of Nah-Zee killers. Pitt's exaggerated jaw and outlandish accent, coupled with his QT-penned dialogue, makes for one frightening cartoon character on a singular mission. And at the same time, it is a real hoot! The multiple story lines begin to intermingle in a fabulously intricate tavern scene. The dialgoue and approach to this remind a bit of Reservoir Dogs, but with the subtle facial gestures and multi-lingual word play, it goes to a whole different level. While many thought this scene dragged, I was fascinated.
The finale in the Cinema Paradiso (not really, but it was the first thing I thought of) is well paced and delivers a fabulous ending of dramatic violent intimacy in the projector room and flamboyant special effects in the main theatre. Let's just say Lincoln's last night at the theatre ended better than Hitler's and Goebbel's.
So many movie references in the 2 and a half hours that you can't help but tip your cap to Mr. Tarantino. For us movie lovers, he really is our leader. He is living out our fantasy and delivering just often enough to keep us fed. As an example, the lead up to the Cinderella scene is just pure torture as QT works in his foot fetish. Having previously mentioned the work of Pitt and the fantastic turn by Christoph Waltz, I must also say that Melanie Laurent in her red dress, helped capture the feel of 40's and 50's femme fatales. She was absolutely perfect.
While this one is not quite at the level of Pulp Fiction, it is purely a cinematic marvel. Though not the most accurate of history lessons, there is still a bit of message that sneaks in. But more importantly, the message of cinematic adoration can't be missed. Bravo Mr. Tarantino. And thank you again.