A Celebration of Cinema...

Rating: 8/10 (25 August 2009)

Quentin Tarantino seems to be in a creative mood lately. His last few releases (Kill Bill, Death Proof) have been forged from Tarantino's own imaginative scripts, something he hasn't done since Reservoir Dogs (1992). The director of the essential American classic Pulp Fiction brings a new revenge fantasy to theatres with Inglorious Basterds, an overlong but hard-hitting film that will likely satisfy his fan base and bring new Tarantino fans aboard.
The Inglorious Basterds are a rag-tag gang of American Soldiers (an offshoot of the Dirty Dozen maybe?) that get dropped into Nazi occupied France with one mission and one mission only: to kill Nazis. Led by the darkly comic Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), these guys have nothing to worry about, right? Not until SS General Hans Landa arrives at the home of Pierre LaPadite, a farmer accused of hiding a family of Jews under his floorboards. One of the hidden children, Shosanna, escapes and runs bloodied through the countryside. The film jumps forward a few years to reveal an older Shosanna, the owner of a small cinema. To her dismay she is forced to show a Nazi propaganda film with members of Hitler's Third Reich in attendance. She then carves an assassination plot for the premiere with her fellow employee. Little does she know the Basterds have one of their own, which leads to a fiery climax.
QT's casting once again proves to be top notch mostly because of German Actor Christoph Waltz's portrayal of Hans Landa ("the Jew Hunter"), a well read and polite yet sinister general of the SS. His calmness and cunning wit he keeps while conducting an unspeakable genocide makes him a fearsome villain we love to hate.
By QT's request, the film relies mostly on subtitles, giving it a more authentic feel. The dialogue moves very fast so anyone that doesn't feel like reading needs to look elsewhere. There are some scenes that seemingly go nowhere and its epic 2 hour and 40 minute length may leave some moviegoers anxious. His scriptwriting seems to get a little sloppier with each effort, but this film carries itself with a star-making performance by Christoph Waltz and stunning visuals. Being his most mature film yet it's surprising how much dark humor QT chose to use, and when you're watching this, you aren't sure whether to squirm in disgust or laugh. But that's his style. He offends, insults and goes against the mainstream. It's nice to watch a director that does things his way and won't listen to Hollywood. (3/4)