Unbelievable

Rating: 3/10 (22 November 2010)

I'm astonished that this film made the top 250 -- indeed, at time of this writing, number 84. I'm guessing that a number of the reviews are written by one-view enthusiasts who haven't very deep roots in film history or film criticism.
I was tempted to rate the film at one star just to even things out, but that wouldn't be honest. There are two scenes in this movie that are striking and worthy -- the opening scene where Christopher Walz (Col. Landa) was looking for hidden Jews, and the second when a number of the "Basterds" are in a cellar pub trying to make contact with a defecting actress, but are interrupted by unforeseen events. Both scenes, really, are at times breathtaking.
But the rest of the film varies between maudlin, unbelievable (even on the terms of its own alternative history) and just plain boring. The references to other films and directors (Hugo Stiglitz? Give me a break!), not to mention the comic book-style titles and all that were really wearying.
How many of you think this is really a better film than "Rebecca"? Or "The Wizard of Oz"? I thought we only had grade inflation in higher ed ...
I can't imagine this film will improve on second viewing, and there is absolutely nothing about it that invites such an investment of my time.