Inglourious Basterds

I find it so fucking retarded that I have to go all the way to Singapore just to watch Inglourious Basterds. If it wasn't for Singapore, I would have to wait for 22nd October and no doubt censored. I actually didn't know it was out in S'pore but fate would bring my attention towards it. Best vacation EVER! Even if it did suck a little.

Films summary is as such; the film is divided into two stories, one concerning Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) a Jew who survived the massacre at the farm escaping from the clutches of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa a.k.a the 'Jew Hunter' (Christopher Waltz) and the other story concerning the Basterds led by Lt. Aldo Raine a.k.a 'Aldo the Apache' (Brad Pitt) whose sole objective simply put is to 'kill Nazi's'. The two stories meet at the end with both parties engaging in the obliteration of the Nazi High Command.

(From left: Melanie Laurent, Christopher Waltz, Omar Doom, Daniel Bruhl, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger and Brad Pitt)

The plot was very engaging. You never knew what would happen next and even if you did, the film still had me gripping at the edge. The plot and feel was reminiscent of earlier Spaghetti Westerns and those classic War films like; Where Eagles Dare or Dirty Dozen. But when you go to watch a Tarantino film, you don't go for the plot. You go for the dialogue. The movie is jam packed with talking and in most movies that would be a problem but not in IB though. It was one of those films that made me go; Shit, I wish I could talk like that in real life. The film albeit most of it was in French or German had very memorable lines such as;

Lt. Aldo Raine: Actually Werner, we're all tickled to hear you say that. Frankly, watchin' Donny beat Nazi's to death is the closest we ever get to goin' to the movies

Sgt. Hugo Stigilz: Say "auf Wiedersehen" to your Nazi balls!

Col. Hans Landa: You need all four to win the war

Lt. Archie Hicox: Well, if this is it, old boy, I hope you don't mind I go out speaking the King's?
Major Dieter Hellstorm: By all means Captain
Lt. Archie Hicox: There's a special rung in hell reserved for people who waste good scotch. And seeing as I might be rapping on the door momentarily...
[drinks scotch]
Lt. Archie Hicox: I must say, damned good stuff, sir
[pause]
Lt. Archie Hicox: Now, about this pickle we find ourselves in...

How was Brad Pitt's performance in the film? All I can say is...its Brad Pitt, what more can you expect? He does what he does to his best ability in his Southern accent. The real standout of the film was Christopher Waltz as Col. Hans Landa. If he doesn't get nominated for an Oscar, I will go on a FUCKING rampage! He was brilliant. No! More than brilliant! GODLIKE! Waltz brought in the life for the character as a smooth talking, sadistic, linguistic (speaks French, German, Italian and English perfectly), genius of a detective as he says. He was a colourful character almost eccentric and a bit playful. But that's just a disguise. When Landa gets down to it, he gets down to it. The first Chapter is the perfect start to introduce his character. Watch as he starts off as a friendly just a normal helpful guy but Landa turns into a menacing persona when he wants what he wants breaking a man with just words and words alone. He's a chillign character and Waltz brings onto himself a presence in every scene. This is what a villian is all about. A few pictures below of Landa just because he pwns.

Friendly mode

Menacing mode

I'm gonna get you motherfucker!

The others in the cast that I grew fond of would be Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox, a film critic before the war, fluent in German..

And Til Schweiger as Sgt. Hugo Stigilz, a quiet psychotic German soldier who killed 13 Gestapo soldiers and was rescued by the Basterds

Plus some eye candy courtesy of French actress Melanie Laurent as Shosanna

The character of Shosanna can be described as a repetition of the Bride from the Kill Bill films but with a touch of vulnerability although sharing the same qualities of determination, vengeful persona.

IB was in fact a dark comedy and it was no doubt very funny. The jokes were simple, with very little effort put into them but believe me when I say that the film was a hilarious, enjoyable ride. Plus with a killing soundtrack (which I would recommend to get), IB was an unforgettable film. If you were to observe correctly, you would catch the many references made to movies and movie celebrities within the era a true Tarantino style as he makes homages to those flicks. Speaking of Quentin Tarantino, watch out for his cameo. Make that two. I missed it, but plan to spot it when the film comes to Malaysia.

I only have a couple of complaints though, one would be the lack of interaction within the Basterds. It felt as if to Tarantino, the Basterds weren't really the stars of the show. Instead, he chose to focus more on Landa and Shosanna. Another would be that I felt some scenes were a bit out of place or rushed not giving enough time for the audience to take in the ambiance of the scene. Yeap, thats it.

To conclude, I would say that Inglourious Basterds is better than Kill Bill but not as good as Pulp Fiction let alone Reservoir Dogs. All in all, it was a very very good film and deserves some Oscar nods. As Aldo Raine cheekily puts it, "You know what Utivich? I think this might just be my masterpiece" a reference to the film itself. I give IB a 10/10. Excellence.

Positives: Brilliant script, Likable characters, Nice flow, Hilarious throughout, Christopher Waltz, Its a Tarantino film, Brilliant soundtrack

Negatives: Some scenes felt rushed, Lack of interaction within the Basterds