Sunday, February 7, 2010

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth,
Daniel Bruhl, Melanie Laurent, Michael Fassbender


"Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France ..."




So the thing is people either love Quentin Tarantino's films or they can't stand his filming style. Me I'm indifferent. I know his films are peppered with violence and silly storyline with many side plots all culminating with a twist in the climax. It has quirky characters and an eclectic soundtrack. But I also do know he has to be given credit for making films that no one in his right mind would think of directing. He doesn't care if he offends, if he serves up stereotypes and if the film is full of cliches. He is clearly clever, has a good directing eye and can definitely present a good narrative no matter how silly it may seem.

So his latest war themed caper set in German occupied France had all the right ingredients. It has eccentric characters and a great cast (Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl) to portray them. Kudos to Christoph Waltz! He was brilliant! His character was a delight to watch. The dialogue is funny, witty and vulgar. The languages used were French, German and of course English. Naturally there were English subtitles for the foreign languages. It was quite realistic to watch characters speak in their native tongue. Violent scenes abound (but not that many) with the musical score adding much impact on the flow of events. Some scenes played out like a bad B movie while other sequences were well executed. It includes references to cinematic icons like G.W Pabst and Leni Rienfenstahl who are some of Tarantino's theatrical influences in film making.

For better or worse this are Tarantino times. Whether you like his style or not, I'd simply say watch "Inglorious Basterds" then form your own conclusion. Me? I found it highly entertaining in a nonsensical sort of way.

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