Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino is something of an oddity in the film world or at least his rise to success is and what makes it such a surreal story is that it hasn’t been duplicated since his arrival. Yeah you got your filmmakers who come from nothing and became something, though his story is a little more complex. From various sources and interviews on his behalf it seems it was his destiny to make films. He wrote screenplays to get by and knew people in Hollywood but at the same time he single handedly started the independent movement of the nineties. Some would give this credit to Steven Soderbergh and his opus of a film called Sex, Lies, & Videotape. Which in some respect is true but his impact was not all that glorious on the film world except maybe in France, and his films did not explode onto the scene like Tarantino’s had. This is what separates Quentin from every other filmmaker living today and besides that the man hasn’t made one bad movie that you couldn’t sit through. Yes his dialogue is long and the violence in his films is more lampoonist than realistic but his vision still remains strong after all these years, and to be honest his latest film is a bold feet in movie making, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a masterpiece.
Inglourious Basterds has been a decade in the making labor of love for Tarantino, so many myths and casting rumors have pledged film buffs for too many years. We heard that this was going to be his version of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly set with a World War Two backdrop. On top of that we also heard that it was going to have a who’s who of action stars and thespians, none of which came true. Now it has arrived and it is none of the above, I wouldn’t even classify it as a war film to be honest.
War films to me consist of actual warfare or battles. Apocalypse Now had a lot of dialogue and a very complex story about the human condition but it at least had war scenes that now have become classic. This film has lots of long dialogue, a few action sequences if that, and violence that goes beyond the limits of gore. The violence you find in this movie could rival Hellraiser in gore but not in the respect of the macabre, more so in its uneasy attitude toward the subject it’s self. Does this make the film bad? Not really, it is just not what you are expecting? This is no surprise to me though because you never know what you are going to get walking into one of Quentin’s movies to begin with.
The point I am getting across is that this is not a war movie in any shape or form; it isn’t even an action movie. The best way to describe its vision is a fantasy character piece set in the backdrop of World War Two. If that is the type of film you are looking for then you will have loads of fun with it, my girlfriend did, more so than myself.
The film consists of five chapters which has become a reoccurring theme with QT’S later films, starting with Kill Bill. Each one has its own mood and style, and all five of them lead up to the explosive finale. Everything in the film has a motive and reason to it; nothing goes unchecked after a second or third viewing.
I am not sure if the film is fifty percent in German and French or sixty percent? But I can assure you it is one of the two. The English language gets a backseat in this film and for good reason. Everything has a purpose in the film even the language barriers, and there is one scene that makes it all come together. When this scene arrives you will understand why he decided to put half of the film in German and French, and thus making total sense to my physique. A lot of people will find this a bore and a letdown to the film that has been advertised. Well I can’t complain because the movie would have been totally different without that aspect. Though in the defense of those who hate to read I can say that the film would have flowed and had been just as effective in full English rather than three different languages.
The only negative aspect I can actually point out is the dialogue. Not that it wasn’t great; all of Quentin’s writing borderlines Shakespearian heights. It’s just that the dialogue went on far too long and if QT wanted to he could have got the point across in any scene with a much shorter window. There are literally ten to twenty minute scenes with dialogue where nothing happens of importance. Don’t get me wrong each scene calculates to the final act and so does every word, but this could have been accomplished in a much shorter time frame. What I got out of all the long dialogue was that Quentin is trying to either impress the French or alienate Americans, haven’t been able to figure out which yet? Maybe you the reader could give me some hints as to which answer is right.
The directing is superb but it is the acting that keeps you in your seats. Brad Pitts wild and creative performances will either make you laugh out loud or scratch your head in a bewildered state of mind. Aldo Raine aka Aldo the Apache will surely find his way into the hearts of all men who are tuff, the one thing this film has going for it.
Another great performance is by the wonderful Christoph Waltz who plays Hans Landa aka The Jew Hunter. He is pretty much an unknown European actor but with this performance his career can only go higher. Not only does he manage to speak three different languages in the film, he also manages to make a Nazi likeable, funny, and of course terrifying. I haven’t seen a performance this great or complex since Orson Wells in Citizen Kane. He captures every minute that he is in frame and makes everyone else in the film his costars. There is already Oscar talk and it is well deserved, he will surely win whatever category he gets nominated in. I think it should be for best actor but he might fall into the supporting category, which would mean him and Brad Pitt might have to duke it out over a statue. I believe he has more screen time than Brad Pitt so he might be able to pull off a Best Actor nomination.
Another important performance was Melanie Laurent. She plays Shosanna Dreyfus a young Jewish girl who survives The Jew Hunters terror. Her performance in the film is great and on par with everyone else, I just didn’t think there was a real need for her storyline though. It would have made the film move a lot faster with or without her in it and the grand finale would have still been the same. None the less her performance should be noted because it was great.
Most of the other performances in the film were minimal and cartoonish. They make Hitler out to look and act like a cartoon which in some respects is fresh. To put it simply though he didn’t come across as this evil dude of mass genocide and war. History buffs will either find Martin Wuttke performance and the films ending great or walk out in anger.
Gore director Eli Roth also did a great job at playing The Bear Jew. Even though his performance will not be praised or most likely even recognized he did however have a scene stealer. No need to tell you what it is because it will most likely be the scene you and your people will be talking about after walking out of the theater, just be warned, it is memorable.
Mike Myers was in the film for maybe five minutes and he really didn’t add that much to it. He seemed to be playing a toned down version of John Cleese in British uniform. That’s not to say he wasn’t fun to watch, most people probably won’t even realize that it is him.
The film over all is great and it will definitely be in my top ten list for the year of 09. I am sure most people will either love this film or hate it, I surely don’t hate it but I can also tell you I don’t love it. Maybe I’m stuck in a vortex of emotion when it comes to this film. I know I don’t hate it because I can recognize a great piece of art even if it isn’t to my particular liking, and the reason I don’t love it is because when I am watching a Quentin Tarantino film I am expecting so much more than a great film, I am expecting a masterpiece.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Worth going to see just for Christoph Waltz amazing performance and its climatic explosion of a finale. Though be warned this film is nothing as advertised. I assure you when you walk into it you will literary not know what to suspect. It surely is a great art piece but it is miles away from being the masterpiece that Quentin Tarantino’s audience deserves.

District 9

Every once in awhile a film will come along that will whoop the hell out of your mind and take your eyes on a rollercoaster ride of the unexpected, I’m glad to announce that District 9 is that movie. It was only ten years earlier that another science fiction film took audiences by storm and revolutionized sci-fi as a whole, that film was The Matrix. Now is District 9 on par with the first Matrix film, my opinion says it defiantly is. Is it a classic in the tradition of Blade Runner or Children of Men, one hundred percent, now is it a better film than the two films just mentioned, maybe not?
What makes District 9 so great is that it took the whole documentary film style, aka Cloverfield or The Blair Witch Project and perfected it. When you view this film it does not feel like a documentary or a mock documentary but instead flows like a grade A Hollywood production. All of this accomplished on the budget of a mere thirty million dollars, more than just a feet, but a miracle of filmmaking.
This film comes from Neil Blomkamp a South African born filmmaker who previously did short live action movies. He had a deal to make the popular Halo videogame into a feature but once that fell through Peter Jackson came up with the funding for District 9. Thank the lord for that because I haven’t seen a director with such an eye for talent or imagination since Steven Spielberg came onto the scene in a big way with Jaws. For this being his first feature film he has done something amazing for not only sci-fi but cinema as a whole.
Let’s not jump to conclusions though the acting also comes a long way in this film. As talented as Neil Bolmkamp is he also has an eye for actors or maybe he should just thank the casting agent who brought in Sharlto Copley. Copley is an unknown actor who hails from South Africa, what makes his performance astonishing is that it was mostly improvised. At least all of the dialogue was if not the flow of the story. Without his triple tour de-force of an acting job this film might not have been the same. I believe his performance is definitely Oscar worthy but most Academy voters will most likely decline this thought. It doesn’t surprise me either; the Oscars have never been kind to actors in sci-fi or fantasy. What we do know though is this; Sharlto Copley has a talent that could rival first on screen appearance by such legends as Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. His career is going places and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
The other performances are good in the film but none are better than that of the computer generated Prawns. Even though they are fake and not real in any sense of the word they help move the story along with believability. There struggle to find a way home is real emotion and there torture by the hands of humans is concerning. The paradox between this film and what actually goes on in Africa is very unsettling; this film has a message but does not clearly blurt out what it is, which is very smart in, just for the simple fact that you don’t want to alienate your audience with a message, and the filmmaker knew this.
There is no need for me to explain what this movie is or about to an exact note. If you have seen the trailer or read another review you already know what you are in for. All I am here to do is spread the message of this genius film from an up and coming director who is sure to become a tycoon. This film is a science fiction action flick with a smart story and slick style, if any of the two genres I just mentioned peek your interest, I will promise that you will not leave the theater disappointed.
I can picture that I am in a room a couple of years from now with other film lovers as myself and a topic will arise, what is a better film? Children of Men or District 9? Both are sci-fi masterpieces, both have incredible directors and actors. Both have storylines that make Star Wars and Star Trek ooze out unoriginality. Yet only one can reign supreme and both parties will give a good argument for there particular film of choice. Each individual will be justified in there opinion for the film they chose but during this heated debate I think everyone in the room will forget something of importance. The importance I speak of is how blessed we are to have two great science fiction films come out in the same decade. The generation before me had a heated debate of which two films were better, Blade Runner or Brazil? I am just glad to announce that now my generation has something legitimately to argue about, so let the debates begin!

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: A sci-fi classic that can hold its own with The Matrix or Children of Men. It is without a doubt the best film of 2009 thus far, and unarguably a masterpiece of small budget filmmaking. Go see it while it is still in theaters and be amazed at its originality and above par filmmaking.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood-Prince

I was never really a Harry Potter fan of any sort; I never even read the books. Not because I don’t love to read, I do, I just always thought the Harry Potter series in general was recycled filler from The Lord of the Rings mythology. Then as I delved deeper into the film trilogy I began to learn a lot more about this boy wizard called Harry and the school of Hogwarts in which he attends.
What got me into Harry Potter to begin with was my lovely girlfriend and her obsession with the films, so after much debate I finally sat down a year ago and watched the first one. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was amazing and I was astonished at its innocence and imagination, maybe I hadn’t given J.K. Rowling the legitimate literary chance she deserved. I thought these stories were for children so why even bother, but something wrong happened, once I watched that film it made me feel like a kid again. I missed my days of youth and that film brought it out of me. So acting like a child I convinced myself I had to see the next film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I wouldn’t say that film was better than the first but it did tilt the story into the right direction for the second best film out of the series.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was superb in its ddirecting and overall tone. The little wizards we have come to enjoy in their innocence were growing up and a more complex story line was emerging. Plus how could one not love Gary Oldmans powerful performance as Sirius Black, a character that breathed new life into the series. It is by far my second favorite out of all of the films thus far the first being The Order of the Phoenix.
Goblet of Fire lived up to its title and thrilled audiences the same way as the previous installment did but it wasn’t until we arrived at The Order of the Phoenix that above it all intellectuals who scoff at fantasy started to take notice. Phoenix brought more maturity and depth to the characters than any of the other films and a lot of that has to do with director David Yates. I wonder how the rest of the films in the previous series would have turned out if he directed them all? I think they would have been alot better but they are great as is, I just think his eye for fantasy translates very well on to the silver screen. It would seem that my point would be correct since he has directed The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hollows parts 1 and 2.
Yet this review is about his newest endeavor Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Harry Potter is way pass the young child we knew and his sexual urging is growing, that is apparent with all the underline harmonies in the film it’s self. Yet this is just one theme in Half-Blood Prince, the others are betrayal and loss, not bad for just a child’s fantasy film is it. Though despite all of the themes mentioned above the film is still able to juggle them with ease while not letting each seperate story structure collapse on a moment’s notice. Not all credit can be given to the director it is also the actors who shine as well.
Daniel Radcliffe may always be known as Harry Potter but he is more than just that. It takes real talent for an actor to grow with a character over a decade and morph him from a young naïve student to the chosen ONE, and make it believable. He does this without trouble in The Half-Blood Prince and convinces you the audience that this imaginary world is indeed real. I believe he will go on to outgrow Harry Potter mania and actually become a renowned actor of his generation, but only time can tell.
Radcliffe isn’t the only actor out of the series to grow up in front of our eyes and show promise. Rupert Grint has also come into his own and has actually branched out of Harry Potter; his performance in Cherrybomb proves that he has raw talent. Emma Watson also appears to be growing as a fine actress; it wouldn’t surprise me that she becomes the next Kate Winslet. Michael Gambon has also proved that he owns the character of Dumbledore with a passion given his performance in The Half Blood-Prince. Richard Harris version of Dumbledore didn’t have time to grow or nourish but Michael Gambon took on the dreadful task of reimaging it yet staying true to the original performance given by Harris, by doing this he has accomplished a great and deserving praise.
Every actor does his or her part right even Alan Rickman or Helena Bonham Carter, though my personal favorite is Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort. Even with the ghoulish makeup over his face and the obscurity of his character you can always sense the evil within him or the hate. While I watched The Half-Blood Prince I waited in sorrow for him to appear on screen which he did not, and that is really the only negative aspect of the film to me. Yes Voldemort is in the film as a child growing into his own self loathing of everything good, which is fine, I just wanted see a grown up Voldemort wreck havoc on society of the innocent. It was truly fine without him though, we get to see all of that in the next two installments of the film, which is ok by me.
Harry Potter has grown up and so has his audience, The Half-Blood Prince is by far the best summer movie released this year, outside of District 9. I cannot wait to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, it is on my must list. I believe over time the Harry Potter films will be looked back upon as something more than just a child’s movie or a children’s book. I believe within twenty years they will be looked back upon as something truly magical.

THE JUDGEMENT CALL: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the real deal. Not only is it the best family film of the summer more so than UP but it is also one of the best films of the year. Go to the theater and be amazed at what you see, because I assure you all of the troubles you have in life will be forgotten during the 153 minutes it is on the screen.