Sorry everyone for not keeping up with my blog; I have been super busy, but I can't think of a better film to resume my blogging duties with. For those of you who don't know yet, Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director. I named my son after him if that is any indication as to how much I love this director. Some may say that Quentin's movies are too violent and that is valid, but I argue that the violence is just a small fraction of his films. In addition to directing his films he also serves as the screenwriter. The dialogue in his films is superb and I must say he brings out the best performances in his actors. I don't think that there is room or time to list off the actors and their performances, for that you should watch ALL of his films, but I ask you to think of Uma Thurman's performances in Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill Films. I challenge anyone to say that she has given a better performance than in those 3 films.
Adding to the canon of great films and memorable characters is Inglourious Basterds. Brad Pitt stars at Lt. Aldo Raine, the leader of a ragtag group of Jewish soldiers whose prime objective is to hunt and kill Nazi's. Working for the Nazi's is the diabolical Col. Hans Landa, played by Christoph Waltz who won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in this film. Col. Landa is to this film what Hans Gruber was to Die Hard, the villain you love to hate. There is also Shosanna Dreyfus, played by the radiant French actress Melanie Laurent, who escaped Col. Landa's clutches early on but her family was not so lucky. Shosanna vows to avenge the death of her family culminating in an unknowing union with the basterds that could possibly end the reign of Hitler and his army.
As gruesome as the plot sounds, Mr. Tarantino distracts you from the ugliness with the humor. Brad Pitt looks like he is having the best time and his drawl adds to the fun. At no time do you feel like the atrocities the Jewish people endured is made light of. Instead Quentin asks the audience to play make believe with him--What if the US had the cojones to send in some crazy SOB's to finish Hitler off once and for all, one Nazi dirtbag at a time? I think you will be satisfied with his crazy idea. Vengeance is a theme at the heart of all Tarantino's films. I am a big believer in "reaping what you sow" or "karmas going to get you" so vengeance/revenge never comes into play for me, but for at least 2 hours, watching the underdog climb their way to the top is a fun and twisted ride. This movie is well worth the price of admission.
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