Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds (R) ****

Writer and Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to turn the World War II movie on it's ear. Inglourious Basterds is a highly entertaining and energetic Tarantino masterpiece. My favorite director next to Scorsese puts other filmmakers to shame with his more passionate and exciting storytelling. I can't tell you how many times I have been bored at the movies this year. Whatever you think of his style and movies you have to admit the man is very talented. Whenever I see one of his movies a big smile comes on my face and I start getting goosebumps. I don't say that much about other movies. The man knows how to push your buttons. He is a master filmmaker, storyteller and movie magician.

Brad Pitt is hilarious(especially when trying to speak Italian undercover) as Lt. Aldo Raine but the film is stolen by actor Christoph Waltz (in an Oscar caliber performance) as the evil Col. Hans Landa. I have never seen this actor before but I will now never forget him. He starts out the movie not Pitt in a beautifully orchestrated and suspenseful opening scene that is more powerful than most whole movies. He makes a lasting impression that lingers through the whole movie. The movie is separated in chapters and there are many classic Tarantino scenes that he now specializes in. They are full of dialogue and exposition for long periods of time as the tension builds. You know the scene is about to explode but you don't know when and your palms start to sweat until the scene erupts. Nobody does it better now than he does. He should be mentioned in the same company as Hitchcock, Scorsese and Ford.

There is great support by two beautiful women in Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent. If you love old foreign movies you will appreciate the middle section set in a cinema palace where the climax will take place. The movie has very few clunker scenes and my rating could go up to four stars. I place this under Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill I & II and even with Jackie Brown and Reservoir Dogs. There has never been a bad movie by Tarantino and I love how he waits a long time in between making movies because he cares to get it right. Some directors could learn by that. Overall this is very entertaining but also not for the squeamish for there are many scenes with knives and heads if you know what I mean. This is a highly enjoyable, funny and suspenseful movie that is easily one of the best movies of the year.

In closing let me say that I am one of Tarantino's biggest fans. A lot of people can't stand him and I regard his movies higher than most. I just appreciate how he tells a story, ratchets up the suspense and tries his hardest to entertain. I am a lot like him because we both worked in video stores but we watched everything when we were younger and we are obsessed with movies. When I was young all I did was watch videos and Cinemax and discovered so many movies that others don't know about. He tries hard to entertain you and I try hard to supply you with great movies you don't know about. You will learn a lot more about my favorite styles, actors and directors and I hope you all discover all the classics I did. I also hope to jazz up my blog because now it looks boring and plain and Tarantino would not like it.