Inglourious Basterds
Aug 15, 2009 18:40:12 GMT -5
Post by Stu on Aug 15, 2009 18:40:12 GMT -5
Just got back from it and........I enjoyed it, but I can see it dividing people for the same reasons Death Proof did, but not to the same degree. Like DP, it has a number of very long, talky scenes, but unlike DP, these scenes actually have a point or are in themselves actually entertaining. The ones in particular I mean really use that time to build up the tension, and make you agonizingly wait for something terrible to happen. It also feels a bit more disjointed (you don't see a whole lot of how the Basterds make their reputation, they just already ARE the Basterds in the film), with scene transitions that feel like there should be more in the middle, and I thought the final scene (sorta spoiler without actually giving details. Highlight to read)
Would have more to it than it did.
But I thought there was a lot to enjoy. It is pretty funny, even in the tense scenes without managing to break up the flow, while also having elements of tragedy and some impactful (if brief) action moments. I liked the cast.
Pitt's pretty cool as Aldo Raine, who's played as pretty unflappable and "what the hell", and makes the most of his scenes. Eli Roth I actually liked more than I expected to. His characters a lot more explosive and impulsive, and is a nice counterpoint to Raine, and the other Basterd's are pretty likeable (if you can call ambushing Nazi torturers that), especially Til Schweiger as Hugo Stiglitz, who gets a nice little portion of the movie about his character. B.J. Novak from the US Office gets some good lines towards the end.
Christopher Waltz is great as Col. Hans Landa. I don't quite know how to sum his character up. He's pretty charming, while simultaneously scary and cruel in how he plays people when he talks to them, intentionally putting them at unease, while also being funny too with his affectations (like his pipe smoking) and abrupt changes of subject or turns of phrase.
Mélanie Laurent and Diane Kruger are pretty good too in their roles. Both tough, both wanting to do their part in this fight, though only Laurent's character's motives are explained. That's another thing I'd say is a shortcoming in the film. While I "got" the characters enough for what they do and say to be meaningfull, I did have a lot of questions about them that aren't answered. Aldo Raine for instance has scars marks on his neck like he's been hanged, but it's never addressed or even acknowledged. I wasn't clear why Hugo Stiglitz ended up in The Basterds. (mild spoiler. Highlight to read)
Was he a Jew, or was he just a soldier who killed his superiors for unexplained reasons?
I don't think the film quie exceeds the sum of it's parts, but I like those parts enough to recommend it.
Would have more to it than it did.
But I thought there was a lot to enjoy. It is pretty funny, even in the tense scenes without managing to break up the flow, while also having elements of tragedy and some impactful (if brief) action moments. I liked the cast.
Pitt's pretty cool as Aldo Raine, who's played as pretty unflappable and "what the hell", and makes the most of his scenes. Eli Roth I actually liked more than I expected to. His characters a lot more explosive and impulsive, and is a nice counterpoint to Raine, and the other Basterd's are pretty likeable (if you can call ambushing Nazi torturers that), especially Til Schweiger as Hugo Stiglitz, who gets a nice little portion of the movie about his character. B.J. Novak from the US Office gets some good lines towards the end.
Christopher Waltz is great as Col. Hans Landa. I don't quite know how to sum his character up. He's pretty charming, while simultaneously scary and cruel in how he plays people when he talks to them, intentionally putting them at unease, while also being funny too with his affectations (like his pipe smoking) and abrupt changes of subject or turns of phrase.
Mélanie Laurent and Diane Kruger are pretty good too in their roles. Both tough, both wanting to do their part in this fight, though only Laurent's character's motives are explained. That's another thing I'd say is a shortcoming in the film. While I "got" the characters enough for what they do and say to be meaningfull, I did have a lot of questions about them that aren't answered. Aldo Raine for instance has scars marks on his neck like he's been hanged, but it's never addressed or even acknowledged. I wasn't clear why Hugo Stiglitz ended up in The Basterds. (mild spoiler. Highlight to read)
Was he a Jew, or was he just a soldier who killed his superiors for unexplained reasons?
I don't think the film quie exceeds the sum of it's parts, but I like those parts enough to recommend it.