Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Tarantino's latest film Inglourious Basterds was the movie we had from Netflix, so we decided to put it in.  Basterds stars Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, the leader of an anti-Nazi group charged with hunting and killing every Nazi they find.  Pitt is joined by a huge cast of people I was unfamiliar with such as Melanie Laurent, Christopher Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender and Daniel Bruhl.  A few of the others I did recognize were Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger and B.J. Novak.  We even see a cameo performance by Mike Meyers.

Tarantino's filming and directing style is immediately recognizable in the opening credits.  The music gives you a first clue, and when paired with the credit style you know instantly it has to be a Tarantino film.  That is presuming you didn't know prior to watching the film obviously.  Tarantino keeps his unique style going through the entire film, with similarities to many of his previous films in this one as well.

He shows his unique filming abilities in features such as muted battle scenes throughout and popping vivid color scenes such as near the end when Melanie is on her balcony in her red dress.  He brings in his usual bloody and gory motif with sick and twisted characters.  Tarantino is even able to bring in his personal women's foot fetish!  His use of color, camera angles and other filming techniques make this film very unique.  Filming and directing are both genius.  I would dare to say Basterds is the best visual film he has done to date.

One of the most confusing aspects of this film we could not figure out immediately was if it was based on real events or entirely fictional.  Having an interest in Hitler myself, I ultimately figured it out a while in to the film, but I think it is a touchy subject to be vague with when you are dealing in real events.

Tarantino left out his confusing timeline in this film, but he did have many items that were left unanswered, or just plain not explained.  This was another frustrating feature of the film, but at the same time it did create some valuable and interesting additions.  While I did think there were too many of such instances in this film, I do not think they should have all been removed as a lot of them are needed to make the film what it is.

Can I voice one more frustration?  Of course I can, it's my blog..that was rhetorical.  My biggest frustration of this film is when we come upon a scene that is narrated, and the narrator is none other than...can you guess it?...Samuel L. Jackson!  I know, I know.  I wanted to turn off the movie too, but you need to power through as it is not that long of a narration and the film is worth seeing even with that horrendous addition.  At least Samuel didn't add his trademark "mothah fuckah! (mother fucker) into the film.

Acting is exactly what I imagine Tarantino wanted it to be.  It was a bit comical, a bit off kilter, a bit what the hell are they doing and a lot of perfect for this film.  Pitt's character is the epitome of this example, and you will know what I am talking about after viewing the film.  I was very impressed with Melanie Laurent's acting.  I did not think there were any subpar performances delivered, but every time I see B.J. all I can think of is The Office series.  Mike Meyers' cameo performance was similar to B.J.'s where I saw some of his goofy previous performances, but overall Mike delivered very solidly as did B.J. in serious roles.

My overall impression of this film is that if it were based upon real events it may go down as one of the best Hitler films of all time.  I fear that others will feel the way I do; it was too touchy of a subject to base from and make a work of fiction.  I felt it detracted from the overall feel of the film.  If you were to temporarily forget the entire WWII era and Hitler, this movie would be near perfect on all levels.

Despite the above, Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (which by the way both words are misspelled on purpose) is one of the best films of 2009.  I am ultimately giving Basterds a 4 star rating because of some of my strong feelings, and the large amount of unanswered questions left.  Ciao for now and see you for the next review!