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John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

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Inglourious Basterds

Posted Dec 31, 2009 by John Allman

Updated Dec 31, 2009 at 04:28 PM

Inglourious Basterds
Genre: War
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Run time: 153 minutes
Rating: R
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: The epic, stuffed-to-the-brim, self-proclaimed Jewish revenge fantasy “Inglourious Basterds” has proved to be one of Quentin Tarantino’s biggest hits.

I only wished I loved it more.

With most of Tarantino’s work, from “Pulp Fiction” to “Death Proof,” I can usually find so much to appreciate that I often fail to find fault. Even “Jackie Brown,” arguably one of his less thrilling films, had plenty to cheer.

“Inglourious Basterds” has one big thing going for it, and that’s Brad Pitt, whose turn as Lt. Aldo Raine stands among Tyler Durden and Det. David Mills as one of his most fully-realized performances.

And don’t take my tempered enthusiasm to suggest that I didn’t appreciate “Basterds,” or enjoy it. I thoroughly enjoyed Tarantino’s rewriting of history, his balls-out battle scenes and his wonderfully crafted villain, Col. Hans Landa.

My problem is that much of the movie drags. There are long stretches of dialogue that don’t seem to serve an immediate purpose. There are stunt casting bits with actors like Mike Myers that don’t advance the plot or do much to allow the actor to shine.

And with at least one choice, Eli Roth, the famed director of “Hostel,” the scenery-chewing camp threatens to undermine the greatness that Tarantino is striving for.

But when it crackles, “Basterds” really works. It’s just that those places are mostly when Pitt and his band of scalping Jewish soldiers command the screen.

As with any Tarantino flick, there’s much to dissect and discuss. This time it comes down to historical accuracy. I enjoyed seeing Hitler get blown to smithereens, his face obliterated by bullets in the climatic, excellent showdown.

And the end, well, it’s pure Tarantino, and pure gold, with a final splash of blood and Pitt’s southern drawl leaving viewers wanting more.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent, Nazi-fighting hot.
Nudity – No.
Gore – Yes.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – Hitler.
Buy/Rent – Buy it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – Exclusive: pocketBLU and BD-Live enabled with a special “Killin’ Nazis trivia challenge,” extended and alternate scenes, roundtable discussion with Tarantino, Brad Pitt and Elvis Mitchell, the making of “Nation’s Pride,” the movie-within-a-movie, and a conversation with Rod Taylor. Additional: “Nation’s Pride,” the full feature; the original “Inglorious Bastards” grindhouse feature; Quentin Tarantino’s “Camera Angel”; film poster tour gallery.
On the Web – http://www.inglouriousbasterds-movie.com/
Release Date – Dec. 13, 2009