Author Topic: Inglourious Basterds  (Read 102016 times)

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #120 on: August 26, 2009, 07:24:34 AM »
Inglourious Basterds: The Good, The Rad and the Ugly.
*Groans*

In fairness you have some good thoughts but the title is too cheesy.

We may need samsex for the blog just to offer a dissenting opinion on this one.
I've already offered my opinion elsewhere but if you really need a contrasting opinion I might whip up something new.

chardy999

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #121 on: August 26, 2009, 07:27:23 AM »
Great review Clovis and this is a great thread! You are, of course, completely wrong about a lack of momentum in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 which does not require the same urgency in terms of plot progression as for Inglourious Basterds. IB satisfies every second, while KB1 satisfies in waves.
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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #122 on: August 26, 2009, 09:03:02 AM »
I think the film is nearly perfect, however there are a couple minor problems. The most glaring is the Mike Meyers cameo. This whole scene does not work. Meyers is too much of a caricature, bringing his Austin Powers baggage to his role. He really took me out of the movie. Really this is the only scene in the film that does not seem to have a purpose.

Take you out of the movie to where? The cinema, the Kino. No, that's too far fetched. I think it was just to give the audience a break from the tension.

ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #123 on: August 26, 2009, 10:12:23 AM »
Saw this last night and wanted to lay down some thoughts before reading what other people thought.

1) Best new movie I've seen this year, blowing away the now #2 Moon.  Probably my fourth favorite of the decade, behind Synecdoche, No Country and TWB Blood.  

2) It took all of 3 lines of Brat Pitt dialog to have me going from rolling my eyes to having me completely won over.

3) I'm guessing the historical "modifications"  are getting some discussions - I thought that was perfect perfect perfect.  I was rooting for that result from the moment the plan was first hatched.

4) The 25 minute Leone-eque scene - fabulous.  I was thinking to myself - thank goodness we are getting this whole scene.   (I saw the Hurt Lock right after.  What an jolting shift to the jump cut steady cam slow mo styled bit)

5) I'm hoping Christoph Waltz is getting some early Oscar buzz.  My favorite scene is with him negotiating terms over the phone. (Nantauket)

6) Little things is what make this great - like they never explain why Aldo has a noose's scare around his neck.

7) I can see where people might have gotten a bit annoyed with some scenes that dragged on a bit.  I've caught up on some reviews this morning and a few mention the the Basement / King Kong scene as an example.  But it worked for me

8. It's a personal thing - but I really go to see superhero movies to watch a superhero kick butt for 2 hours.  The Incredibles got this so right, where so many others got it so wrong in my book.  (Class example: Tim Burton's Batman, where we see this ultra cool Bat plane shot down in like 2 seconds)  Likewise, I like to watch my nazi-killing band of misfits kill nazis and not spend most of the third act in perril.  This film did not disappoint.  I maybe would have wanted to see two more short example scenes of them kicking butt early on, but I guess the ended made up for that.

9) Mélanie Laurent was great casting.  If Uma Thurman had this role I probably wouldn't have even bothered to see this.  Great casting all around, really.

10) The Mike Meyers scene.  Loved it.  A very Peter Sellers feel to it right down to the bar in the globe.

11) It was beginning to get a bit keystone cops toward the end in the theater, which always baffels me - we've got a commando unit of the best of the best, but they can't walk out of the aisle of a theater without tripping over.  But - hey I think that redeemed itself in short order.

13)  I am no QT apologist by any stretch.  I never wanted to see Jackie Brown, I have no interest in the Kill Bills and refuse to watch grindhouse....so .  This movie has me wondering what I might have been missing out on.

14)  The last line of the movie: brilliant, and I agree.  When it cut to black I was the guy who started the applause in the theater.  

Now I'll go back and hear what y'all had to say




« Last Edit: August 26, 2009, 10:19:07 AM by ferris »
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #124 on: August 26, 2009, 10:29:44 AM »
You ought to. I thought their story was the best.

Shosanna was also my favorite character. I kept expecting the Basterds and Shosanna to get together at some point but they both executed their plans without ever meeting.

Haha, silly to expect anything in this universe! How funny was Eli Roth and the other guy unloading the barrage of gunfire, seemingly oblivious to the theatre burning down. Did it even occur to them that something else was going on? Jeez, I can't wait to see the hilarity again!  :D

(Sorry as I go through old comments and reply out of sequence here)


Not only are they seemingly oblivious to the theater burning down, but the fact no one can escape because the front doors were locked!
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facedad

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #125 on: August 26, 2009, 10:50:51 AM »
10) The Mike Meyers scene.  Loved it.  A very Peter Sellers feel to it right down to the bar in the globe.
I just want to use this to clarify my previous position. This is exactly what I believe the scene was meant to be (I included the conflicting dramatic position just because I can imagine the other reading), but the simple fact that i don't think the humor is effective at all is why it doesn't work.
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ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #126 on: August 26, 2009, 11:14:33 AM »
I dont think people thought it was going to have so many subtitles a lot of people in the theatre i saw it in were complaining.

LOL, God people are stupid. I love listening to French - and Spanish and Italian too for that matter (especially Brad Pitt's Italian).


If you are older, have any kind of reading disability ,or have bifocal related stuff, subtitles can be very difficult - or hell if you just can't read that fast...so it's nice to know ahead of time if that's what you're getting into...so I can understand the complaint on that level.  My wife is dyslexic and has a really hard time with subtitles.  It's very frustrating for her because she gets in a panic to read faster than she can.  But even as a preference thing I can't really look down on someone for not being into that.  It really is like an 80% subtitled movie.

For my part, I'm with you - I totall agree with you on the beauty of hearing those languages and I'll take the subtitles over what something like Valkerie did every time.  (I loved the fact that by design where were times that you didn't a translations as well.)
« Last Edit: August 26, 2009, 11:23:18 AM by ferris »
"And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs" - Exodus 8:2 KJV
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ferris

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #127 on: August 26, 2009, 11:31:22 AM »
Inglourious Basterds: The Good, The Rad and the Ugly.

While the movie can be enjoyed without understanding these references, an entire subtextual layer is revealed when we make the effort. It's the cinematic equivalent of adding butter to your dish. Butter helps everything. References to Leone films can only enhance your movie.


I'll be the first to admit that I recognized nearly NONE of the references, yet I enjoyed it thoroughly.  I remember watching the Godfather for the first time and in the course of the 2 hours finally getting the joke in a dozen different Simpsons episodes.  So as I spend the next 20 years filling up my filmography, I look forward to getting IG references in the same way!
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smirnoff

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #128 on: August 26, 2009, 11:45:40 AM »
Some disorganized thoughts.

I didn't get any pleasure out of spotting the resemblance between Inglorious Bastards and other films of which I'm a fan. Why would I? It takes the mystery out of every scene and character. The opening scene between Landa and Lapadite IS the scene in TGTB&TU where Van Cleef enters the home of the Mexican peon. Angel Eyes makes himself at home, Landa makes himself at home. Angel Eyes eats their food, Landa drinks their milk (Leon?). Angel Eyes is Gentlemanly, refined, coy, conscientious (in his own way), but a killer nonetheless; Landa is all of those things too. They both smoke fancy pipes even. And in the end, the shooting happens. The difference is that the scene in Inglorious Bastards has no tension. How can it when you know how it's going to end?

It's not just the ending to the scene which is spoiled, but every moment along the way. The characters and scene are so laden with references to other films that it limits their every move. It's this constrictive nature of IG which frustrated me. The film was like a dog on a short leash. Any time it attempted to run in any direction it was jerked to a halt, while Tarantino replayed another one of his favourite scenes. It's so preoccupied being referential that it fails to be it's own thing.

Watching IG is like watching someone else play video games. You sit waiting patiently for your turn (which never comes), while Tarantino has all the fun. "Watch this, Watch this!" he yells, "Yeah, that's great" you lie. I really don't care that Tarantino can beat the game and I probably can't even get past the first level. 

Saying IG is an homage to other films is like saying a photograph of a tree is tree-like::)

Clovis8

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Re: Inglourious Basterds
« Reply #129 on: August 26, 2009, 11:49:51 AM »
Some disorganized thoughts.

I didn't get any pleasure out of spotting the resemblance between Inglorious Bastards and other films of which I'm a fan. Why would I? It takes the mystery out of every scene and character. The opening scene between Landa and Lapadite IS the scene in TGTB&TU where Van Cleef enters the home of the Mexican peon. Angel Eyes makes himself at home, Landa makes himself at home. Angel Eyes eats their food, Landa drinks their milk (Leon?). Angel Eyes is Gentlemanly, refined, coy, conscientious (in his own way), but a killer nonetheless; Landa is all of those things too. They both smoke fancy pipes even. And in the end, the shooting happens. The difference is that the scene in Inglorious Bastards has no tension. How can it when you know how it's going to end?

It's not just the ending to the scene which is spoiled, but every moment along the way. The characters and scene are so laden with references to other films that it limits their every move. It's this constrictive nature of IG which frustrated me. The film was like a dog on a short leash. Any time it attempted to run in any direction it was jerked to a halt, while Tarantino replayed another one of his favourite scenes. It's so preoccupied being referential that it fails to be it's own thing.

Watching IG is like watching someone else play video games. You sit waiting patiently for your turn (which never comes), while Tarantino has all the fun. "Watch this, Watch this!" he yells, "Yeah, that's great" you lie. I really don't care that Tarantino can beat the game and I probably can't even get past the first level. 

Saying IG is an homage to other films is like saying a photograph of a tree is tree-like::)

I have read dozens of reviews online and you are literally the only person who did not like the first scene and find it suspenseful.