Inglorious Basterds (2009)

I realized last night that since I'll be reviewing mostly movies I receive through my Netflix account there wouldn't be anything recent and I can imagine reading review after review of movies that came out 10 years ago would be endlessly boring so here it is (a big one in my opinion) my review of Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds"

Let me preface this review by saying I am a big fan of Tarantino, I loved his recent grindhouse flick and thoroughly enjoyed the "Kill Bill" series. Resevoir Dogs is always a classic along side Pulp Fiction it's almost as if this man can't go wrong with his unique vision and in my honest opinion, this is his best work yet.

The film is set in Nazi Occupied France where we follow the story of a group of Jewish-American soldiers who are there to as Brad Pitt's character gracefully puts it "do one thing and one thing only, kill nazis" and boy do they! The group becomes affectionately known as "The Bastards" among Nazi soldiers and each member of the group also receives there own unique nickname. The movie is full of great characters portrayed by amazing actors. This is by far my favorite Brad Pitt film as I am easily annoyed by a lot of his films. His character, Lt. Aldo Raine, is the leader of The Bastards and comes from Indian heritage. Do to his ancestry he commands that each one of his soldiers kill at least 100 Nazis by the end of the war and they prove this to him by taking the scalp of each victim. I was amazed at Pitt's versatility and range I never knew he could pull off a role so well. Along side Pitt Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) gives his best performance yet as Sgt. Donny Donowitz aka The Bear Jew. Roth's character becomes known for his brutal yet effective methods of thinning the Nazi heard. His scenes were often gory but believable for the time of the piece.

I do think that every actor in this film was cast perfectly I can't think of one role I would have changed. But what really made the film so great was the storyline, this IS NOT another WWII movie that you've seen hundreds of in the past, it is uniquely unique as only Quentin Tarantino can do. I left the theater with a large grin on my face thanking Tarantino for his fanstastic work on a film I wasn't expecting to be half as good as it was. I think the only thing I could change is one scene that seemed to run for a bit too long with unnecessary dialogue that just wasn't pertinent to the overall story (if you see the movie you'll know exactly what I mean).

Overall I would have to say this is my favorite film of the year, period. Not thus far not of the summer but of the year. I've seen previews for whats coming and I've seen most of whats already come and I can say without any doubt that this is the best new film I will see this year. I recommend it to anybody and everybody who has ever enjoyed a Tarantino movie or enjoys war stories or just loves movies that aren't afraid to be different. I hope you enjoyed the review and I doubly hope that it inspires you to get out and see this film!

Gladiator: Extended Edition

I'm not sure if I saw this too late (nearly 10 years after it's release) or if I had the bar set too high before me, probably a combination of the two. I just wasn't as impressed as other people had been before me. Even Netflix suggested I would rate this 4.7 out of 5 stars, and needless to say if I had a "star system" I wouldn't be giving it quite so high of a rating. The movie just seemed lacking characters seemed to come and go endlessly and you never had real back story or relationships. Yes there were a few main characters who had their own stories revealed but overall I just felt like it was a task to follow each new character that popped up.

I did enjoy the storyline, a man ripped from the top of his game and tossed into slavery. And only to come back to the top not through old connections or cheats but with his personality and will to prevail. I felt that Russell Crowe did a fantastic job at the lead role but it was with some of his co-stars that I had issue. I think that casting Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus aka Ceasar was a fatal blow for my vote. He seemed detached through the whole film. I understand that he was supposed to be showing his recluse as the new Ceasar and how he felt estranged among the crowd but I felt that he wasn't really connecting with his co-stars as well as other actors could. I was really happy with Oliver Reed's Proximo he really came across as a ruthless slave driver who viewed his warriors as property that he used for profit. As I said before there were far too many other actors in this film to critique them all but overall I did enjoy the movie just not as much as I thought I would it simply didn't live up to the hype for me. It was a good period piece and I would highly recommend it to anybody interested in the Roman Empire and the gladiators in the Colosseum. I'm just not one of those people. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Share your thoughts on the film in the comments below!!

The Last Kiss

This was a romance comedy starring Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, and Rachel Bilson. The film was about a soon to be 30 man (Zach Braff) facing the end of his life in the way that he was having a child ready to buy a house and settle down for good. Upon this realization he becomes fearful that life has no more surprises for him so he finds refuge in a twenty something college junior (Rachel Bilson).

This film was full of great performances from a few lesser known actors. Zach Braff (Scrubs) gave a great performance that was pretty typical of his characters ie: aging man unready to face life and the deck he's dealt even though it's better than 3/4 of Americans could ever wish for. Jacinda Barret played Braff's major love interest in the film and also gave an above average performance. There were times when I thought maybe she took a scene too far to the point where it was unbelievable but then I realized if I were in the same situation she would have taken it just far enough. Her violent mood swings sometimes seemed too staged and crazy but overall I think she did a fantastic job playing a pregnant woman with an asshole boyfriend. Rachel Bilson was probably the weakest player in the game while portraying "Kim" Zach Braff's twenty something fling. Her character lacked real development and she pushed the crazy aspect a little too hard. I do have to give her props for taking the role of a blatant whore. In a movie full of damaged then repaired characters hers may have the worst ending of them all.

Co-starring in the film was one of my favorites Casey Affleck (The Assasination of Jesse James, Gone Baby Gone, Oceans 11-13) Michael Weston, and Blythe Danner. Performances were very convincing from all and you really felt pulled into the lives and troubles of each individual character. Overall the film was far from what I expected after seeing the previews. Bilson's character was shown in a very poor light whereas I expected her to be an alternative wife to Braff. There were many very low lows unbalanced with not enough highs but in the end you just have to think sometimes thats the way life is. I would recommend this film for any fan of Zach Braff or anyone interested in a very original take on life and love in a romantic comedy.

Hope you enjoyed my very first official review, I'll be back frequently writing about every new or old film that I see. Hopefully my writing skills improve as I'm sure there are plenty of grammatical flaws in this blog, and hopefully I hone my reviewer's skills as I progress. Thanks for reading hope to see you back soon!