Just got back from
Inglourious Basterds, and if I can start my post off with a terrible pun: It was glourious
Seriously, fucking phenomenal. Best thing Tarantino's done since
Jackie Brown. Better than both volumes of
Kill Bill combined and better than
Death Proof.
That sounds like I'm gearing up for some insane praise, but I wasn't
that taken away with it. It's not top ten of the last decade, probably not even top ten of the last five years, but now that
Shutter Island has been pushed back to next year, I think
Inglourious Basterds will very easily hold firm to the #1 spot as the best movie of this year.
District 9 seems to be really popular and I have a feeling popular vote will have that as the #1, and I have no idea when
Inception comes out, but everybody seems to love Christopher Nolan, so if that comes out this year, that'll probably bump it, too, but I will be shocked beyond words if I see a film that came out this year or that will be coming out in the year's closing months that'll surpass
Inglourious Basterds.
Hilarious, violent, emotional. A perfect combination of Quentin Tarantino. Everything he does great, he does great in
Inglourious Basterds, and he gets bonus points for having the balls to have so much of the film subtitled.
Think of it like this: If you've ever liked anything Tarantino's done, watch
Inglourious Basterds.
Aside from the expected brilliant dialogue, Christoph Waltz was amazing, Brad Pitt was hysterical, and the scene-stealer for me and probably my favorite performer in the film,
Til Schweiger as Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz, the Nazi-turned-Basterd.
I also want to mention, aside from the film, the moviegoing experience today was like none I've had before. I've never watched a film where the entire audience was in sync. First off, every time Brad Pitt did anything, the audience loved it, but more than just that, everyone was behind the characters and extremely invested in the story, and the only time I've ever been in a movie theater where the audience clapped, it was
The Dark Knight. After today, that's happened to me twice.
I was ecstatic seeing Tarantino not only return to form, but finally return to the level he'd raised the bar in the '90s.
Inglourious Basterds was a thoroughly satisfying cinematic experience, a ballsy and brilliantly-executed film, and, like I said, will likely be the best film of the year.