FILM REVIEW

Last weekend I caught Quentin Tarantino's new film, "Inglorious Basterds" - yes, that's spelled correctly. If you're a Tarantino fan, this will not disappoint.

The film takes place during World War 2 and is about a company of Jewish U.S. Army soldiers led by Lt Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who are dropped behind the German lines, and just like a band of roaming Apaches, routinely ambush Nazi (or as Brad Pitt would pronounce it Naaaa-tzi) patrols and perform unspeakable acts of violence against them (did you expect anything less from Q.T.?). They eventually cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl with a revenge motive, which whips the film into an explosive climax, to say the least.

For those of you who are historically challenged, let me interrupt here and mention that as far as we know, there was never a band of Jewish soldiers who did any such thing during WW2, and the end of this movie is most definitely not historically accurate - it all sprang from Q.T.'s head and is a complete fantasy. So anyway....

I.B. is sort of like a WW2 movie blended with a spaghetti Western. Especially the very first scene in the movie, in which German Colonel Hans Landa, played by Christopher Waltz (watch this guy - he's gonna be HUGE!), interrogates a French dairy farmer who has a secret. Waltz was the best thing about the movie - his Colonel Landa goes about the business of Nazi security and what he calls "detective work" with all of the charm of Ted Bundy: charasmatic as all get-out and menacing in a homicidal way at the same time. It's a brilliant performance and I bet he gets nominated for an Oscar.

And then there's Brad Pitt who's clearly having a ball with his hicksville Tennessee accent. It's especially hilarious to watch his character murder the Italian language with that drawl near the end of the movie, and the little extra he gives the Nazis he ambushes is classic Tarantino - Colonel Raine always lets one go, but not unscathed.

Watch for the tavern scene. Initially, it doesn't include either of the stars, but is so sharply written and acted that it'll blow your shoes off. It's one of those classic moments that will be archived in film history, mark my words.

Also, watch for the David Bowie song "Putting Out The Fire", used almost in its entirety in the scene that leads to the climax. If you listen to the lyrics, it fits so perfectly that you would think it was written for I.B. But as a huge Bowie fan, I can tell you that "Fire" was written and released in 1982 for the film Cat People!

So if you're a Q.T. fan, you'll love this. But I must warn you that the violence is over the top and definitely not appropriate for kids. I had a ball and can't wait to see it again!