Inglourious Basterds Review

Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino, WWII, Brad Pitt, Jewish-American soldiers out for revenge against the Nazis = Where do I get in line? The premise of the film is straight forward, a group of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) are dropped into Nazi-occupied France. Their object is to kill as many Nazi soldiers as possible, spreading fear among the Third Reich. This would make you believe that the film is going to be filled with a lot of gory action scenes, but that is actually not the case. Instead, the highlights of the movie are the well written Tarantino characters and the well written Tarantino dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, the story is told in a variety of languages including German, French, English and even a little Italian. As for the Tarantino characters I speak of, the show stealer is the German Colonel, Hans Landa played masterfully by Christoph Waltz (Oscar nom for sure). Hans is a detective with the Third Reich that has a specialty for finding Jews in hiding. He is evil, but comical at the same time. Another storyline that eventually crosses that of The Basterds is of a young Jewish girl who owns a cinema in Paris. While concealing her Jewish identity, she begins a relationship with a famous German actor and soldier which leads to a German film premier being held at her cinema. Eventually all of the characters and all of the storylines converge for a memorable night at the movies (yeah, that's a pun). As good as some of the characters were in the movie, I was hoping for a little more out of the group of Basterds. I was expecting them to have that Reservoir Dogs kind of chemistry and that was not the case. They are also not as prevalent in the movie as you would think. This is not all that bad, however, since the other characters are just as, if not more interesting. The film also takes some time to get going, but once it does hit full steam it never slows down. Ultimately, the main star here is Tarantino who has such a unique way of telling stories - and that it is a beautiful thing to behold.

Ry's Rating: B-

If this movie had parents they would be: The Dirty Dozen & Kill Bill

With a runtime of 152 minutes

This film is rated R

District 9 Review

District 9: Once in a great while a movie comes around that is so original and so different, that it is hard to categorize. District 9 is one of those movies. It breathes much needed fresh air into the Sci-Fi/Alien genre. The movie opens with a documentary type of feel, with many experts from various fields catching us up on what has transpired over the past two decades. Twenty years ago a huge alien spacecraft came to a haulting stop hovering over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Instead of the typical "destroy the earth" scenario, the ship just hovered there with absolutely no activity taking place. Three months went by and finally humans decided to cut into the ship to see if they could make contact. What they discovered on the inoperable ship was a million malnourished and sick aliens. They decided to bring the aliens down to Earth and put them into a militarized camp named District 9. From here the film uses the unusual scenario to comment on everything from racism, slavery, concentration camps, slums, military experiments, and so forth. Our main character is a man by the name of Wikus who is in charge of moving the now 1.8 million aliens (known as prawns) to a new camp located outside of the city. This is thought to help clean up the city from all the crime happening in and around District 9. While Wikus is inside the District he becomes exposed to an alien fluid which changes his DNA. It was so refreshing to sit in the theater and have no idea where the story was going to lead. I will say there is plenty of action, some disgusting moments, and even a love story thrown in as the movie reaches its climax. As for the look of the film - the prawns look very realistic as does their interaction within the environment. It only takes about 20 minutes to get past the weird aspect of aliens and humans living together. It then becomes "Harry and the Hendersons" believable. The end result is a very original and a very entertaining film. In fact, it is one of the best Sci-Fi films that I have seen in a long time!!

Ry's Rating B +

If this movie had parents they would be: E.T. & Amistad

With a runtime of 111 minutes

This film is rated R

In The Loop

In The Loop: A very witty, satirical comedy about the politics between the U.S. and Britain leading up to the Iraq war. The best way to sum up the style of the movie is to imagine a political satire filmed like the television show The Office. The funny business begins when Simon Foster, British Secretary of State for International Development is interviewed on a prime-time newscast. Although he is anti-war, he accidentally gives the impression that he is pro-war by stating that "war is unforeseeable". This draws the attention of Britain's foul-mouthed Communications Chief, Malcolm Tucker who ridicules Simon for such a statement. Meanwhile, a few American politicians take an interest in Simon for his outward statement which buys Simon and his new aide tickets to Washington D.C. to further discuss the matter. While in America, they meet politicians who are for and against the war, their young ladder climbing aides, and even a General (James Gandolfini) who opposes the idea of going to war. The film's clever writing reduces the important issues at hand into immature silliness, all the while making a very loud statement. If you like witty humor, hysterical one liners, and political goofiness with a flavor of The Office, check this one out because it has it all!
Ry's Rating B+

If this movie had parents they would be: Dr. Strangleove & The Office

With a runtime of 104 minutes

This film is rated R

Harry Potter 6

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: This is the darkest, most mature Potter film that we have ever seen. At the same time it also manages to be the funniest film of the series. The gang is back for their sixth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry - all of them another year older, all of them entering adolescence. The innocent feelings of first love supply a lot of the humor. More importantly, these feelings cast an emotional shadow on the characters that was not prevalent in the past. This helps us relate to them on a new level. Each Potter film seems to hit the jackpot when it comes to introducing a new character to the series. Professor Slughorn played by the brilliant Jim Broadbent is no exception. In fact, I would say he steals the screen for the first two-thirds of the movie. The special effects that bring this magical world to life are done so effortlessly, that in a way, you don't even notice them. From start to finish, the movie is just beautiful to look at. The one thing that hinders this chapter is that the storyline is primarily used to "set-up" the final film. Although Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend plenty of time together, the final quest of the movie detours from the series theme of "teamwork" and focuses only on Harry (and Dumbledore). This final quest also seemed to just pop-up and did not relate enough to the rest of the movie. Ultimately, the film does succeed with its goal - anticipation for movie # 7 - I can't wait!!!

Ry's Rating: B

If this movie had parents they would be: The Empire Strikes Back & Harry Potter 1-5

With a runtime of 156 minutes

This film is rated PG