'Inglorious Basterds' Review

Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/inglourious-basterds/36184/main

>>>>Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to have the balls to make a WWII movie that's part fact and a lot of fiction, and includes a soundtrack with songs from during AND after the war. How he managed to include David Bowie's 'Cat People' (the long/movie version) is a feat beyond my understanding. The song clashes with the time frame but somehow it works here.
Brad Pitt plays a lieutenant with a strong Southern accent that's been criticized in some reviews but this also works to his advantage and promotes a lot of laughs, especially when he's trying to talk Italian. Pitt's detractors should be won over by this amusing performance as he's really gets into into the spirited highjinks of the plot. He leads a group of Jewish soldiers behind enemy lines whose purpose is to revenge themselves against Nazis who have killed Jews. There's some barbaric treatment of the Nazis but history tells us they deserved it so here we sympathize with our soldiers. Think of The Dirty Dozen which this film resembles the closest but only dirtier in their tactics.
>>>>The nastiest of the Nazis is the most charming character in the film. Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, unknown in this country, steals the movie as Colonel Hans Landa. known as the Jew Hunter for his skills in hunting his enemies. He's funny, witty, urbane, and oozing with continental panache but deadly like a coiled rattlesnake ready to strike its prey. And he does strike those caught in his interrogation-like web. Pitt is no match for his tactics or so we think but that's for you to learn. The rest of the cast offer good performances in line with demands of the plot.
>>>Tarantino is a movie buff and there's lots of references to German movies and movie stars of the time. I've a strong interest in this era so that added more interest for me. As much as he grounds the plot with a historical look with decor and costumes, he takes a lot of liberties using famous people from that era. He's also plays with the music score as noted above. There's bits of Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western scores and uses a song from The Alamo. For Tarantino, all this works for him since he warns us at the film's beginning with 'Once upon a time...' Does it work for us? That's for you to decide. If you like your WWII movies with John Wayne, you will be appalled by some of this movie. if you're a Tarantino fan, you know what to expect: Violence, sharp dialogue, offbeat humor and plenty of all three. The title refers to a misspelling of an Italian film similar to this one, another Tarantino in-joke.
>>>>The movie is about two and half hours so you get plenty of bang for your buck. Or bangs considering the amount of gunfire and explosions throughout the course of the story. Tarantino dares to rewrite history by ending the film the way we wished WWII to happen. Yes he's got balls and he knows how to work an audience willing to go the extra mile with him.