On Tarentino

Honestly, I am of two minds on Mr. Tarentino. I LOVE Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2 and From Dusk Till Dawn. I HATE Jackie Brown and Death Proof. I also happen to love the brilliantly claustrophobic two-part episode of C.S.I. he directed.

Which is why I am torn about seeing his latest, Inglorious Basterds, starring Brad Pitt. First, there's that horrible spelling. Then there's the plot itself: A group of Jewish-American soldiers infiltrate France during during WWII with one objective: to kill Nazis. Not that I am saying that killing Nazis is a bad thing. It just seems even more exploitative than even the worst of his films, as evidenced by the trailer, here:

Is it me, or does this seem like a movie whose sole purpose is to show graphic violence for the sake of graphic violence? Unlike many bloggers, I have no problem with the presence of Eli Roth (director of one of my favorite hilarious horror movies, Cabin Fever). And I certainly am not against the killing of Nazis (though many Nazis were forced to be so). I just can't get past this line: "Each and every man under my command owes me one-hundred Nazi scalps."

Yikes!

I will probably see Inglorious Basterds and my companion(s) may watch it through their fingers, but I can't promise that I will like it. Then again, Tarentino may fool me and make yet another brilliant film. My hope is that he does.

More, anon.
Prospero.