Inglourious Basterds Review: Bloody Good
Friday, August 21, 2009
Brad Pitt
The Inglourious Basterds are sent into occupied France to “kill Nazis”, and killing is what they do; along with everyone else in the movie. Quirky dialogue, multi-dimensional characters, and special attention to the aesthetics wraps the audience in a unique movie-going experience.
Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) assembles a team of Jewish-American soldiers called the Inglourious Basterds, to be dropped into France to commit guerilla attacks on Nazis. In nearby France, perfectly mannered, linguistic master Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Watlz) has been tasked with seeking out and exterminating all of the Jews left in France. It is in this roll that Shosana Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) meets Colonel Landa. It is the crush German war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) has on Shosana that throws all the characters together in a horrific series of events that only war can justify.
The first ten minutes of Inglourious Basterds will rile even the most stoic. It’s calm dialogue and sparkling appearance drives the overall tension to an almost unmanageable level. By the end of the first scene, I was confused about the morality of the situation, angry at almost all involved, and had given myself sore arms from clenching my fists. Tarantino pulled his line and I was hooked.
There is no shortage of dark in Inglourious Basterds. People get their faces blown off, Wild West techniques of enemy torture are used, and historic sore spots are poked with pointy emotion sticks. Even though scenes erupt into violence with notice and foreshadowing, a gasp could be heard from across the audience. Writer-director Quentin Tarantino doesn’t shy away from exaggerated, unflinching expositions of violence.
Col. Hans Landa, played by Christoph Waltz, is repugnant, ruthless and vicious. His dialogue is frighteningly elegant, and is nearly always disturbingly calm. Yet, every time he is on screen, there is yet another reason to admire him. This adoration left me feeling dirty and a bit disgusted with myself. There is nothing more disturbing than finding something commendable in a character you want so badly to condemn.
Landa, Raine, The Inglourious Basterds, Shosana and Zoller are woven into each other’s lives one string at a time. It isn’t until about halfway through the movie that the audience really understand the scope of their relationship and its consequences. It isn’t until the end of the movie that the true nature of all of the characters is confirmed.
Inglourious Basterds’ cinematography makes it almost possible to smell the blood and perfume. It’s easy to feel like you are actually in the presence of evil or beauty when the camera refuses to look away from the violence or glamour. There is a ruthless use of angles, lighting and shadow to create a world almost impossible to escape.
The graphic depictions of violence might be difficult for many thinner skinned people to handle without complaint. Still, the depth of character, quirky interactions and stunning visuals might win over many people who would otherwise be put off by the violence.
Inglourious Basterds’ unmistakable visual style, off-kilter dialogue, unfolding story line and violence is a feast and an embrace of our savage nature.
Ramazan/Ramadan
New Delhi: The Holy Month of Ramadan will begin in India from Sunday, August 23, 2009. However, the United Arab Emirates has announced Saturday as the first day of Ramadan.
Ramadan, also known as Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan, Ramdan, Ramadaan, is an Islamic religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
The Muslims observe a month-long fast during this period. During this period Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, sexual activities, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until sunset.
The holy month of Ramadan ends with Eid ul-Fitr.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia observed sunset prayer to mark the begning of Holy Month Ramadan.
$1600 QLOCKTWO Might Be World's Strangest Clock
Priced at a hefty $1600, the crossword puzzle-inspired QLOCKTWO just might be the world's strangest clock. Rather than numbers, it uses words to display the time. Video after the break.
Biergert & Funk handmake this one, called the QLOCKTWO, with both German and English language faces -- and there lots of color options.
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Usain Bolt aims for knighthood after smashing 200 metres world record
Usain Bolt (Pic:Getty)
Usain Bolt set himself a new goal of being knighted by the Queen after completing a sensational world record sprint double in Berlin last night.
Just as he had at the Beijing Olympics, Lightning struck for the second time in four days to add 200 metres gold to his astonishing 100m title.
After chopping 0.11 seconds off his previous mark to win in 19.19sec he targeted a hat-trick of world records in the 4x100m relay – and a knighthood.
“It would be a great thing for Queen Elizabeth to knight me and for me to get the title Sir Usain Bolt,” said the Jamaican, who is 23 today.
“That would be wonderful – it sounds very nice.”
Bolt romped home almost 10 metres ahead of runner-up Alonso Edward and said: “I’ve definitely showed people that my world records in Beijing were not a joke.
“I have showed people what can be achieved with hard work and dedication. I am ready for another world record with our relay – but I don’t know whether my team-mates are.”
Bolt’s 19.19secs gave him gold by almost 10 metres – despite the first five men all going under 20 seconds.
“I can definitely say I didn’t expect it,” he said. “I was tired but thought, ‘What the heck, let’s try’.
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“I wasn’t running upright, it wasn’t a good race, but it was a fast one. Now I’m really tired. Next time perhaps I shall just run the 100m or 200m alone.”
In the space of a year and four days Bolt has won five major championship gold medals – all of them in world-record times.
“Unbelievable – a ridiculous race,” gasped the watching Michael Johnson. “No one has ever run a bend like this. It was the most incredible bend ever.”
Hadn’t Bolt said he was exhausted after his 100m exertions and under-prepared due to foot injuries from his May car crash which had limited his curve running in training?
What about the false start by Frenchman David Alerte that made gambling on a flier too risky? Surely his Beijing world record, set on a faster track and without any showboating, was safe.
Wrong, wrong and wrong again.
Maybe he took strength from Johnson’s pre-race declaration that: “There is no one like him, there has never been anyone like him. He has to be the greatest ever at this point.” And who’s going to argue with that?
Certainly not Panama’s Edward who finished second, nor Wallace Spearmon who took bronze. Probably not even Tyson Gay who was ruled out of the event through injury.
The best performance by a Brit yesterday was a close run contest between Will Sharman, who set a personal best to finish fourth in the 110m hurdles, and long-jumper Greg Rutherford, who set an 8.3m British record to qualify second for the long jump final.
Emily Freeman ran the fastest race of her life (22.64sec) to become the first British woman to make the World 200m final for 26 years, while Mo Farah was third quickest into Sunday’s 5000m final.
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