Good news! The wait for the new Quentin Taratino film is over. Supposedly, Tarantino came up with the idea for Inglorious Basterds during the production of Pulp Fiction and spent over a decade writing the script alone. Once quoted as saying he became “too precious about the page”, he apparently became obsessed while writing it, feeling forced to ensure it was his masterpiece.
The set’s an alternate history of World War II, in Nazi occupied France. The Basterds are an elite, secret group of Jewish-American Soldiers whose main duty is to brutally kill and scalp as many Nazis as possible. Although Brad Pitt stars as the fearless, ruthless leader of the Basterds, it’s the Austrian actor, Christopher Waltz (relatively unknown previously, but already generating some Oscar buzz) who steals the film. Waltz plays the villainous yet uncomfortably likable Colonel Hans Landa – a gutless and emotionless top-ranking Nazi officer, eloquent in four languages.
With Inglorious Basterds, remind yourself of two things: firstly, that it isn’t a historical film; secondly, that it’s Tarantino’s. Fast-paced throughout, it deals with revenge whilst managing to remain without a moral. It seems Tarantino’s paid homage to other films of the genre, while mocking others, and has produced a satire, not a comedy – don’t worry, though, you’ll laugh out loud.
Heavy in both style and substance, rich in dialogue and with a great soundtrack, overall, it’s got it all. It’s definitely worth a watch and is, I’d say, one of the best films of the year so far.
Final Destination 3D
Ah, that familiar tale – boy has a great life, boy has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events leads to the brutal killing of his friends and, eventually, himself. On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O’Bannon comes out of this grisly nightmare and panics, persuading his nearest and dearest to flee the scene, escaping seconds before the terrible vision becomes a reality. Thinking they’ve cheated death, the group have a new lease of life; unfortunately, though, it seems it’s only the beginning. Opens September 10th
The Haunting in Connecticut
In the tradition of real-life horror classics like The Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Haunting in Connecticut recounts the true story of one family’s supernatural ordeal. When the Campbells’ son Matt is diagnosed with cancer, they uproot to Connecticut in aid of his treatment. As they settle into their new home, Matt grows increasingly disturbed by the paranormal activity that seems to inhabit the house. At a loss to help her freaked-out family, his mother turns to an enigmatic priest who appears to rid the house of its ghosts – until Matt’s condition takes a sudden and unexplained turn for the worse. Opens September 10th
Los Abrazos rotos
A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. The victim of a brutal car accident fourteen years ago, not only did he lose his sight, but also the woman he loved, Lena (Penelope Cruz). After the accident, the writer and director assumes the permanent identity of his pseudonym, preferring to live with the thought that his real identity died along with his lost love. When his former self has all but dissolved, though, one night prompts the telling of his past under the guise of fiction; what results is painful autobiography. In Spanish with Hungarian subtitles. Opens September 24th
District 9
A group of aliens have become earth-based refugees, based in South Africa’s District 9.
Their management’s been contracted out to MNU, a private company interested in anything but their welfare and for whom making their powerful weaponry work (activation requires alien DNA) means mega profit. So far, they’ve failed. An MNU field operative contracts an alien virus that begins changing his DNA, though, and he quickly becomes the most hunted and most valuable man in the world… Pre-premier screening September 20th – for MOZIkártya (Cinema Card) holders only. Opens September 24th