Mac Thinks the Basterds is the Beloved Son

EIMER NOTE: With the Academy Award nominations announced early this week, my buddy Mac, who has contributed reviews for such movies as The Wrestler, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, sent me an note about his admiration for Quentin Tarantino's latest opus Inglourious Basterds. So without further adieu...

The very last line of Quentin Tarantino's latest film Inglourious Basterds has Brad Pitt saying: "This just might be my masterpiece." Now, whether Quentin is trying to say something or not is not for me to decide. But I will say, in my own opinion, that 'Inglorious Basterds' is Tarantino's best movie since 'Pulp Fiction'.

Like many of Tarantino's movies, Basterds has a killer opening scene. But this one is set in Nazi occupied France in the early years of the WWII. Christoph Waltz plays 'The Jew Hunter', a nazi colonial ordered to find all the jews in France. It's his dialogue and his mannerisms that really give the opening scene the intense juice that it has and really paves the way for the rest of the film.

The Basterds themselves are not in as many scenes as who might think given the film's title. Brad Pitt might be badly miscast as LT. Aldo Raine but he makes the most out of it and his scenes in the end of the movie are hilarious. As a matter of fact, all the American performances pale in comparison to all the European ones during the movie. Diane Kruger is really enjoyable to watch as Bridgett VonHammersmark. The Austrian actress is deeply involved in a developing plot with the Basterds to blow up a movie theater that will have Hitler and his top officers inside, watching the
newest Nazi propaganda movie with it's star soldier playing himself.

Melanie Laurent is also memerable as the young theater owner who has her own plans for the Nazis. Keep in mind that Tarantino is rewriting war history with this movie because what they do to Hitler and the boys can only be concieved from some jewish wet dream.

But is sure is fun as hell to watch.

Inglourious Basterds has been nominated for 8 oscars. Christoph Waltz will be winning one of them for sure. But also watch out for Best Picture. There are many members of the academy who are jewish. They might not want to see James Cameron up at the podium with his new 'Jeff Daniels' haircut saying something like he's 'King of the world' again.

EIMER NOTE: Thanks Mac. I tend to agree. However, after seeing The Hurt Locker, I think the Academy will want to make history by giving best director, followed by Best Picture, honors to a female Kathryn Bigelow - a first for director in the Academy's existence. Hey, it's politics.

Although the Academy may pull an 'Ang Lee' and give Bigelow Best Director for Locker and ex-husband James Cameron Best Picture honors for Avatar.

However, wouldn't it be cool if Basterds knocked 'em all dead?

Hey Entertainment Weekly...Fuck You!

EIMER NOTE: My buddy Mac opened up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly to the title: THE TROUBLE WITH THE OSCARS. That said, he didn't seem too happy with what the magazine had to say. I haven't personally read the article, but I think Mac's got some great points in the following diatribe against the article. Enjoy...

I don't know if anyone has seen the latest edition of Entertainment Weekly, but at first glance it looked like a nice recap of the Oscars.

But the cover read: THE TROUBLE WITH THE OSCARS.

What the fuck?

They totally pissed on the Academy Awards because it had the lowest television ratings in history and they said it was boring because none of movies nominated (save JUNO) made a lot of money at the box office.

Do you know how bad this pisses me off?

First of all, I thought this years' Oscars were as good as ever.

Jon Stewart is one of my favorite Oscar hosts. Plus, the movies nominated this year were fuckin' good!

It's not the Academy's fault that the general public doesn't always go see the BEST MOVIES out there. The best thing about the Oscars is that it helps those movies that don't make a lot of money get more attention.

So, just because the Oscars had lower ratings doesn't mean the show was a disaster. It really doesn't mean shit! Besides advertisers, who gives a 'squirt of piss' what the fucking tv ratings were anyway. Not the true film fans. Which, by the way, is who the Oscars were created for.

People need to know this: TV is a Cancer on movies. If movies follow a direction dictated by television, then terminal illness for movies will follow. There are two different type of people: Movie people and TV people. Sometimes TV people think that they are movie people because they watch movies on television.

V people think that if a movie doesn't make a lot of money at the box office, it must not be any good and they can't understand why these movies get nominated over the ones that make the most money. They have another award show for that and it's called the fuckin' People's Choice Awards! AND NO MOVIE PERSON WATCHES THAT!!!

At least no one with any self diginity.

Entertainment Weekly's first suggestion to the Academy was to nominate more popular movies.

Does anyone know how fucking stupid that is?!

I almost cancelled my subscripttion right then. I don't think Enteratainment Weekly should be giving any lectures to the Academy. I had no idea the egos at that magazine have inflated that much in eighteen years. I have faith in the Academy that they will never nominate movies based soley on box office numbers.

So, I have only one thing to say to Entertainment Weekly and to all the TV people out there who don't know shit about movies and will continue to say terrible things about the Oscars:

DON'T FUCKIN' WATCH THEM YOU STUPID ASSHOLES!

I'LL DRINK YOUR FUCKIN' MILKSHAKE!

Milan A. Cargould

EIMER NOTE: Thanks for the post. I couldn't have said it better myself, Mac. And you know how much I love to use the word fuck! I think people (creative people) get into the movie industry with hopes to scratch their creative itch and tell a good fucking story. And you would hope they've seen all the great classics as well. I think as long as there are 'dreamers' and 'movie lovers' in the world, there will continue to be great films. Great thinking person's films. And that's what I think the Academy Awards continue to do...celebrate substance over splash. Either that, or we're going to turn into the movie Idiocracy and go to the movies to watch a big ass fart for two hours.