Inglourious Basterds

Starring Brad Pitt, Christopher Waltz and Dr Evil

Nazi occupied farmland in France sets the tone in the opening chapter of Tarentinos latest opus and perhaps I'm being too generous here but this opening sequence has maybe the finest piece of acting to grace the big screen all year. Christopher Waltz plays the "Jew hunter" and he has been sent to remote farms and country homesteads to more or less go over the area with a fine tooth comb in an effort to flush out any Jews that had by chance slipped through the cracks or escaped during the first raid of that particular region. Denis Menochet (a fantastic French actor) plays a simple farmer with three very lovely daughters who from his fields notices the Nazis approaching from afar and he then quietly alerts his daughters and instructs them to follow his lead as he awaits his most unwelcome of guests.
Suspected of harbouring Jews the "hunter" begins a haunting interview with our simple farmer. What follows is indeed one of the more memorable scenes in all of Tarentino's vast body of work.
Yes, there is ridiculous violence and yes there are somewhat humorous moments as are often found in Quentins movies but all that aside, it is the acting from the lesser known actors in this film that really keep it above average. Brad Pitt is barely in this and that's fine by me. He wasn't terrible by any stretch but the one note performance wasn't his Citizen Kane. And Mike Meyers???? Playing an English officer complete with his god awful accent was completely unnecessary. Meyers is another super talented actor when in his own element but the accent that we have come to know and love from all of his comedies seems absolutely out of place during his supposedly serious scene. If it were cut from the film you wouldn't even notice, it does nothing to move things along and its an unfortunate speed bump.
Another small celebrity complaint for me was the use of some former Tarentino alums lending their voices to some scenes. I don't want to be wrapped up in a well told story and then here a voice over on the radio or narrating a scene and then think to myself hey, that's Samuel L Jackson!! Or have someone in the crowd say "Harvey Keitel?" Good for them getting a bone thrown in their direction and all, but again, unnecessary.
These minor complaints aside, its long, its exciting, its graphic and some scenes will be remembered for generations to come.
Look for a welcome Academy surprise in a nomination this year for Christopher Waltz or at the very least the good old Golden Globe.

Rating 3 glasses of milk out of 5