What I liked:
I like the music. I like the camera angles and the way Tarantino sets his scenes --the opening cabin shots inside and out -- there's great tension in these moments... I like the way he frames his story in chapters... The acting. I thought that the Nazi Hunter as played by ?? was well done. He was marvelous in his role. Brad Pitt was, well, he was "something else." It hurt a bit to watch but he did do a good job. I loved the women in this film the best. Chapter three -- She's spunky. In chapter five I love the way Tarantino points out the various Nazi figures with arrows! (not the bow and arrows... the directional sort) That's a bingo! also struck me as a GREAT bit of dialogue. Many such moments in the film entertained and their clever construction made me smile.
What I didn't like:
The violence and the shameless glorification of violence. Chapter two was HORRIBLY bloody... more than I can handle though it wasn't that way through the entire film, there was enough gore to turn my stomach when it did occur. I know, I know, I was warned. It is Tarantino. (Hello, Kill Bill???) Chapter four got a bit bloody again. Sloppy, sloppy.
I didn't ponder all this quite so deeply as I watched the film but in a discussion after, this idea rose to the surface. It seems that the sort of behavior we are meant to be cheering for is the ruthless antics of the Basterds. In reality, Brad Pitt's LT. Aldo Raine should have been tried for war crimes. This revisionist history might be fun for some, since we know the fullness of evil and the crimes perpetrated by Hitler and his men, but since when is terrorism (which is more of less the Basterd approach with the theatre plans) that takes out innocent men and women an okay thing? While I hesitate to say this, it would seem that the only true hero of the film was the young Nazi Pvt. Fredrich Voller in that he did a good and brave thing for his army and as much as he and everyone seemed to glory in that he did seem to squirm plenty when he watched it reenacted on screen. I could sympathize with Soshanna Dreyfus in her desire for vengeance but watching her final creepy film message just made it all seem a bit over the top. Overall, I wonder at Tarantino and what message he THOUGHT he was sending.
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