Inglourious Basterds

Impressions before seeing it
I'm not usually into war movies, but I love Tarantino's work.

How was it?
Lucky for me, this wasn't really a war movie so much as a movie that takes place during the war. And in addition to that it is also a fictionalized history because if you know even a little about World War II you will come to realize upon watching Inglourious Basterds that, although some of the characters were real people, most of the events (if any) never happened.

But that does not subtract from the film at all. The events within should not be noted as "historical inaccuracies" because it's not a historical film, it is more like a fantasy that takes place during a real time.

If you read my post on The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, you'll remember me saying that I hate Nazis, and that's why I loved the concept here: a group of Jewish soldiers on a mission to kill as many Nazis as they can. Counter-genocide for the win! I also like the idea of them carving swastikas into the foreheads of their survivors, because this is another turning-the-tables thing. I understand that Nazis and other racists used to do that to their victims as a sort of calling card, a proud logo of sorts, but in Inglourious Basterds it is used as an icon of shame because these guys have to walk around for the rest of their lives with what is essentially "I'm a douchebag" written on their foreheads.

Speaking of douchebags, Christoph Waltz gave one of the best performances in the film as a slimy Nazi officer. I like that the villain of the film was not Hitler. Not that Hitler isn't a villian, but it's just such an easy and obvious choice to make Hitler the bad guy in a Nazi film, as if he's the only evil one. Anyway, Waltz excellently brought tension to every scene he was in, because his presence just screamed of danger and power and you never knew what he was going to do to whoever else was in the room with him.

I was also impressed with Diane Kruger's performance as a '40's actress, bringing class and a bit of ferocity to the role, along with a German accent (although she is German so I suppose that was easy for her). However I was not impressed with Brad Pitt's performance. It wasn't terrible I guess, he was passable, but his southern accent felt exaggerated (compared to Benjamin Button at least) and his entire performance had an air of trying to be a character in a comedy sketch.

Recommendation
For a 2.5 hour movie, it's so much fun that it feels shorter than that. See it if you love scenes saturated with tension, quotable but borderline cheesy lines, or just Tarantino films in general.