Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

NIGHT 23

     "Because I'm a dhampir. I don't get to have a life, not like you."

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000) [バンパイアハンターD] is a Japanese horror OVA anime loosely based on the third novella of the Vampire Hunter D series, D - Demon Deathchase written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. This is the second film based on the novellas, following Vampire Hunter D (1985). This film was directed by Yoshiaki Kawaijiri and produced by Madhouse inc.

When a young woman named Charlotte is abducted by a vampire noble, her father hires the vampire hunter D to bring her back or kill her. Charlotte's brother also hires a group of hunters known as the Marcus brothers. These two hunter teams race to win the bounty but sometimes things aren't as simple as they seem.

I'm not a big fan of the Marcus brothers in this film. They're fine, they're far better than half the characters in the previous film. But they get a lot of screen time and I'm not sure why I should care about them at all, really. The film uses Leila quite a bit to try and make you feel for these characters and she's done better than the others, but just having her as an emotional character doesn't make you care at all when her friends die.

The other good thing about this film is it really works on its own! You can watch this film by itself, before the previous film or after and with or without the books and you'd be fine. Although if you have seen the previous film, it probably enhances this one because of the similar plot and themes and the reversals in this one will really surprise you.

I really like the vampire noble of this film, Meier Link. He's vicious, cool and yet still sympathetic. I love the scene early on when he goes out into the sunlight to try and protect Charlotte. This scene just says so much about this character and makes you realize that he may not be as evil as you were originally led to believe.

Also gotta mention how much I love the score of this film. It's super chilling and very much has a "classical" vampire feel to it and in this world of reinvented vampires and post-apocalyptic ghouls it's awesome to have some epic organ music over the film.

I don't understand really what was the deal with Carmila and her plot at the end, it's not that interesting or prevalent to the the rest of the cool things in this film, and I think this is supposed to be a more "dynamic" twist because the original plot kind of resolves itself in the end on its own. It also gives them a chance to talk about D's lineage but, really don't think it was necessary and just feels a bit shoe-horned in.

I love the animation in this film. Japan seems to be the only country to find a good way to integrate a combination of CG and traditional animation and have it really work well. This film is absolutely beautiful and the less traditional "anime style" really helps a lot.

Bloodlust creates a beautiful enhancement of the world I loved so much in the previous film. This film seems like they took more from Yoshitaka Amano's original designs and illustrations and the darks seem darker, the evil seems more evil. Of course the budget was of course way higher in this film, so that helps. But I love the opening scene of this film with the vampire carriage rolling into town with lights flickering out and crosses bending, and time seeming like it stops. It's directly out of the books, and a really successful effect that just draws you in to this world from the very beginning.

I also love the story of this one, it's a very simple premise and yet full of interesting twists and turns along the way. It also makes for a great follow-up to the previous film because the story is unexpectedly different situation than the likewise vampire-courted human in that story. And I love the simple little things that this film does with time, because D doesn't age. It's very simply done and not too much of a focus.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000) is one of the higher budget anime films, enhanced by the simple yet interesting story. It'd be hard not to recommend this one.

4/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




Tune in tomorrow on the 31 Nights of Macabre Movies as we're going to change gears a bit and switch to yet another horror sub-genre!

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

NIGHT 22

     "What a wonderful night this has been! For the first time in one hundred years I haven't been bored once!"

Vampire Hunter D (1985) [バンパイアハンターD] is a Japanese horror OVA anime based on the novella of the same name written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. This film was one of the first anime films to be released outside of Japan and still today is considered a cult classic.

Farmer, orphan and outsider Doris takes care of her brother Dan. Unfortunately for her she is courted by a nearby Aristocrat Vampire Lord, she then hires a Vampire Hunter named D to protect her and her brother Dan.

I've seen this film many times over the years but I only recently read the novella. It's very interesting to me to see how close of a direct adaptation this film actually is. There's a lot of really weird things in this film that are actually described in greater detail or explained in the book, but if you're just watching the film on it's own you'd (like the rest of America) just assume it's some more of that crazy and weird Japanese anime stuff. It's very clear after reading the novella that the creators of this film really poured over the source material in attempt to make it as truthful as possible to the original work. To the point of even just taking lots of lines of dialogue directly out of the book This doesn't always work though because some of the stuff like the "Time-Betwitching Incense," which kind of comes out of nowhere with no explanation and is a major plot point to foiling the Nobles' plans.

The most unfortunate thing about following the book too closely is the film doesn't actually feel like the characters are struggling though most of it. It really just like the characters are going through the motions as they follow the events from the book. For example, I don't buy the parts where D is trying to teach Dan to be a man at all. There's definitely something lost in the translation to the screen. And this is something I noticed before I ever read the book!

The film changes some of the characters from the book, for far worse. I really have always disliked the Rei Ginsei character. I think he's kind of a stupid character and a dumb villain. But then you read the book your realize he was actually kind of really cool, but in order to simplify the story they completely altered his character! One of the coolest things about the book is it's just not black and white, Good vs. Evil there's a lot of "gray parties" involved to the conflict! I also disliked the changes to the Count's daughter, Ramica. I understand they were trying to make her closer to D's character and show a way that D could live if he chose to do so. But the romantic interest between them in the novel worked perfectly I don't see any reason to change it.

Like lots of early Japanese anime films this one is overly sexual and violently graphic. Characters have breasts just fly out for really no reason, and multiple characters explode in a spay of guts and blood. Of course this is one of the things that set Japanese animation apart from the rest of the world's animation so I can't really hate on it too much.

I love the world of Vampire Hunter D, what other series beautifully blends the western, horror and sci-fi genres? Yes, a lot of this credit is due to the novels and the imagination of Hideyuki Kikuchi, but also this film does a great job at interpreting this world and bringing it to the screen with its own creativity and imagination. I love the scenes inside the Count's castle with all the crazy looking creatures and monsters in D's way, and although the costumes are very 80s', you must admit they're very original. The film also has a nice way of taking time to show you the world (especially early on in the film) and really let you take it all in, and lets you breathe in and marvel at the world rather than quickly moving on like most films would.

I can highly recommend the book, because it's really good on its own and will help you understand a lot of the random stuff that you're not going to understand and kind of just happens in this film if you watch the film cold. But be warned it will also make you dislike a lot of the changes they made in adapting the story.

It's easy to see why Vampire Hunter D (1985) was such a popular introduction to Japanese anime. Even today it's weird, interesting and yet very cool. It's kind of a double edged sword with reading the novella though.

3/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




Tomorrow on the 31 Nights of Macabre Movies we'll look at the loose sequel to this film, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000).

Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Django (1966)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

FINAL DAY: Django (1966)

Quentin Tarantino has said that his most recent film Django Unchained (2012) is a tribute to the work of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, the second being the director of this film. When Django came out it was a smash hit and supposedly has over 40 unofficial sequels or spin offs and Tarantino has said that his film is continuing in that tradition. The main character is named Django (obviously) as a tribute to this film, and the soundtrack borrows 5 songs from this film including it's title song, "Django." And Franco Nero, the original Django makes a small but awesome cameo in that film. Quentin Tarantino also lists this film, third in his top 10 spaghetti westerns only behind the second two films of The Dollars Trilogy(thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives).

Well, that's it for the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans. I hope you enjoyed yourself and learned something new, I know I did!

"I've got all the help I need."

Django is an Italian-Spanish spaghetti western by director Sergio Corbucci. The film is set after the American Civil War, when a mysterious drifter rolls into a Southern town dragging a coffin he finds himself caught in a war between a racist ex-Confederate army and a band of Mexican revolutionaries, but he'll find he actually has history with both sides.

[This review will focus on the English-dubbed release that was released in the U.S.]

The characters and actors in this film are all surprisingly decent in this film. I found them all interesting and believable. I especially liked the introduction of the Southerner, Major Jackson who captures Mexican soldiers just to let them run free one at a time then use them as target practice. That really sets up a great antagonist that you really hate right out.

As you would expect, the dub is pretty bad for this film.

I didn't care for the "romance" of this film, luckily it wasn't focused on too much. But I need to see the original, because it's possible that the dubbed dialogue might be at fault for a majority of this. I felt like I understood what they were trying to do but it just wasn't as effective as it could have been. As it is now it seems really sloppy and corny.

I really can see why the character Django (and this film) has over 40 unofficial spin offs. The character is just really cool. He's an former Union soldier who has become a drifter and drags a coffin behind him through the mud, and I love how throughout the film people keep guessing why he has a coffin too; Asking if he's an undertaker, a coffin-maker, if there is someone inside or he's carrying it around for himself. And I'm glad the contents of the coffin weren't saved until the climax of the film either because I was told what it was when I first heard about the film [i.e. I'm glad it wasn't saved for the end like the twists of Planet of the Apes (1968) or Soylent Green (1973)]. And Franco Nero really blew me away too, apparently Sergio Corbucci found him working at a gas station and then turned him into an international star! He's got a great face, really awesome blue eyes and his acting in this film seems like a cool cross between the nonchalant Man with no Name character by Clint Eastwood and the typically righteous John Wayne character.

I like Luis Bacalov's score a lot in this film, his scores are not as often parodied or referenced as Ennio Morricone's work but they're just as effective, exciting and powerful.

I really enjoyed the direction of this film. The staging of all the action is really well placed, the cinematography is really simple and straightforward but very effective. I like how the Corbucci would really speed up the cuts during the intense action sequences so that you think you see more than you do. This is also double effective in the gory or bloody scenes where your mind just fills in the blanks and covers for anything you didn't actually see.

The world of this film is very original. How come in all the westerns I've seen I've never seen a western town after the rain so that the characters are just trudging through thick mud? I love the cloudy, overcast, abandoned and beat-up town that a majority of this film takes place in. It looks so much more "real" than all the American westerns, it really shows great thought (whether or not the mud was actually intentional or not!).

The story of this film is really great too. I like how this film kind of sneakily deals with the American Civil War and things that would have been relevant during this time without being too overt about it, the Klan substitute is a perfect example of this. I love all the twists and turns the story takes along the way, it's very original and clever and it just makes you feel so good afterwards. It really is an exciting film.

Django (1966) is a unique take on the western that's really exciting and at the same time very cool. Highly recommend. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!

Check out this original minimalist poster design I did for this film, click through to buy prints/posters etc. OR check out other movie posters I designed here. :)

This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

And that's it for the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown thanks for reading!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list and there's no particular order to these either. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 7: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is Quentin Tarantino's favorite film of all time and he even goes so far as to call it "the greatest achievement in the history of cinema." He's put tiny references to this film in his movies throughout his career: The memorable scene in Pulp Fiction (1994) where Samuel L. Jackson eats a guy's food to intimidate him before he kills him is lifted from the introduction of Angel Eyes in this film, the opening shot of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) is a tribute to a shot in this film where Blondie is lying almost dead from dehydration in the desert and Tuco has his gun to his head (there's a screenshot comparison here thanks to The Quentin Tarantino Archives), and Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds (2009) picks a can of snuff off of a dead soldier and uses it just like Tuco does in this film. This film also is thought to have originated the Mexican standoff, which is one of Quentin Tarantino's film trademarks.

“Every gun makes its own tune.”

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good, the Ugly, the Bad] (1966) known in the U.S. as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is an Italian spaghetti western from director Sergio Leone. This film is the third in a loose trilogy known as The Dollars Trilogy along with A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), however this film takes place during the American Civil War which would make this film a prequel to the other two. This film is about three men: The Man with No Name, known here as "Blondie"(the Good), Angel Eyes (the Bad), and Tuco (the Ugly) who are trying to out smart each other to get to a 200,000 dollar confederate treasure.

[This review is of the original full Italian version of the film which runs about 175 minutes long]

I really like how simple and straightforward the story is, this allows for a lot of time with the characters and lets them pull the story forward rather than random outside events. I also like how despite not liking each other and trying to lose each other Blondie and Tuco constantly find they have to team up together throughout the course of this film to accomplish their own goals, this adds a very interesting dynamic of mistrust and humor to the film.

This film has some pacing issues, probably the worst part is how lengthy the first half of the film feels. I think this is because the antagonist, Angel Eyes is absent from the film for a good hour before returning at about the halfway point, and also it's not until about 40+ minutes into the movie that you find out that there is a treasure!

This film is packed full of great ideas: I like how Tuco, straight out of being stranded in the desert, is able to hold up an old gun shop owner; I like how Tuco is able to track Blondie by puffing on his cigarillo butts to see how close he is; I like the torture scene while the Union army is playing music; and I love how this film is set during the American Civil War. The idea of three gunmen who could careless about the war going on in the background is such a great idea, it really sets this film apart from the other two. And the part near the end where Blondie and Tuco run into a drunken Union Captain who is just so sick of the war might be the greatest single part of this film.

I really like the characters in this film. This film even gives a little more of a backstory to the Man with No Name and really gives him all the coolest moments in the film. Lee Van Cleef returns in this film playing a different (but just as cool) character called Angel Eyes. I also like how Tuco works not only as the comic relief for the film but can be very villainous in his own right, the introduction of his brother, who he hadn't seen in 9 years, really adds a lot of depth to the character as well more so than most Mexican comic sidekick characters in these type of films.

Ennino Morricone also returns as the composer for this film and this score might be the best of the three films. It really adds a lot of emotion to the heartfelt scenes, excitement to the action and the very memorable theme will really get you whistling along with it.

And lastly (as usual) I really like Sergio Leone's direction in this film. The amazing cinematography combines with the great story in such a cool way. I love how much of this film is actually silent, the characters convey so much with minimal speaking parts and the English dub actually adds more unnecessary dialogue than the original Italian version does.

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly] (1966) is an epic spaghetti western film that may be the greatest Italian western ever made. Stylish, fun and cool this film isn't to be missed. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Hang 'Em High (1968)

Intro
While pouring back through all the Tarantino films recently I realized a couple things:
1) There's not that many of them. I mean he's only one guy and he pretty much only works off of his own material that he wrote... which takes time, and thus this is very understandable.
2) His films make reference other movies constantly. Now call it what you want homage, reference or just plain theft but I'm thinking that a lot of people don't catch the majority of these references to other films because frankly, we don't have the film same exposure as a young Tarantino did going to the grindhouse theater constantly in his youth or working in a video rental store. However, hypothetically with the vastness of the internet and Amazon, Netflix etc. these films should be easier to get a hold of today, if you know what you're looking for that is.

So I figured there's probably more people out there, like me, who crave more Tarantino constantly and I could showcase some films that I'd consider essential viewing for Tarantino fans. And thus the 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans was born. Now let me warn you this is in no way a comprehensive list. There's probably hundreds of films that Tarantino references in his own films, and I found enough films I could write about to probably do this series again but that will have to wait until next time there's another big Tarantino release.

DAY 2: Hang 'Em High (1968)

Hang 'Em High is an American tribute to spaghetti westerns, much like Django Unchained (2012), its a very good revenge story like half of Tarantino's films and the lead character has a "hanging scar" across his neck which I can't help but think inspired Lt. Aldo Raine's scar in Inglourious Basterds (2009).

"You don't remember me, do you? ... When you hang a man, you better look at him."

Hang 'Em High (1968) is a dark revenge western film about justice and the law directed by Ted Post and is the first film from Clint Eastwood's own production company The Malpaso Company. This film was the American attempt at a darker western like those from Italy specifically the films of Sergio Leone. The film follows Jed Cooper a former lawman who is wrongfully lynched by a mob of 9 men, somehow he survives and then he tries to bring the men who hung him to justice.

First off I gotta say how much I like Clint Eastwood in this film, he doesn't do anything too special or unique for this role but he's convincing and you really believe the changes in his views as the lines of justice muddy and right blurs pretty close to wrong. This is his first American film after returning from Italy and doing the Dollars Trilogy for director Sergio Leone, his acting choices are pretty close to the Man with No Name character down to a similar hat and smoking a similar style of cigar but this didn't bother me because of how awesome that character is and he seems to be at least slightly different in this film.

There's a lot of really interesting ideas in this film. I like how at the very beginning the film shows the Marshall who shaved Cooper from the rope, and as he's trying to pick up another criminal the guy escapes and you can visibly see him hesitate, yet all the other criminals locked up are yelling at him to shoot the criminal on the run. It's a pretty interesting scene just because of the irony, and it also sets up the power of a Marshall, which will come into play when Cooper picks up a badge. I like the idea that the hanging is a kind popular event in town which everyone seems to take really lightly and, even though her character wasn't as successful as she could have been, I like the idea of the love interest Rachel Warren checking the faces of all the criminals who come in in attempt to find the man that killed her late husband.

The music is good, it's a bit forceful at times (which can come off as hokey and humorus) but it shows a clear attempt at emulating the spaghetti western style music of Luis Bacalov and Ennio Morricone.

The film has some odd spacing issues, which leads it to feeling really drawn out during some parts then others seem very rushed. Overall I think the film could have been told more effectively in less time.

The romance of this film seems like it was a last minute idea. I don't know if there was cut scenes or what, but basically they meet then immediately they fall in love with this pretty awkward love sequence and they talk about leaving together (which admittedly is an interesting counter point) then he just decides to continue on his revenge path. I would have like to see this romance blossom a little more, because I do think they are an interesting pair together.

The camerawork in this film is very creative and inventive. There's a lot of shots in this film that caught my attention. For example, I love the shot with a bunch of feet dangling which you think are hangmen then the camera pulls up to show these are just people sitting to watch the hanging! I also love a film like this that isn't afraid to pull in really close to the actors during suspenseful moments.

I love the story of this film, along with all its interesting twists and turns. It's such an interesting premise and watching a man get hung in the opening sequence is such a great opening. Furthermore I love how this film dives in to great depth about what is revenge, what is fair justice and the faults of the law and lawmen who must carry it out. I love the couple times this film shows people who are in Cooper's eyes innocent (or at least not worthy of hanging), yet they still hang as a result of the judge's law.

Hang 'Em High (1968) isn't just a stylish attempt at copying the spaghetti westerns it's also a great look into the question of what is justice. 4.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





This film is part of my month-long Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012) and his 20-year career. If you've missed any of my reviews so far, be sure to check out his filmography and click on any film you've missed.

The 10 must-see films for Tarantino fans countdown continues tomorrow, so be sure to check back!



Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these links:

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

"Say 'auf Wiedersehen' to your Nazi balls. "

Inglourious Basterds (2009) is Quentin Tarantino’s unique WWII epic about language and revenge. The film simultaneously follows Lt. Aldo Raine and his group of Nazi hunting Jewish American soldiers called "The Basterds" and Shoshana a French Jew who barely escapes death at the hands of the Nazi SS and sees and opportunity to exact revenge on the National Socialist German Worker's Party.

I really like how Quentin Tarantino, who is known for his dialogue filled with pop culture references, uses pop culture to his advantage in this film. The characters in this film still talk about pop culture in a very Tarantino fashion, but they talk about actors, movies, music and even historical events that were important and hot topics during the time this is supposed to take place. I think this is very interesting and super smart of Tarantino, and not many other writers could actually pull something like this off in a film.

I believe this film is proof Quentin Tarantino finally settling into his own way of storytelling that works for him. This film stops with clever attempts to reinvent how to tell a film story with different formats, instead with this one he kind of makes up his own quirky way to tell a story. The majority of this film is actually straight linear storytelling, but through clever editing (and some other small tricks) Tarantino cuts away in the middle of a scene or action to explain anything further than the linear story can tell. This is evident more than anything in the sudden interrupting flashback/voice over to explain Hugo Stiglitz, the German soldier who went AWOL and killed 13 Nazi officers. It's stylish and still better than random exposition. Kill Bill (2003, 2004) did this also, to a much lesser degree actually (on top of the mixed-up-chapter nonlinear storytelling) in Volume 1 it cut away to set up a lot of the story while the Bride was trying to 'wiggle her big toe' and in Volume 2 it cut away to explain the Pai Mei flashback while she's stuck in a coffin buried alive. And now, retrospectively, I can see Django Unchained (2012) did this for all of its nonlinear cuts, essentially it's just a stylish and very streamlined way to do a flashback and relate relevant exposition or backstory.

My biggest problem with this film is it doesn't feel like one film, instead it feels like a bunch of separate incidents that are loosely connected. The film is essentially telling two different stories moving forward about about the same thing. For my taste I would have liked to see these two stories crossover more, because as it is side characters cross over and (a couple) events cross over from one story to the other but otherwise they're pretty much completely separate stories. There's actually some kind of humor in the fact that they both climb to basically the same climax and never actually cross [though I liked this better in True Romance (1993) where they actually crossed at the end,] and maybe that's what he was going for, but to me this feels incredibly like a serial TV show with a bunch of different characters moving forward and doing different things than a movie that is nicely interconnected.

Also adding to the feel of a TV show, there's too many characters in this film for my taste. This just makes it so that there's a lot of different things going on in this movie that we have to keep track of, I really didn't even appreciate how much is actually really going on in this film until subsequent viewings. Now a majority of the characters come from the fact that he's telling two separate stories, the antagonists (thankfully) carry over in both stories but each has its own set of protagonists and then halfway through we add even more with the advent of "Operation Kino." I've got to ask why the heck there's so many Basterds? It's fine we show 9 Basterds at the beginning of the film (some of which actually never do anything!), and then we add in the German Stiglitz (that's 10) and then we add the two foreign British agents in Operation Kino. I'm not a fan of useless characters or characters who's sole purpose is to die. At least why couldn't we just start with less soldiers in the Basterds to begin with? And all these protagonists are just for one story of the two in this film.

There's also a couple times the film's characters switch language kind of sloppily for convenience more than anything else. The first one is in the opening sequence, and I always find myself asking would a French dairy farmer really actually be proficient at speaking English during this time? This is somewhat excusable because it's in the very beginning of the film (where coincidences slide) and it sets up the language switching and how it will be used for the rest of the film, but I gotta wonder if it would have been easier and more historically possible if they instead switched over to German? Another time that I noticed this is in the pub shootout the German soldier Wilhelm (who is there celebrating the birth of his son) switches to English, this is solely to accommodate the fact that Aldo Raine shouldn't be able to speak anything else, and we wanted him in this scene even though he had another German-speaking Basterd up top. This convenience is pretty well swept under the rug with a "you speak English pretty well for a German soldier." and an "I know... [lets move along.]" Kinda sloppy, not going to lie but hey at least they addressed it?

When I heard the Quentin Tarantino was working on a World War II war film, I was a little disappointed. I personally don't care much for war films and just assumed this film would be a reason-less gorefest (funny how it actually turned out to be one of his tamer films gore-wise). Instead Tarantino decided to shoot the film like a spaghetti western, and I think that is simply genius. I'd never seen anything like that before, and to combine two seemingly completely different genres in one like this is (in my opinion) absolutely brilliant. Think about it, does this film seem like any other war films you've seen before? No. Tarantino used a majority of western music, had the cinematography mimic that of (primarily spaghetti) westerns, and even put in a lot of little nods to westerns story-wise like dynamite and even throwing in a very dramatic Mexican standoff! The result is very smart, interesting and super unique.

This film, like many other Tarantino films, has an absolutely amazing cast. I'm super glad that Tarantino decided to use some foreign actors in the foreign parts because Christoph Waltz really makes this film for me, I just think he's simply amazing as "the Jew hunter" Colonel Hans Landa. But Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Mélanie Laurent, Diane Kruger and Daniel Brühl all have very awesome and memorable roles in this film also, the acting is just great all around.

But my favorite thing about this film is the use of language. Unlike countless American films that use a cheap dubbing of sorts on the script level and subbing in say English in place of German (and maybe adding in an accent) when characters are in other countries, this film doesn't and as a result uses Language to build suspense for the characters in the story. This story takes place in Nazi-occupied France, there's Germans walking around in France and most of our protagonists are American, the film takes this even further by adding in British soldiers and a brief stint of Italian too as the plot develops. The film has a series of sequences (at least 3?) that are interrogations and a character's knowledge and use of language is a key factor in each of these conversations. Also the way that Tarantino masterfully divulges a little information about who knows what in each conversation adds so much suspense not only for the characters but also the viewer who is right there with characters during these sequences, trying to figure out how much each character really knows.

Inglourious Basterds (2009) is something new for Tarantino but also a return to great form too. Highly recommend it. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Want more Tarantino goodness? Check back all month for my Tribute to Tarantino in honor of his latest film Django Unchained (2012).

Go back to Tarantino's first film with Reservoir Dogs (1992), check out the first script he wrote (but didn't direct) True Romance (1993), The smash hit that really put him on the map Pulp Fiction (1994), another film written by him but in the hands of another director From Dusk till Dawn (1996), his blaxploitation-influenced crime film Jackie Brown (1997, The two part revenge epic Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) or his tribute to grindhouse cinmea Death Proof (2007).

Even though I've gone through every film he's directed, I've got more films planned all month so be sure to check back!



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Django Unchained (2012)

"The 'D' is silent, hillbilly."

Django Unchained (2012) is Quentin Tarantino's legendary revenge tale epic that's a tribute to the spaghetti westerns of the past, especially the work of Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Leone. Django Unchained tells the story of a slave named Django who is freed and becomes a bounty hunter in order to save his wife who is also a slave living in bondage.

First off I gotta mention the cinematography of this film. Tarantino's been shooting films like they were spaghetti westerns for a while now, but this is the film that he can really show off his technical knowledge for how those films are made, and he really nails it. It's a blast to watch and adds an extra level of enjoyment if you know what you're looking at!

Not all the cameos in this film are good (more on that later) but there's a cameo for Franco Nero, who originally played the title character in the classic spaghetti western Django (1966), that I really enjoyed. It's not intrusive, it's not too distracting and it makes sense in the story. It's very natural, and those who know who he is get a laugh out of it.

I usually don't find the way that Quentin Tarantino writes dialogue or the excess blood in his squib shots too distracting, but I have to say that they seemed a little out of place in this film. I understand these are directorial flairs and the film isn't meant to be a strict historical portrayal but I still found them more distracting than in most of his other films. Not entirely though, I like how both the excess gore and his quirky dialogue are used for humor primarily. I just think it's a fine line and this film doesn't walk that line as well as possible, but it's excusable for how well it does work (more hits than misses).

The second half of the film is a lot longer than the first half, or I should say it feels a lot longer. This is because almost an hour before the actual end the film, the story is pretty close to wrapping up entirely. I'm surprised this occurred, and I think that the reason it's so jarring is just because of how close the story comes to actually wrapping up nicely (before it all going to hell). This leaves some awkward pacing but if you watch spaghetti westerns you know that pacing is not something that those films did well, so part of me actually wonders if this was actually intentional? Also because I personally have see all of Tarantino's films, I knew that there was no way he could end the story as cleanly and nicely as it was about to end, so I actually (believe it or not) found some added suspense in trying to figure out what the hell was about to go wrong. I understand that a viewer who hasn't seen a lot of Tarantino films wouldn't have that same experience, but I really doubt I'm the only one who felt that way.

I also have to mention that I felt the amount of cameos in this film were really distracting. I literally rolled my eyes at Quentin's cameo when he came on screen, luckily his cameo (and his accent) isn't as bad as it was in Death Proof (2007), but I also have to question the inclusion of Zoë Bell in this one. She appears in a group of (male) plantation overseers, with a red scarf over her face! On top of that there's at least two close ups on her and the first one is even played like "pay attention, this person's going to do something later!" and then she just gets shot in the end like all the other overseers! Maybe she actually did something in a cutscene, and I understand the need to put a friend or collaborator in as a cameo but two shots for someone who is distracting (I highly doubt there was any female overseers 2 years before the civil war) and doesn't do anything, so there's absolutely no need to put two close ups in the film.

Okay so this last part is nitpick/preference but I would have put more in the story about (Django's freer and bounty hunting partner) Dr. King Shultz. There seems to be a part missing when later in the film it's revealed that a major flaw of his is that he's a big-time sore loser. I would have liked to see at least some hint of this earlier in the film. Also was there was some interesting scenes earlier in the film that made me think they were actually going to go deeper into the morality of killing for a living, but the film didn't follow up. It just kind of stops mid-thought on "well these are bad men so it's alright." I would have like to see Shultz talk about what drove him in to this peculiar profession or even why he felt he'd be decent at it.

Tarantino's been doing this violence/humor thing for a while, and it's safe to say he's gotten quite good at it. This is a very dark and violent story but you will find yourself laughing at things that are not actually things to laugh at! This takes a high degree of skill, and actually kind of blows my mind at how well it is executed.

Tarantino's known for his soundtracks, by now it's something you can look forward to in his films. The soundtrack for this film is unique in that historically Tarantino usually doesn't use original music produced for his films in his films (except a bit of RZA and Robert Rodriguez's work in Kill Bill). This film just shows that he can blend new and old music together in a very seamless way (as if you really had any doubt) but this film blends them together better than probably any other films do. The film still offers the tributes to (while reinventing) older music and soundtracks that Tarantino is known for, but also adds new music that somehow fits really perfectly withe he old stuff. All the while somehow the film keeps that unique spaghetti western feel to the soundtrack that is so crucial to those films. I definitely reccomend going out to buy this soundtrack.

But what I really appreciate about Quentin Tarantino is how inventive and creative he is. You can see it in all of his work, he doesn't settle for the standard way that film and stories are told. Sometimes he's not as successful as others but at least he's pushing the boundaries and you can actually see him trying new things in each film. Django Unchained is another fine example of that creative filmmaking that I love so much, even down to something so simple as using a mashup in a film soundtrack (mashup's are a big thing in music right now, how come no one uses them in films?!). I really like how the Tarantino doesn't pull any punches and in showing the graphic nature of daily life during this time. He puts in scenes that really even trump the horror you were expecting to see walking into this film. For example, the "mandingo wrestling" scene is absolutely gruesome and very tough to stomach, and yet it makes the perfect introduction to the resident "devil" of the film, Calvin Candie. A very bold and yet effective move.

Here's another film where I have to mention how good the actors were in it. The whole cast was good actually, but I need to mention Christoph Waltz as the quirky German dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Shultz, Samuel L. Jackson as the crotchety head house slave Stephen, and the very evil and menacing (and yet kind of dumb) Calvin Candie played by the truly great Leonardo DiCaprio. All of these actors really bring something special to their respective roles that really makes the film magical to watch. Yet none of these roles are too far out or that different than other things you've seen them play before, which actually adds a lot to the feel that these roles are actually perfect for these actors.

The last thing I absolutely have to mention is the story. I loved the story of Django Unchained. Tarantino paints a modern legend of a hero mixing spaghetti western & blaxploitation. This is something that throughout history storytelling has really been all about, but somehow we've seemed to lose that in recent times. What I love about this film is it fits that ancient archetype and yet it feels really fresh and new. Some of this is by using things and nods from other films, and not only spaghetti westerns but even little things like Django and Shultz's team-up/friendship really has it's own Butch and Sundance vibe to it. The film even seems to refuse to fall on to simple hero clichés like crapier hero tales we see in film today *cough*Tron: Legacy (2010)*cough*, Djano's journey really feels like he walked through fire and back to get what he wants by the end of the story, and there's nothing more satisfying in a story that that feeling.

Even the little nitpicky things I found with Django Unchained (2012) can't touch a film as entertaining and well crafted as this. There's probably only a few movies in a person's lifetime that are as good as both a tribute and a tale as Django Unchained. 5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Check out this original minimalist poster design I did for this film, click through to buy prints/posters etc. OR check out other movie posters I designed here. :)

Want more Tarantino goodness? Check back all month for my Tribute to Tarantino! I'm going to begin by running through his films starting from the beginning, so be sure to check back!



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