Inglorious Basterds (out 7 December 09, Cert.18) Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Christoph Waltz, dir. Quentin Tarentino, 2009, cert.18 Monkey Score: 94% What it's about: France,
1941. Southern Boy Lt. Aldo Raine leads a motley squad of
Jewish-American soldiers, the "Basterds", whose sole purpose is to
instill terror within the Third Reich ranks by killing & scalping
100 nazis each. Meanwhile Shosanna Dreyfus, who escaped death as a
child at the hands of Waffen-SS Colonel Landa aka the "Jew Hunter", is
plotting her revenge. She is planning to torch the cinema she owns on
the night of a prestigious premiere attended by Hitler, Goebbels,
Goering and Bormann. What MovieMonkeys thought: The last few releases from Quentin Tarentino had left us rather unimpressed so we had few expectations for Basterds. We're happy to report that we were spectacularly wrong. Basterds is not just good - it's brilliant. First of all the film looks great - the cinematography is beautiful, managing to give the picture a look somewhere between European arthouse and Hollywood glamour. Then the structure: the story is told in five separate chapters, reminding us of Pulp Fiction and how Tarentino had turned the film on its head to create a very original and effective narrative. Things get really interesting, however, on the story front: you realise pretty quickly that Basterds is not just another World War II movie. Tarentino took the stance that the movie doesn't have to end like the book, and went on to re-imagine the outcome of the war. It's different, it's fresh and it works: Inglorious Basterds is a hugely entertaining war flick with a twist. Tarentino's best film since Pulp Fiction.
|
Microcosmos (out 07 December 09, Cert. U) Dir. Claude Nuridsany / Marie Pérennou, 1997, cert. U Microcosmos created quite a stir when released in cinemas 12 years ago, clocking in a very decent box-office internationally. Just over an hour in length it actually took the film-makers 15 years to produce it, with the actual filming lasting 3 years. The labour of love paid off in spades: Microcosmos takes you to the most amazing world with no need to travel to remote exotic locations. Set in a French meadow, Microcosmos is a visual treat. The lavish images come to their own in high-definition, and the colours are so bright it's hard to believe no Hollywood make-up artist was involved. The extreme close-ups are incredible, and there's just about everything you'd expect from a blockbuster movie. You cheer for the he dung beetle trying to free up his stuck stash, marvel at the stunning dragonflies. admire the ladybirds before realising they're about to clean up an aphids colony, and there's even a bit of (U-rated) sex going on. Microcosmos is set to a beautiful soundtrack, and the disc comes with a good selection of bonus features. A great film to watch with the whole family, and one not to miss on Blu-Ray. |
|
||
|
