At this writing, it looks like the usual sensitivity-driven response to the horrific rampage of James Holmes in Aurora, Coloarado will take place: both major Presidential candidates will express their empathy with the victims; Warner Bros. is pulling THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TV ads--plus the trailer for GANGSTER SQUAD, which includes a machine-gunning-in-movie-theater scene derivative of a portion of the climax of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (UPDATE 7/23/12: The movie theater scene from GANGSTER SQUAD will be removed, prompting some additional filming before its September 7 release date); theater chains will increase security for safety of opening weekend patrons; calls for gun control will increase; politicians will do absolutely nothing to offend Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Association.
But perhaps in a small way, it's time to have a left-and-right-meet-at-center compromise on gun control. People from both major political parties must sit down with Mr. LaPierre and his lobbying legions and convince him that--at the very least--the Clinton-era ban on assault weapons needs to be reinstated, as well as closing the infamous loophole making it too easy to buy weapons at gun shows without background checks. If the NRA continues to be unyielding on protecting every kind of gun ownership, then, essentially, it's in passive collusion with James Holmes' crimes of last night--including the brutal shooting of children.
This isn't "taking away the guns" of responsible, everyday nonpsychopathic gun owners--who don't need or want assault rifles. It's a necessary action to prevent future tragedies of this scale--something that both conservatives and liberals/progressives should find common ground on.
Showing posts with label INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Monday, August 24, 2009
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: Quentin Tarantino now emulating late-period Howard Hawks.
As recent Quentin Tarantino films go, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is an improvement on the too-indulgent DEATH PROOF, but not up to the standards of KILL BILL (note: I'm still waiting for a special-edition DVD; maybe Harvey and Bob Weinstein need to buy the film back from Disney for that increasingly nebulous event to take place).
Essentially, BASTERDS is akin to the later films of Howard Hawks (specifically RIO BRAVO, HATARI, EL DORADO, RIO LOBO) where the premise is just a loose framework for a series of setpieces. Some of the setpieces work quite well, some less well and, every so often, they wander into Tarantino recycling himself (the opening farmhouse scene, at a certain point, will remind some viewers of the Christopher Walken/Dennis Hopper dialogue in TRUE ROMANCE).
Two observations:
1. Controversial critic Armond White was correct when he recently mentioned that Tarantino won't make a film running no longer than, say, 80 minutes.
2. Tarantino, with the five-chapter structure of BASTERDS, obviously wanted to rechannel the interlocking structure of PULP FICTION. But BASTERDS, while managing to fit everything into place by the movie theater finale, tends to back-burner depth of character in favor of a bunch of long (sometimes too long), suspense buildups of the "can we keep the Bad Guys from discovering The Truth" variety.
Feel free to post comments agreeing or disagreeing with the opinions above.
Essentially, BASTERDS is akin to the later films of Howard Hawks (specifically RIO BRAVO, HATARI, EL DORADO, RIO LOBO) where the premise is just a loose framework for a series of setpieces. Some of the setpieces work quite well, some less well and, every so often, they wander into Tarantino recycling himself (the opening farmhouse scene, at a certain point, will remind some viewers of the Christopher Walken/Dennis Hopper dialogue in TRUE ROMANCE).
Two observations:
1. Controversial critic Armond White was correct when he recently mentioned that Tarantino won't make a film running no longer than, say, 80 minutes.
2. Tarantino, with the five-chapter structure of BASTERDS, obviously wanted to rechannel the interlocking structure of PULP FICTION. But BASTERDS, while managing to fit everything into place by the movie theater finale, tends to back-burner depth of character in favor of a bunch of long (sometimes too long), suspense buildups of the "can we keep the Bad Guys from discovering The Truth" variety.
Feel free to post comments agreeing or disagreeing with the opinions above.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tarantino/Jarmusch: when critics fall out of love with auteurs.
For me, Quentin Tarantino descended from the relative recent heights of the KILL BILL duology to the fitfully effective DEATH PROOF (which I only saw in its shortened GRINDHOUSE version). And his new INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (a loose remake of a late-70s WWII exploitationer with Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson) is getting mixed responses after a Cannes Film Festival screening: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2009/may/20/cannes-film-festival-tarantino-inglourious-basterds
Re BASTERDS, I'm guessing Universal Pictures will insist on trimming the current near-2.5 hour length of the film--which may lead to some fascinating moments of Tarantino screaming and stomping around editing rooms like a man in a Godzilla costume on a miniature set of Tokyo.
The deadpan minimalism of Jim Jarmusch (which was shown at its best in STRANGER THAN PARADISE, DOWN BY LAW and MYSTERY TRAIN) has also been taking a series of baseball bats to the kneecap; here are two reviews of Jarmusch's THE LIMITS OF CONTROL--one from VARIETY fuddy-dud Todd McCarthy and the other from perpetual trend-chaser Peter Travers of ROLLING STONE:
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940105.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/25457986/review/27918907/limits_of_control
Re BASTERDS, I'm guessing Universal Pictures will insist on trimming the current near-2.5 hour length of the film--which may lead to some fascinating moments of Tarantino screaming and stomping around editing rooms like a man in a Godzilla costume on a miniature set of Tokyo.
The deadpan minimalism of Jim Jarmusch (which was shown at its best in STRANGER THAN PARADISE, DOWN BY LAW and MYSTERY TRAIN) has also been taking a series of baseball bats to the kneecap; here are two reviews of Jarmusch's THE LIMITS OF CONTROL--one from VARIETY fuddy-dud Todd McCarthy and the other from perpetual trend-chaser Peter Travers of ROLLING STONE:
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940105.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/25457986/review/27918907/limits_of_control
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