Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
2019 | Dir. David Leitch | 136 Minutes

"The fate of the world is in your hands and you still can't get along."

A shadowy organization attempts to steal a technologically advanced virus but is thwarted by an MI6 agent after she injects herself with the bio-weapon and evades capture. Recruited by the CIA for their unmatched skills, DSS Agent Luke Hobbs and the rogue assassin Deckard Shaw must set aside their differences and face their personal demons in order to retrieve the virus and save the world.

Pairing up erstwhile Fast & Furious antagonists Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw for their very own feature film should be an exciting proposition, but it turns out the two absurdly macho tough guys, who were the very best thing about The Fate of the Furious, struggle to carry a movie on their own when separated from the muscle-headed earnestness of the core franchise. The opening sequence that walks through their opposing action hero styles and the put-downs they exchange early on are entertaining enough, but the writing wears thinner and the humor lands flatter with every passing minute despite dedicated performances from the leads and the too-good-for-this-movie supporting cast. This spin-off only seems interested in strictly following the bullet points of what made its titular heroes appealing in past installments, which is most logical from a business standpoint, but the brain trust behind this often off-beat action series could have colored outside the lines even just a little for this side story and it would still be a profitable product given the star power at its disposal. Even the series' running theme of family feels like a clumsy obligation as featured in this picture.

Director David Leitch's experience in staging over-the-top action set pieces serves this film well, particularly in sequences featuring the cybernetically enhanced Brixton and his high-tech motorbike. However, while the set-ups are great, the CGI-heavy vehicular mayhem only offers cheap weightless thrills as per the unfortunate standard of latter-day Fast & Furious movies. There are a smattering of amusing moments during the London chase scene, the escape from the Ukrainian lab, and the climatic multiple tow truck versus chopper battle in Samoa, but they are hardly awe-inspiring. At best these bits are good for a chuckle, at worst they are empty spectacle that completely withdraws any suspension of disbelief.

Substandard script be damned, Dwayne Johnson's natural charisma goes a long way and Jason Statham is afforded plenty of opportunities to show off his martial arts skills. Their quippy chemistry is generally pretty good but it's rather monotonous in long stretches. As self-proclaimed bad guy Brixton Lore, Idris Elba appears to be having the time of his life, making the most of the woefully underdeveloped antagonist. Vanessa Kirby is very convincing in the role of courageous ass-kicking MI6 operative Hattie Shaw. Hobbs & Shaw also features Helen Mirren reprising the part of Queenie Shaw, Eddie Marsan as Professor Andreiko, Eiza Gonzalez as master thief Madam M, Cliff Curtis and wrestling superstar Roman Reigns as Hobbs' brothers, Eliana Sua as Hobbs' daughter Sam, and Lori Pelenise Tuisano as Hobbs' mother.

Megastar leads and a fantastic supporting cast don't quite elevate this Fast & Furious spin-off above the typical flaws of an average summer blockbuster. Given the talent involved, Hobbs & Shaw is a disappointingly disposable action romp that perhaps could have much more satisfying had the filmmakers taken more risks instead of settling on simply playing the hits.


MID-CREDITS STINGERS
- The Shaws visit their mother.

- Hobbs takes his daughter to see her grandmother.

- Hobbs receives a phone call from his old partner Locke.

- Shaw receives payback from Hobbs for prior humiliation.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
- Locke discovers it is surprisingly easy to stab a man with a brick.


FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of unconventional titles carries on for this spin-off; while often referred to as simply Hobbs & Shaw, the full official title of the film is the humorously clunky Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Super Combo

- Ryan Reynolds, Rob Delaney, and Kevin Hart make uncredited cameo appearances as CIA Agents Locke and Loeb, and Air Marshal Dinkley respectively

- Ryan Reynolds, Rob Delaney, and Eddie Marsan previously appeared together in director David Leitch's Deadpool 2

- This is the third film featuring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart following Central Intelligence and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Podcast: How Did This Get Made? Episode #220: Hobbs & Shaw: LIVE! (w/ Adam Scott, Nicole Byer)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Idris Elba (Heimdall in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Thor: Love and Thunder)

- Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson in Deadpool & Wolverine)

- Rob Delaney (Peter Wisdom in Deadpool & Wolverine)

 

- Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps) 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
2019 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 161 Minutes

"Hey, you're Rick fucking Dalton. Don’t you forget it."

A fading star and his unemployable stunt double struggle to find their place in Hollywood as palatable opportunities run out. Meanwhile, misfortune creeps toward the doorstep of an enthusiastic up-and-coming talent.

Deeply immersive, if slightly meandering, Quentin Tarantino's Tinseltown fairy tale transports its viewers back an idealized time and place, and basks in nostalgia for a bygone era, recreating the look and feel of Hollywood in 1969 with painstaking attention to detail. Tarantino's trademark style is more focused and refined than ever as he deliberately holds back on his penchant for graphic violence until the last possible moment in favor of his love for spending time with his idiosyncratic characters. Though the leisurely-paced picture gradually establishes a tangible threat that fully emerges in an inevitable climatic confrontation, most of film is primarily centered on the mundane moments and personal day-to-day struggles that make up the lives of its protagonists.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood specifically explores three fateful days in the lives of its captivating lead characters as they reflect on the state of their respective careers, potentially facing the end of their livelihood whether they know it or not. Hungry for a break that would lift him out of his rut, Rick is an insecure mess, flubbing his lines and breaking down in tears at the thought of giving up his career as he knows it. An offer to make cheap movies in Rome is the last thing he wants, perceiving the option to be an admission of defeat, but he reluctantly takes the trip after staging one, potentially final, genuinely uplifting comeback on the set of a television pilot, turning a nightmare shooting day into a great one. Out-of-work stunt performer Cliff Booth is generally carefree but clearly lacks a proper outlet for his thrill-seeking tendencies, speeding down the streets of Hollywood and welcoming physical altercation with reckless abandon. A discouraging visit to a decrepit movie ranch, now overrun by shifty hippies, to see an old friend offers Cliff and the audience no hope for the future whatsoever. Emerging movie star Sharon Tate takes every opportunity to bask in her nascent stardom. Sitting in a general screening of The Wrecking Crew, she takes in the audience's gratifying favorable reaction to her breakout performance with such joy that it's easy to relish the feeling vicariously through her. All three are unaware of the true danger that lurks just around the corner, but on one fateful summer evening, their narratives reach a conclusion that plays against expectations, and real world history, in the most wonderful way imaginable. Exhilaratingly, the picture finally offers Cliff an appropriate release for his violent tendencies, and grants Rick an unlikely opportunity to make a potentially career-saving connection.

Leonardo DiCaprio is hilarious but also extremely affecting as the vulnerable Rick. His sadness and his triumphs become engaging visceral experiences due to DiCaprio's admirable commitment to the role. Brad Pitt exudes a calm affably self-assured quality that presents Cliff as a heroic figure despite the character's violent character flaws and probable criminal history. The camaraderie between DiCaprio and Pitt feels absolutely genuine and provides some of the film's most touching moments as Pitt is convincingly sweet when Cliff consistently offers Rick unconditional emotional support. Margot Robbie's role as Sharon Tate is disappointingly underwritten, as Tate serves mostly as an ethereal presence to be observed and appreciated from a distance, but Robbie makes the very most of it, affectingly emanating the unadulterated joy Tate feels as a freshly-minted movie star. The magnificent ensemble cast also features screen legend Al Pacino as an enthusiastic movie producer, Emile Hirsch as celebrity hairdresser and kung fu enthusiast Jay Sebring, Kurt Russell as a veteran stunt coordinator and narrator of a few key scenes, Margaret Qualley as enticing Manson acolyte Pussycat, Mike Moh pulling off an uncanny impression of Bruce Lee in both voice and physical prowess, Timothy Olyphant as TV western star James Stacy, Dakota Fanning as the formidable Squeaky Fromme, Austin Butler as homicidal fuck-up Tex Watson, Bruce Dern as the hapless George Spahn, Damon Herriman briefly appearing Charles Manson, and many others.

Funny, reflective, and remarkably personal, Quentin Tarantino's ninth film is a lavish love letter to the auteur's favorite era in the history of his favorite town. The sentimentality on display in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is lulling and infectious, juxtaposing against the growing sense of trepidation that builds through the course of the story. Luckily for its lead characters, and its audience, the world of this fable in one in which everyone who deserves a second chance receives one, and dreams never have to end.

MID-CREDITS STINGER
An advertisement for a particular cigarette brand featuring Rick Dalton.


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- Cliff Booth's brand of choice

- Decidedly not Rick Dalton's brand of choice despite his professional endorsement


FOOT STUFF
- Multiple lingering shots of Sharon Tate's bare feet as she lies in bed, and as she puts them up in a movie theater

- Prominent shots of Pussycat's bare feet on Cliff's dashboard


NOTABLE NEEDLE-DROPS
- Sharon Tate's exuberance can be felt through the Paul Revere and the Raiders records that regularly play in her home

- José Feliciano's mournful take on "California Dreamin'" is a beautiful fit to mark an ending of sorts, capping off the second act of the film

- Vanilla Fudge's groovy psychedelic cover of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" perfectly complements the events that unfold during the pivotal home invasion climax


FRAGMENTS
- The Columbia Pictures studio logo that opens the film is a take on the design that was used from 1968 to 1976

- Aspects of Rick Dalton's career are based in part on Burt Reynolds' trajectory; Nebraska Jim is a tongue-in-check reference to the 1966 Spaghetti Western Navajo Joe starring, and famously derided by, Burt Reynolds

- Burt Reynolds was set to play George Spahn but passed away before he was scheduled to shoot his scenes

- Pussycat is loosely based on Manson Family member Kathryn Lutesinger who was nicknamed "Kitty"

- Damon Herriman also plays Charles Manson on the Netfilx series Mindhunter

- Madisen Beaty who appears as Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel previously played Krenwinkel on the NBC television series Aquarius

- As television star Wayne Maunder, the film features Luke Perry in his final performance before he passed away in February 2019


007 CONNECTIONS
- Michael Madsen (Damian Falco in Die Another Day)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Kurt Russell (Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

The Hateful Eight

THE HATEFUL EIGHT
2015 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 168 Minutes

"You only need to hang mean bastards, but mean bastards, you need to hang!"

In the winter of 1877, a black Union veteran, a wary bounty hunter, his resentful prisoner, and a former southern militiaman stop at a remote general store on their way to town in the midst of a severe storm. The already distrustful travelers hole up with a Mexican, an Englishman, a bitter Confederate general, and a taciturn cowboy who had arrived previously. Tempers flare, suspicions are confirmed, lies unravel, and death is dealt indiscriminately.

A locked room mystery imbued with writer/director Quentin Tarantino's proclivities, The Hateful Eight takes its time to unfold, meticulously establishing its lead characters in its first half through extended conversations filled to the brim with Tarantino's trademark fanciful dialogue, giving ample room for its brilliant cast to play. As engaging as the opening chapters are, the pacing picks up substantially after the first lie is exposed followed by the first killing that marks the halfway point of the narrative. There is high entertainment value in the bloodbath that ensues, breaking all of the previously established tension as characters projectile vomit blood, genitals are destroyed, innocent lives are systematically extinguished, and a wanton criminal is hanged, but feelings of catharsis are uncomfortable at best due to the morally bankrupt nature of the story's lead characters.

Thematically, The Hateful Eight is a story about deception on all levels. Besides the antagonists taking on false identities to stage their ambush-and-rescue plot, the primarily protagonist perpetuates a distressing lie of his own in order to survive as a black man in America. Major Marquis Warren carries a phony private letter from Abraham Lincoln on his person at all times as a defensive prop to win over northern whites who would mistreat him otherwise. Warren's anger and distrust for the white man is completely justified, considering that he witnessed first-hand the horrors of slavery and the American Civil War, but his methods are depraved and deplorable, fully illustrated in graphic stomach-churning detail when he converses with the Confederate General Smithers. Warren is no better than the paranoid bounty hunter John Ruth, a man with no qualms about beating an incapacitated woman, obsessed with capturing criminals alive in order to watch them hang. In addition, southern dandy Chris Mannix's dubious claim that he was elected Sheriff of Red Rock is never confirmed, nor the last ditch threat of Domergue's gang suggesting that they will be avenged by an army of outlaws lying in wait. Cynically, the lie of Warren's letter may be interpreted as a symbol of the hopeless American dream of equality. As Warren and staunch racist Mannix bleed out together after teaming up to dispatch Domergue and her gang, Mannix earnestly requests the letter from Warren and reads it aloud with a certain reverence despite being the one to accurately expose it as a fake just hours before.

Tarantino went to great lengths to shoot The Hateful Eight on 65mm film and transfer it to 70mm. While scenes set in snowy and mountainous exterior locations are absolutely gorgeous, the luxurious cinematic format does not present any obvious benefit for the feature's primary one-room set. The sentiment is respectable, but the active decision to avoid digital production for the picture is the least essential of Tarantino's artistic flourishes in that it doesn't add any substantive enjoyment to the overall experience. The story is captivating, the dialogue is excellent, but at points the film might as well be a stage play.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Marquis Warren with his meanest dialed all the way up, his performance particularly disturbing in a flashback sequence detailing his fateful encounter with General Smithers' son. A reliably petulant Kurt Russell plays John Ruth, once again convincingly paranoid as a desperate man of questionable moral character trapped with deceptive people in a confined space during a snow storm, essentially another take on his role as R.J. MacReady in John Carpenter's The Thing. Barely recognizable with numerous facial wounds and a southern drawl, Jennifer Jason Leigh fully disappears into the role of Daisy Domergue, a defiant woman who should elicit unconditional sympathy from the audience for the constant beating she endures from her captor if not for the venomous bigotry that spews from her mouth. Walton Goggins at his slimiest is the perfect fit for Chris Mannix, eloquent, dopey, and despicable all at once. As General Sandford Smithers, Bruce Dern makes the character easy to despise but he also effectively sells the despair of a grieving father. Tim Roth is fun to watch as the smooth-talking Oswaldo Mobray, as is Demian Bichir as the suspicious Bob, but Michael Madsen's understated performance as Joe Gage is unfortunately overshadowed by the rest of the cast. James Parks is amusing as the unlucky stagecoach driver O.B., and in his brief appearance as Domergue's brother, Channing Tatum is a real showstealer.

The Hateful Eight may be the most challenging and least accessible of Quentin Tarantino's films due to the picture's deliberate pacing and the way each of its lead characters toy with the audience's sympathy only to betray it in spectacular fashion. However, its brilliant ensemble cast is consistently engaging and markedly elevates this tension-filled tale about the lies people tell in order to survive.


OTHER VERSIONS
- During its initial theatrical run, The Hateful Eight was released in select cinemas presented in 70mm Cinerama Roadshow format, with actual analog film projected onto movie screens, featuring a slightly longer cut of the picture with alternate takes, a musical overture, and an intermission

- The film was recut into a four-episode miniseries and released on Netflix in 2019 as The Hateful Eight: Extended Version, featuring alternate takes and additional moments that are not in the standard theatrical or Cinerama Roadshow versions


THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE
The Hateful Eight is, fittingly, Quentin Tarantino's eighth feature length film.


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- The narrator who explains in great detail why the fourth chapter is entitled Domergue's Got a Secret, and summarizes the steps Jody's gang had taken in preparation for Daisy and John Ruth's arrival


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- Minnie's Haberdashery sells Red Apple Tobacco and pre-rolled Red Apple Cigarettes

- Bob smokes a "Manzana Roja" at the start of the fourth chapter


CASTRATION WITH A BANG
- A hidden gunman in the basement shoots Warren's johnson and cajones


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROPS
- The White Stripes' "Apple Blossom" sounds only slightly anachronistic over shots of the stagecoach traversing in the wilderness during the film's opening act

- David Hess' "There You're Alone" from Wes Craven's infamous 1972 horror film The Last House on the Left is effectively chilling in the scene depicting Gage track and murder poor haberdashery worker Charly, a direct reference to a similar sequence in that movie

- Roy Orbison's "There Won't Be Many Coming Home" from his 1967 star vehicle The Fastest Guitar Alive, closes the film on a somber note, reiterating the theme of irreparable damage the American Civil War left behind


FRAGMENTS
- Originally conceived as a novel sequel to Django Unchained entitled Django in White Hell, Tarantino decided that Django's character did not fit the story

- Tarantino briefly canceled production on The Hateful Eight in early 2014 after an early draft of the screenplay was leaked online, but positive reception for a live-read of the script at an event in Los Angeles with a full cast convinced him to restart production with a new ending for the film

- The narrative is heavily inspired by John Carpenter's 1982 sci-fi horror classic The Thing about a group of distrustful men stranded in a freezing hostile environment with a deadly enemy hidden in their ranks, a film that also stars Kurt Russell as a gruff no-nonsense loner; The Hateful Eight even features previously unused music by legendary composer Ennio Morricone from the score for The Thing

- Morricone composed the original score for this film, his first score for a western in over three decades, earning him his first Oscar

- Jennifer Jason Leigh's rendition of "Jim Jones at Botany Bay" is rather lovely; the song is an Australian folk ballad about a criminal who makes his escape while being transported to a penal colony, a clue on Domergue's plan already in progress hidden in plain sight

- Unbeknownst to Kurt Russell when the scene was shot, the guitar he smashes was a priceless antique on loan from the Martin Guitar Museum that was intended to be swapped out for a replica; the genuine article was destroyed due to miscommunication on set and the take capturing Jennifer Jason Leigh's actual reaction was used in the final cut of the film

007 CONNECTIONS

- Michael Madsen (Damian Falco in Die Another Day)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

- Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky in The Incredible Hulk)

- Kurt Russell (Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

- Walton Goggins (Sonny Burch in Ant-Man and the Wasp)

- Channing Tatum (Remy LeBeau in Deadpool & Wolverine)

Django Unchained

DJANGO UNCHAINED
2012 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 165 Minutes

"Do you know what they're going to call you? The 'Fastest Gun in the South.'"

In 1858, a slave named Django is liberated by Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter, in exchange for his cooperation in tracking down a trio of wanted plantation overseers. The implicit mythological nature of Django's story moves Schultz, and he decides to assist Django on his journey through the nightmarish heart of the American Slave Trade to free Django's wife Broomhilda.

Writer/director Quentin Tarantino's Deep South odyssey is an honest-to-goodness masterpiece. Repurposing Spaghetti Western tropes with just the right amount of anachronistic flair, Django Unchained is an expertly-paced, exhilarating ride that completely abandons the notion of moral grey areas in favor of heroes that are easy to root for and villains that deserve their violent ends without exception. After all, there is no moral grey area when it comes to the crimes of racist white supremacists, and those complicit in the atrocities committed are at least just as guilty.

The narrative is slightly more focused than a standard Tarantino film, unfolding in a strictly chronological manner save for a handful of brief flashbacks from Django's point of view providing immediate context, and meandering tangential side stories are at a bare minimum. The film is also aesthetically stunning, numerous exterior sequences set in the wilderness are simply beautiful, and action scenes make startlingly effective use of slow motion. One of the most striking shots of the film occurs when Shultz cuts down a fugitive with his rifle, the camera fixed on cotton plants as the outlaw's blood splatters onto white fluff.

Jamie Foxx convincingly portrays the titular dashing figure of bravery, conveying a broad range of emotion from fear to outright defiance. Delightfully eloquent as Schultz, Christoph Waltz shows off his versatility as well, his final moments contemplating the brutality he witnessed in Mississippi and confronting the deranged plantation owner Calvin Candie really stand out. Kerry Washington's presence as Broomhilda is felt throughout the first half of the film in the form of brief haunting visions, and when the character finally appears in the flesh, Washington exudes intelligence, vulnerability, and a real air of dignity.

As the sociopathic Candie, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers one of the best performances of his career, exhibiting an admirable measure of control playing a truly despicable antagonist. However, the most hateful villain of the film is Candyland house slave Stephen played by Samuel L. Jackson, a slave who is absolutely loyal to his master and complacent in his position of relative power and comfort. Jackson alternates between Uncle Tom caricature and menacing tyrant with a frightening level of dedication. The supporting cast of baddies notably features Walton Goggins as an irritating Candyland enforcer Billy Crash, James Remar playing both a slave driver in the opening scene and Candie's stoic bodyguard, and Don Johnson and Jonah Hill as dimwitted proto-Klansmen.

Epic in scope, visually splendid, and massively entertaining, Django Unchained distills Quentin Tarantino's talent for cinematic wish-fulfillment fantasy to its purest, most crowd-pleasing form. With engaging characters and bloody satisfying action, the picture is a worthy addition to the Spaghetti Western canon though with a distinct Antebellum Period twist.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
The trio of slaves who witnessed Django dispatch the LeQuint Dickey Mining Company slavers wonder aloud about the identity of the gunslinger.


THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE
Django Unchained follows a long line of unofficial spin-offs and sequels to Sergio Corbucci's original Django released in 1966. A multitude of Spaghetti Westerns with "Django" in their titles are completely unrelated to Corbucci's film, and some don't even feature a character named Django.


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- A Bag Head

- Exploding LeQuint Dickey Mining Company slaver with a terrible Australian accent


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- Django rolls cigarettes with Red Apple Tobacco


CASTRATION WITH A BANG
- In the finale, Django shoots Billy Crash in the groin for threatening to castrate him earlier


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROPS
- The theme song from the original Django composed by Luis Bacalov with vocals by Rocky Roberts is a one of the all-time great Spaghetti Western tunes and truthfully the only way to open this film

- The theme song from Lo Chiamavano King (His Name Was King) also composed by Luis Bacalov with vocals by Edda Dell'Orso serves as a cute refrain for Dr. King Schultz

- Jim Croce's "I Got A Name" is a natural montage song for the sequence breezing through Django and Schultz's travels

- The theme song from Lo Chiamavano Trinità (They Call Me Trinity) composed by Franco Micalizzi with vocals by David King is the perfect laid back tension-dispersing tune to close out the film


FRAGMENTS
- Incidentally, Tarantino plays a brief but memorable character in Takashi Miike's 2008 film Sukiyaki Western Django, another acclaimed contemporary spin on the Django

- The Columbia Pictures studio logo that opens the film is a take on the design that was used from 1968 to 1976

- The film features original songs by Rick Ross, John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton, RZA, and legendary film composer Ennio Morricone whose tracks from various Spaghetti Western films are prominently featured in Kill Bill, Death Proof, and Inglourious Basterds; Morricone went on to compose the original score for The Hateful Eight

- Franco Nero, star of the original Django, makes a cameo appearance as Mandingo slave owner Amerigo Vessepi


007 CONNECTIONS
- Michael Madsen (Damian Falco in Die Another Day)

- Christoph Waltz (Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre and No Time to Die)


MCU CONNECTIONS

- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

- Christopher Berry (Randy Vale in Spider-Man: Homecoming)

- Walton Goggins (Sonny Burch in Ant-Man and the Wasp)

- Jamie Foxx (Max Dillon in Spider-Man: No Way Home)

Inglourious Basterds

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
2009 | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 153 Minutes

"In the pages of history, every once in a while fate reaches out and extends its hand. What shall the history books read?"

Lieutenant Aldo Raine assembles a guerrilla squad of Jewish-American soldiers to conduct a campaign of terror and humiliation against Hitler's Nazis. Meanwhile, a celebrated German sniper is chosen by Goebbels to be the subject of a propaganda film set to premiere in occupied Paris with the Nazi High Command in attendance. Simultaneous plots targeting the premiere are hatched by a vengeful Jewish refugee, and a German defector collaborating with the British and Raine's men.

Inglourious Basterds is a war film unlike any other, utilizing all of writer/director Quentin Tarantino's creative tendencies and quirks in unexpected ways. Told in five distinct chapters that alternate between dark humor and engrossing drama, the vignettes featuring the Basterds let loose with the stylized violence and high-tension stand-offs one would expect from a Tarantino picture, while the ones that center on the heroine Shosanna Dreyfus fully utilize the less recognized aspects of the auteur's skill set as he masterfully and patiently builds dramatic suspense with substantial stakes. An air of grim levity permeates the sequence that introduces the Basterds, while the opening chapter that introduces primary antagonist Hans Landa and Shosanna is a suffocating edge-of-your-seat affair.

The central conceit of Inglourious Basterds is the notion that cinema carries the power to change the course of history. As the Nazis hope to rally their forces with a sensationalized cinematic account of their star soldier, Shosanna makes history with her own film. The picture brilliantly subverts exceptions, as Hitler attends the screening in Paris, and the plan to slaughter Nazi leadership along with the dictator actually succeeds spectacularly, literally changing history as we know it. The surprise alternate reality of the film presents a fantastic statement in that the event decisively ending the war occurs at the cinema, chiefly perpetrated by an artist, her face projected on a burning movie screen and subsequently on the smoke billowing from her weaponized highly flammable nitrate film collection. The brutal brand of justice doled out by the Basterds is just icing on the proverbial cake.

French actress Mélanie Laurent is magnetic as Shosanna, projecting both trepidation and wrath with palpable conviction. Equal parts charming and terrifying, Christoph Waltz's performance as Hans Landa indisputably places the villain alongside the most memorable antagonists ever committed to film. Similarly, Daniel Brühl's Fredrick Zoller is so deceptively pleasant that it can be easy to dismiss him until he until he proves to be a real threat during the closing act. As Lieutenant Raine, Brad Pitt is a real hoot, really chewing on that hillbilly accent. The cast also features Michael Fassbender doing some his best work as British Royal Marine Lieutenant Archie Hicox, Diane Kruger as German movie star prone to misfortune Bridget von Hammersmark, Til Schweiger as rage monster Hugo Stiglitz, horror director Eli Roth as rambunctious "Bear Jew" Donny Donowitz, and a barely-recognizable Mike Myers as Hicox's superior officer Ed Fenech.

Playing against expectations in the very best way, Inglourious Basterds weaves several captivating narratives together to form a unique war film with an unbelievable finale that's both shocking and exhilarating. Beyond the outrageous exploits of the picture's titular heroes, the film is about weaponizing art to defeat fascism and perhaps change history. It is a powerful statement, if fanciful and somewhat on-the-nose, and it is undeniably thrilling.


THE STORY BEHIND THE TITLE
The title was inspired by Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 World War II action film Quel Maledetto Treno Blindato (That Damned Armored Train), re-titled The Inglorious Bastards for US distribution which in turn is a direct translation of the original working title for the movie: Bastardi Senza Gloria. According to Tarantino, the odd spelling of this film's title is attributed to "Quentin Tarantino spelling."


QUENTIN TARANTINO AS...
- A scalped Nazi

- An American soldier in Nation's Pride


RED APPLE CIGARETTES
- Private First Class Hirschberg's brand of choice


FOOT STUFF
- Landa recovers von Hammersmark's designer shoe from the basement tavern and itimidates her into placing her foot on his lap, slowly slipping the shoe onto her foot to reveal his discovery of her defection


CASTRATION WITH A BANG
- During the Mexican standoff in the basement tavern, Gestapo Major Dieter Hellstrom aims his pistol at Hicox's crotch, Hicox and Sigletz aim their guns at Hellstrom's, and all three open fire and parish in the ensuing shootout


NOTABLE NEEDLE DROP
- David Bowie's theme song written by Giorgio Moroder from Paul Schrader's 1982 erotic thriller Cat People is a wonderfully anachronistic choice for the opening moments of the film's final chapter as Shosanna prepares for war, its refrain of "putting out the fire with gasoline" amusing blunt considering what she's about to do


FRAGMENTS
- Tarantino spent a decade writing the screenplay for the film

- The Universal Pictures studio logo that opens the film is a throwback to the design that was used from 1963 to 1990

- Frequent Tarantino collaborator Samuel L. Jackson narrates Hugo Stiglitz's character introduction and the expository montage about nitrate film

- Lieutenant Raine's phony alias Enzo Gorlomi is a mangled pronunciation of The Inglorious Bastards director Enzo G. Castellari's birth name, while Donowitz's alias is Antonio Margheriti after a prolific Italian exploitation film director

- Eli Roth directed the film within the film Nation's Pride

- Bo Svenson, the star of Castellari's The Inglorious Bastards, makes a cameo appearance in this film as an American Colonel in Nation's Pride, while Castellari himself cameos as a Nazi General in the burning theater


007 CONNECTIONS
- Christoph Waltz (Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre and No Time To Die)

- Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swan in Spectre and No Time To Die)


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and The Marvels)

- Daniel Brühl (Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War)