Inglourious Basterds (2009)

[Movie 228 / Day 243]


Tarantino's take on WWII is a return to form and easily his best movie since Pulp Fiction. The Basterds are a rag-tag group of (mainly) American soldiers whose sole purpose is to strike fear into the hearts of the Germans. They do this by wandering around behind enemy lines, killing as many Nazi's as they possibly can and claiming their scalps.

More than that and the plot becomes a bit complicated, featuring a multi-layered story. It's funny, tense, violent, exciting; everything a Tarantino movie should be. Special props to Christoph Waltz who puts in an excellent turn as nasty SS man, Colonel Hans Landa.

Also nice to see (or rather, hear) Tarantino regulars Harvey Keitel and Samuel L. Jackson both get cameos!

My rating: 8.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.7 / 10
Running time: 153 mins
IMDB link

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

[Movie 226 / Day 239]


200 year old vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt) tells a young reporter (Christian Slater) his life story so far through a series of flashbacks. An interesting take on the vampire story, well acted and pretty good.

My rating: 6.8 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 123 mins
IMDB link

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

[Movie 163 / Day 174]


Benjamin Button was born an old man. As his life progresses, he gets younger. This is the story of his life.

It's good but pretty long. The aging effects, both on Button and his love interest Daisy, are excellent. The acting is good - Brad Pitt plays both a convincing child (even one trapped in an old body) and old man. Cate Blanchett is excellent as Daisy.

Not sure why they felt the need to stick the narrator in the middle of Hurricane Katrina though.

My rating: 7.9 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.1 / 10
Running time: 166 mins
IMDB link

Burn After Reading (2008)

[Movie -- / Day 58]

Almost as good on the second viewing as the first.

My rating: 7.8 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 96 mins
IMDB link

Burn After Reading (2008)

[Movie 77 / Day 45]


The new Coen brothers movie is an excellent tale of deception and paranoia. It's too complicated a story to describe now, I've drunk far too much, but suffice it to say, it's brilliant.

I especially loved George Clooney and John Malkovich, both of whom were excellent.

Far more enjoyable than No Country For Old Men (which was pretty good), this has a fair amount of comedy in it (like Oh Brother Where Art Thou).

My rating: 8.0 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.4 / 10
Running time: 96 mins
IMDB link

12 Monkeys (1995)

[Movie 14 / Day 8]


Brilliant Terry Gilliam helmed movie featuring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt on top form.

It's a twisting tale through mental illness and the end of the human race, which, on the face of it, really shouldn't make for a decent film. Yet it manages to be absolutely fantastic. For the first two thirds of the movie, you're not quite sure whether you're watching an insight into the mind of a mentally deluded man or a time-travelling sci-fi tale.

It's just aceness - if you haven't seen it before, watch it. If you have, watch it again.

My rating: 8.3 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.1 / 10
Running time: 129 mins
IMDB link