1. Inglorious Basterds (Universal, 3,165 Theaters, 153 Minutes, Rated R): The criticism aimed at Quentin Tarantino’s last effort–“Death Proof” in Grindhouse–was that he played up to his own excesses, that it was too much of a Quentin Tarantino movie.
I wonder what those critics will say about this one. They’ll probably not have to go any farther than the plot, which focuses on a battalion of WWII Jewish-American soldiers who land behind enemy lines, killing and scalping (yes, I said scalping) any German soldier they see.
Granted, this time he is not trying to ape the “grindhouse” style of film, but if anything is a QT film, this one is.
Could it be too over the top? Could the fact that it came together so quickly be to its detriment? Does any of this matter? Because good or bad, there is no other film in theaters quite as interesting as this one.
2. Shorts (Warner Brothers, 3,105 Theaters, 89 Minutes, Rated PG): If you follow either Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, you know they are friends and frequent collaborators. That means that usually if there is a weekend with a film with each of their names attached, it’s one where they are working on it together.
Not so this week, as they are going head to head with the two films with the biggest theater counts. But even this competition isn’t really competition, as Rodriguez returns to the realm of the kid-friendly flick that he had so much success with doing the Spy Kids franchise. So I doubt people who want to see Inglorious Basterds will go see Shorts instead and I doubt there will be many kids getting into Inglorious Basterds.
The plot for this one is rather simple. A group of kids find a rock that grants wishes. This causes problems not only with the wishes they get, but also with adults who want to steal the rock for themselves.
3. Post Grad (FOX, 1,958 Theaters, 89 Minutes, Rated Pg-13): I wonder if the studios got together to come up with a schedule for this weekend that would entertain the heck out of me, because if they did, it worked. I am amused the heck out of.
This film stars Alexis Bledel, who was one of the stars of Sin City, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez and, you guessed it, Quentin Tarantino. If Frank Miller is in anyway involved with that X-Games Movie, I might just faint.
As for the plot, it is a silly little piffle about a girl who is forced to return home and live with her crazy family after graduating college. I doubt that this will be Hamlet, but with Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Carol Burnett, and JK Simmons in the cast, it can’t be all bad. And if you are catching a flick while your kids or younger siblings are watching Shorts, this film is exactly the same length, so you will be out at the same time if both films start at the same time.
4. X Games 3D The Movie (Disney, 1,399 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated PG): I really had no problem ignoring the recent X-Games while they were on my ESPN, but you got to hand it to Disney (ESPN’s parent company, by the way) for giving me the opportunity to ignore it one more time.
Yeah, I know that people who participate or watch these “X-Sports” wish they were respected as the athletic competition they are. I just see them as an extreme versions of those skateboarders who knock down old ladies at the mall. It is a sport in a way that NASCAR and Hockey are sports. People watch NASCAR for the crashes, Hockey for the fights, and X-Games for the wipe-outs. Yeah, I know I probably got it wrong, but that’s my opinion.
The question is: how do you get people to come out an buy a ticket for a movie containing events they saw practically for free just a few weeks before? Disney answers by showing the film for one week only (which means I get to ignore it for only one week. Aw shucks!) and in 3-D. I wonder if this will pay off.
And according to IMDB, Frank Miller has nothing to do with this film. So, the string of movie connections ends here.
Come on Bill, I think BASTERDS and SHORTS would make a great double feature!
Come on Bill, I think BASTERDS and SHORTS would make a great double feature!