THE FIRST SCENE OF THE FILM WAS THE BEST SCENE OF THE YEAR — At least that's what the Skandies voters said. I'm not sure I can argue either—although I've still got movies to get to. Still, if anything else at this point can give the outstanding more than 20-minute beginning to Basterds in which Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) is memorably introduced by calmly using a kitchen table interrogation to work a confession out of a farmer (Denis Menochet) hiding a Jewish family under his floorboards, it would probably be a later scene from this very film—an undercover tavern sequence with the Basterds, a unit of Jews under the command of Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine and committed to scalping Nazis, immediately coming to mind. But the point here is that Quentin Tarantino crafts a number of scenes that seem to be him doing what he does best: getting lively dialogue while building suspense and always finding a satisfying payoff.
IT'S THAT LAUGH-OUT-LOUD, FEEL-GOOD HOLOCAUST MOVIE YOU DIDN'T KNOW WAS MISSING FROM YOUR LIFE — Because Hitler dying in his bunker's so, you know, boring. Instead, Tarantino offers the twist of having a group of Jews kill him—where esle?—in a movie theater. And beyond that, Hitler's hardly the character that steals this show anyway. I haven't even mentioned the performances QT got out of both Mélanie Laurent and Diane Kruger, two more strong females that both had Oscar consideration (although the Up in the Air girls got both the supporting nods they were vying for).
I SEEM TO LIKE EVERYTHING TARANTINO DOES — Depending on how you classify the Kill Bill deal (I'm still waiting for both to be released in a single DVD package, although it appears a third is in the works), this is either Tarantino's sixth or seventh feature full-length film—and I've liked all of them. It's been nearly two decades since Reservoir Dogs came out and this guys still hasn't made anything I didn't enjoy.
THREE THINGS I DIDN'T:
I SEEM TO LIKE EVERYTHING TARANTINO DOES — It isn't to say I'm passionate about everything he's done anywhere near the level of craziness some of his fans have, but seriously, not one thumb down from me on anything he's directed. Does this make me a fanboy?
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A HISTORY LESSON ... — But you're talking about World War II here, so you know how some people feel about that. Some people insinuated it was wrong to laugh along with Life is Beautiful, and of course there's going to be the usual guilt others may insist you feel for taking a little sadistic glee in watching Hostel director Eli Roth play the Jew from Boston who bashes Nazi brains in with a baseball bat.
... BUT IT WON'T HURT BEING A FILM JUNKIE EITHER — Roth's role was something I was aware of going in, but Tarantino litters Basterds with references that I either missed or didn't find as profound as some fans have made them out to be. Take what you like (I still liked a lot, obviously) and leave the rest.
25 WORDS OR LESS:
Manages to simultaneously inspire Tarantino's most devout fans as well as enrage his most passionate detractors, myself closer to being among the former.
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, E-mail Me
|
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
— Herbert Bayard Swope
Schumer Fucked It All Up
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Here's the thing that's bugged the shit out of me about Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer's betrayal of Democrats in supporting cloture on the
continuin...
That Ship Has Sailed
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At least, *that's what all the signs and rumors are pointing to*:
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*In a Hail Mary attempt to keep the Bears in Chicago, developers of the
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Casting bad joojoo on a jerk
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I had a trump voodoo doll years ago and gave it to the dog to chew up. I
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find...
Skandiewrap, or More Than You Wanted to Know
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"You run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. You run
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News of the Day for Friday, January 24, 2020
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The U.S. president first announced that there were no casualties from the
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later ...
Update: Execution put on hold
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Today a federal district judge granted Dexter Johnson's request for a stay
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disabi...
Bret Stephens is Wrong
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On February 9th, Bret Stephens penned an Op-Ed for The New York Times
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Tales from the Cryptkeeper - Giant Worm GIF
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Earthquake drills are being practiced all across the country (#ShakeOut),
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giant ...
I'm alive.
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Hello! My hubby talked me into posting on my blog. What.... it's been about
3 years? It seems like forever. Life has had so many twists and turns
since th...
I want to be a photographer
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All I have is my eye and a lens. I want to start a new life as a
photographer. I only have a few months of sobriety. I know that drinking
will only le...
It Only Hurts When I think... I Think, OUCH!
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In this era of space-age technology and Velcro, you’d think that the
construction industry could invent a form of concrete that is anti-slip; if
not for ...
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So, I dug up some old zip disks and 3.5" diskettes (amazing, I know—what
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Fandom Awakens
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The internet almost broke last week with the debut of the *Star Wars: The
Force Awakens* trailer. It was viewed over 30 million times in the first 24
hour...
We've Moved!
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My new website is up! For all the latest information on myself and my
books, go to www.hockingbooks.com.
All my old blogs from here have been moved over t...
Time Keeps on Slippin' ... Into the Future
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I disappeared again. I feel as though I am just resurfacing. After the
holidays. After life changes. After ... It all just goes fast, doesn't it?
This past...
Dat dere orange spray tan
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Unnatural looking, streaks, overpriced, wears off in just a few days, weird
chemicals cause you to break out.....what more could you want!?!?
Hibernation
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Thanks for dropping by!
I'm taking a break from blogging (or more to the point, taking a break from
feeling guilty about the lack of blogging but stil...
Oh dear
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I am not a patient person.
I couldn't finish the healing journey I had the other day.
I was taken to a deep blue pool and many of the gods and people I kne...
Where To Find Me
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As I mentioned in my last post, my writing was in the process of being
moved, and that process is complete. Going forward, you'll be able to read
my stuff ...
60 Days of Art... round 2
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I missed last years 60 days of art by roughly 2 weeks. I'm going to try and
officially complete it this year.
I started July 30 with this version of Adam W...
HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY
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"THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN," - sings Uncle Jesse with a mullet.
The boys are back (but not in town)! However, according to NBC's broadcast,
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Jordan
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I saw this and this a while back but never shared it, since it's probably
BS. Nevertheless, it's still funny and I've sent both links around to
people b...
He who blogs and runs away
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*He settled *Hoti*'s business--let it be!--*
* Properly based *Oun*--*
*Gave us the doctrine of the enclitic *De*,*
* Dead from the waist down....
Icon Packages Download
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Dear users, I'm having trouble keeping the downloads directly from my
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Some of my works...
Book #9 -- The Dirty Life
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I had the pleasure of reading The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball over spring
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complete...
Pheasant Tale
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*Pheasant Tale Fascinator by Arturo Rios*
*Artist Statement:* This is a beautiful hat i love from my collection, its
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the year of living almost celibately
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it's been a strange year.
for someone who advises people to have plenty of sex and plenty of wild
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Taiwan's International Athletes
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So after a long hiatus from the world of blogging...... I AM BACK!
Since I've been in Taiwan for the past bit, I will write about the world of
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Un-Baked Ziti
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I bought the largest package of Italian sausage I had ever seen. Three
dinners? Four dinners? Three dinners. I can get three dinners out of this
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Life changed
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I don't really know where to begin with this post because of how much life
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Finding The Flow To Let Yourself Go
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This is supposedly how you find your flow to let yourself go. The point is
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listenin...
HOME PAGE:
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Click sequentially on the topics below to experience God's presence among
us:
*1. "I am who I am*"
2. "Understood from what has been made"
*3. "Male and f...
work in progress
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Our world of wealth and prosperity
Religions with alien deities
No spirit left in our arteries
Fat bellies from food made in factories
And terror danc...
Beautiful Steampunk Art and Video
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Courtesy of Natania Barron, authoress of the the book and blog The
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Happiness
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What do you know? Happiness is IN! How do I know this? From a November 27,
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Post #1377: The Relatively Short Goodbye
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Hello, everyone.
After 21 years, and almost 40 million posts (we'll have to check those
numbers, but it's something like that), we have decided to bring F...
Jesus Christ...Martin Luther King, Jr...Ken Lay
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Until I became a martyr recently, the only time my name was uttered in the
same sentence as God's only son and that black civil rights guy would be
when so...
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