Before delving into the recent viewings, some of the recent works we’ve checked out include Call of the Wild and Birds of Prey, the theatrical release of The Rhythm Section, and some catch-up recently on A Quiet Place and Cold Pursuit. This past month also had Darius stepping in to provide a review for The Photograph. We’re looking forward to when theaters can open again and get behind supporting them so we can continue to enjoy the big screen experience.
One area where I’ve “failed” in my film education course for my kids is with Quentin Tarantino movies. Finding the right sweet spot to introduce them always got outweighed by any number of other things and other movies I wanted to show. At most, I’ve been able to get a third into Pulp Fiction and they saw Kill Bill elsewhere. Whereas I really want to revisit the fun of the dialogue of Reservoir Dogs, the more recent films haven’t been ones that I’ve wanted to engage with myself. That said, there’s a certain “fun” to Inglorious Basterds that worked and made for a good viewing this week. The film could use without the chapter breakdowns and a bit more blending of the various storylines so that some characters aren’t offscreen as long as they are, but the components all work well separately and together to make for a fun experience overall that goes big and delightful at the end. Christoph Waltz was the real delight I had in this as when I first saw the film it was my introduction to him and I’ve enjoyed a lot of his work since.
I caught this one in theaters back when it came out (check out our review) but finally got to pick up a copy for myself as it hit the $10 mark on iTunes during a sale. It’s the kind of film that I can easily put on in the background and enjoy. But it was also the first time others in my lockdown cell got to see the film so I got to watch it through their eyes as well, which is always a lot of fun since it’s a bit more interactive. The cast is just a delight and having enjoyed a lot of Rian Johnson’s smaller films before it was great to see him growing into something fun and sharp like this. It’s also a good bit of fun because the bulk of it was shot locally to me so we had their trailers around towns a lot and Evans grew up two towns over from where I am as well, so they found some great locations to play with. Overall, I still love the film a lot and it was a delight getting to immerse myself in it for a second viewing while knowing the trick of it and watching it play out.
What are you watching this week?
