Lionsgate announced recently announced a box set highlighting the twenty year career of director Quentin Tarantino called Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection in ten disc set. The set includes Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds. Also included is two discs with five hours of all-new bonus material, highlighted by a critics’ retrospective on Tarantino’s groundbreaking catalog of films and “20 Years of Filmmaking” that contains interviews with critics, stars and other masters of cinema.

Press Release:

Celebrating Quentin Tarantino’s legendary filmmaking, Lionsgate and Miramax are proud to present the Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection, arriving on Blu-ray Disc November 20th.

Tarantino XX contains eight films chosen by Tarantino to illustrate the first 20 years of his career, featuring the films that helped define his early success, including Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Death Proof and Inglourious Basterds. To complete the stunning high definition 10-disc set, the Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection also features two discs with five hours of all-new bonus material, highlighted by a critics’ retrospective on Tarantino’s groundbreaking catalog of films and “20 Years of Filmmaking” that contains interviews with critics, stars and other masters of cinema.

Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection showcases one of the most innovative filmmakers of our time and is a must-have for serious film fans, as Tarantino’s highly-anticipated new film, Django Unchained, prepares to hit theaters. Honoring the 20th anniversary of Reservoir Dogs – the cultural milestone that brought Tarantino to the forefront as a cinematic legend – the collection is highlighted by recurring appearances from celebrated actors including Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) and Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction), and also includes starring performances from iconic actors such as Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds), Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) and Robert Forster (Jackie Brown).

Tarantino XX on Blu-ray also features striking, original artwork designed and illustrated by MONDO (www.mondotees.com). Housed in collectible packaging, the Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection will be available for the suggested retail price of $119.99.

CONTENTS SUMMARY

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES – 2 Discs*
• Critics Corner: The Films of Quentin Tarantino – In-depth critics’ discussion piece exploring Tarantino’s films that redefined cinema and the impact of one of the most influential writers/directors of our time.
• 20 Years of Filmmaking – Take a look at Tarantino’s career from the beginning, with interviews from co-workers, critics, stars and master filmmakers alike as well as a tribute to his greatest collaborator, Sally Menke.

RESERVOIR DOGS
Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (1992) and awarded the International Critics Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (1992), is raw, violent and unforgettable. Four perfect strangers are assembled to pull off the perfect crime, but when a botched robbery reveals a police informant among them, their simple robbery explodes into a bloody ambush.

Blu-ray Special Features*
• Pulp Factoids Viewer
• Playing It Fast and Loose
• Profiling the Reservoir Dogs

TRUE ROMANCE - DIRECTOR’S CUT
Runaway lovers Clarence and Alabama (Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette) play a dangerous game with a stolen suitcase containing $5 million worth of cocaine. They head for Los Angeles, where they'll sell the goods and begin a new life, but both sides of the law have other ideas. This dark comic web of crime, murder and mayhem from writer Quentin Tarantino and director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Spy Game), features an ensemble cast including Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Christopher Walken.

Blu-ray Special Features*
• Audio commentary by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette
• Audio commentary by Tony Scott
• Audio commentary by Quentin Tarantino
• Scene selective commentaries by Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt and Michael
Rapaport
• Deleted/Extended Scenes with Optional Director Commentary
• Alternate Ending with Optional Director and Writer Commentary
• Original 1993 Mini-feature
• Behind-the-Scenes Interactive Feature
• Animated Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

PULP FICTION
Pulp Fiction has been hailed by critics and audiences worldwide as a film that redefined cinema. A burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-addled gangster's moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) converge in four tales of violence and redemption. The film was honored with an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay (1994) and earned seven total nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It has also been listed as one of the best films of all-time by Time and Entertainment Weekly.

Blu-ray Special Features*
• Interviews with Cast
• Critics’ Retrospective on the Movie’s Place in Film History
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage
• Pulp Fiction: The Facts
• Production Design Feature
• Siskel & Ebert At the Movies – The Tarantino Generation
• Independent Spirit Awards Footage
• Cannes Film Festival Footage
• Charlie Rose – Tarantino Interview
• Stills Galleries
• Trivia Track
• Deleted Scenes

JACKIE BROWN
Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch follows a cash-smuggling flight attendant (Pam Grier) who is busted by an ATF agent (Michael Keaton) and a cop (Michael Bowen). When pressured to help with their investigation, she agrees to do one last run for a ruthless arms dealer (Samuel L. Jackson). Mistrust and suspicions arise when Jackie plays the opposing forces against each other in an effort to walk away with the dough. Robert Forster earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® nomination for his role as Max Cherry, a bail bondsman who falls for Jackie and becomes embroiled in the scheme.

Blu-ray Special Features*
• Breaking Down Jackie Brown
• Jackie Brown: How It Went Down – Retrospective Interviews with Cast and Crew
• A Look Back at Jackie Brown – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Chicks with Guns Video
• Siskel & Ebert At the Movies - Jackie Brown Review
• Jackie Brown on MTV
• Marketing Gallery
• Stills Galleries
• Trivia Track
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes

KILL BILL VOL. 1
In the first volume of this gritty revenge saga, an assassin (Uma Thurman) is shot at the altar by her ruthless employer, Bill (David Carradine), and other members of his Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad. In this epic tale of survival The Bride sets out to bring justice to all those who wronged her, including a reformed suburban mother (Vivica A. Fox) and the Japanese Yakuza crime-lord (Lucy Liu).

Blu-ray Special Features*
• The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 1
• The 5.6.7.8’s Bonus Musical Performances
• Tarantino Trailers

KILL BILL VOL. 2
The murderous Bride (Uma Thurman) mercilessly continues her vengeance quest against her ex-boss, Bill (David Carradine), and his two remaining associates: Bill’s degenerate younger brother (Michael Madsen) and a vicious one-eyed swordswoman (Daryl Hannah).

Blu-ray Special Features*
• The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 2
• Damoe Deleted Scene
• Chingon Musical Performance

DEATH PROOF
Kurt Russell stars as a tough-talking, psychotic serial murderer who transforms his stunt car into an indestructible killing machine, then climbs behind the wheel to stalk and terrorize a group of women on the road. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s picked the wrong babes to mess with.

Blu-ray Special Features*
• Stunts on Wheels: The Legendary Drivers of Death Proof
• Introducing Zoe Bell
• Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike
• The Uncut Version of Baby, It's You performed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead
• The Guys of Death Proof
• Quentin’s Greatest Collaborator: Editor Sally Menke
• Double Dare Trailer
• Death Proof International Trailer
• An International Poster Gallery
• BD Live

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
A Jewish cinema owner in Nazi-occupied Paris is forced to host a movie premiere for the Third Reich, where a radical group of American soldiers, The Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), plan to roll out a score-settling scheme. The film was honored with an Academy Award® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (2009, Christoph Waltz) and earned seven total nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year for Lawrence Bender and Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Quentin Tarantino.

Blu-ray Special Features*
• Extended and Alternate Scenes
• Roundtable Discussion with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and Elvis Mitchell
• The Making of Nation’s Pride
• A Conversation with Rod Taylor
• Nation’s Pride – the film within the film
• The Original Inglorious Bastards
• Quentin Tarantino’s Camera Angel
• Film Poster Gallery Tour
• Rod Taylor on Victoria Bitter
• Hi Sallys
• Killin’ Nazis Trivia Challenge
• Trailers

The Weinstein Company has released the first sitlls to one of the year's most anticipated films "Django Unchained". The film is the latest film from director Quentin Tarantino. It features an all star cast that includes Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx, Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz, Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio and Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson. The film is slated to hit theaters on Christmas Day.

Plot Synopsis:

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive. Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival… '

Film Geeks like myself are definitely looking forward to this film. The Weinstien Company recently released the official teaser poster for Quentin Tarantino's anticipated film "Django Unchained" His latest film features an all star cast that includes Jamie Foxx,Leonardo DiCaprio, Kurt Russell, Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson, and Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz. Quentin Tarantino's" Django Unchained" is slated to hit theaters on christmas day.

Plot Synopsis:

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award®-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles - dead or alive.

Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South's most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago.

Django andSchultz's search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Academy Award®-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of "Candyland," an infamous plantation where slaves are groomed by trainer Ace Woody (Kurt Russell) to battle each other for sport. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson), Candie's trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival...

Written and directed by Academy Award®-winner Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED is produced by Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone. The executive producers are Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Michael Shamberg, Shannon McIntosh, and James Skotchdopole. DJANGO UNCHAINED will be released in the U.S. on December 25, 2012, and internationally by Sony Pictures.

Quentin Tarantino closed out his month of movie programming at New Beverly Cinema with “Kill Bill.” The movie was of course split into two volumes as it turned out to be much longer than anyone expected, but the print shown at the theater he saved from being turned into another Supercuts was the one shown at the Cannes Film Festival. This version puts the two volumes together for a movie that resembles the closest thing you may ever see to a cinematic novel.

Keep in mind, this version of “Kill Bill” has never before been seen in America. There’s a few scenes added to the whole Japanese anime sequence that explains the back story of O-Ren Ishii, and certain characters lose a few more limbs than we originally thought. That had me thinking of “Robocop” when Kurtwood Smith who played that movie’s chief villain Clarence, after blowing away Peter Weller’s hand with a shotgun, said out loud:

“Well give the man a hand!”

This version also has French subtitles for the benefit of the audience at Cannes, and it is a great way to learn a new language if you ask me!

The two volumes of “Kill Bill” came out in 2003 and 2004, so many of you already know the story. Uma Thurman’s character of The Bride (as she is known in Vol. 1) has been lying in a four year long coma after being viciously attacked by her comrades on the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad. She awakens and seeks revenge on them for the damage they have done, and we know going into this that it is going to be one hell of a bloody revenge. When Uma says that she and her opponent have “unfinished business,” she ain’t kidding!

The influences on “Kill Bill” are easy to spot as the whole deal is a hodgepodge of Japanese Samurai stories, spaghetti westerns, and some blaxploitation thrown in for good measure. Before the movie began at the New Beverly, we were treated to a few trailers of films that Tarantino drew from for this fourth film of his. Among them were the Swedish exploitation film “They Call Her One Eye,” and “Coffy” where Pam Grier plays a black female vigilante.

Now many will say that this is just Quentin plagiarizing from other filmmakers, but that would be wrong. Look, everyone steals from others, but there is a difference between that and plagiarizing; the latter involves stealing another person’s work and claiming it as your own. But Tarantino is not guilty of that in the slightest. What he has done is taken elements from some of his favorite movies and made them all his own. It’s not just his dialogue that is so good, but how beautifully complex and realized he makes each and every single character seen here.

This may look like Tarantino’s Samurai version of “Death Wish,” but each character is drawn out to where we respect them even if we don’t always like them. Watching “Kill Bill” in this particular version made me see that even more than I did before. For example, in the climatic fight between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii, we come to see that these two have respect for each other even though they despise one another. O-Ren insults The Bride, but then she is wounded by her when she least expected to be, and she pauses to apologize for what she said earlier. Now how many other American movies have scenes like that? Usually it’s the good versus the bad, but each character gets an in depth back story that succeeds in blurring the line between the two.

Quentin wrote the part of The Bride with Uma Thurman in mind, and it’s hard to think of another actress who could have played it. Seriously, it takes a great actress to make you believe that an assassin like her could take out dozens upon dozens of warriors all by her lonesome. Uma imbues her character with determination, a strong sense of honor, and you have to admire her for all that she puts up with throughout “Kill Bill.” She gets shot in the head, taken advantage of, gets beaten up very badly, and even gets buried alive. Throughout the entire thing, she gives the role her all and never waivers for a second. Watching her here is exhilarating as it is emotionally draining as she draws us deeply into her plight, and we cheer her on throughout.

Then there’s the late great David Carradine who plays the main target of The Bride’s wrath, Bill. We don’t even see his face for the first half of this epically long adventure, but we don’t really need to. With his powerful voice, he creates an infinitely fearful antagonist whose existence inspires trembling even when he is not in the same room with you. When we do get to see him in the later half of “Kill Bill,” we are already quaking in fear at his presence. It’s a brilliant performance by David that should have snagged him an Oscar nomination, and it still feels criminal that he didn’t get one.

Lucy Liu was riding high on her work in “Ally McBeal” around the time she appeared in “Kill Bill.” Her performance as the deadly O-Ren Ishii is very memorable in that we get to see how her character followed a very tragic path that led her to become a top notch assassin. Lucy uses that intensely sexy vibe of hers to great effect here as she has one of the movie’s best speeches on why no one should ever question her mixed heritage. She is such a kick to watch whenever she is onscreen, and while The Bride’s revenge upon her is justified, we have to admit how cool O-Ren is under pressure.

When I first saw “Kill Bill,” I tried to remember the last time I saw Daryl Hannah in anything. Daryl made a memorable impression on us all in Ron Howard’s “Splash,” but she seemed to descend into the direct to video market after that. The last thing I remember seeing her in before Tarantino’s epic was in John Carpenter’s studio-interrupted “Memoirs Of An Invisible Man,” and that was released at least ten years before this one. But as the one-eyed Elle Driver, she creates one of the most infuriatingly contemptible villains the world of movies has ever seen. She makes us despise Elle fully, and her Snake Plissken act doesn’t fool anybody.

Michael Madsen is perfect as Bill’s brother Bud, the most laid back member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Bud knows what’s in store for him and everyone else, and he is as prepared for his fate as he is for The Bride to attack him swiftly. Seeing him ever so coolly consign Uma’s character to a horrifying death (think “The Vanishing”) shows that he isn’t as ruthless as he is wounded over what she did to his brother. Michael is one of those dependable character actors who always delivers the goods, and his work in “Kill Bill” is no exception.

There are many other great performances to be found throughout the whole “Kill Bill” experience. Michael Parks ends up giving two great performances; one as Earl McGraw, the same character he played in both “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Grindhouse,” and the other as Esteban Vihaio, a retired pimp and one of Bill’s many father figures. Gordon Liu also does terrific double duty as Johnny Mo, the head general of the Crazy 88, and even more so as Pai Mei, the incredibly powerful and abusive martial arts master. Vivica A. Fox may have the briefest screen time of all the Deadly Assassination Squad members, but as Vernita Green, she makes her onscreen moments count for a hell of a lot. And let’s not forget Chiaki Kuriyama who plays the gleefully sadistic Gogo Yubari, O-Ren’s personal bodyguard.

I also have to bring up Quentin Tarantino’s musical selections as he is second only to Martin Scorsese in perfectly scoring his movies. Throughout the whole shebang, he uses many pieces of music by the great Ennio Morricone which brilliantly capture the sheer emotion Quentin is aiming for. Then there’s the use of individual songs which you will never ever listen to again without thinking of “Kill Bill:”

Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” lets you know that this is not going to be just some average action movie. It’s going to have characters that have far more dimensions than the average Jason Statham or Steven Seagal feature (doesn’t matter if we’re talking theatrical or straight to video). The lyrics make you see that it will be about character as much as it will be about action, and that each character will have a lot of depth.

Tomoyasu Hotei’s "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" made itself known just from the trailer to “Kill Bill,” and it has since been ripped off by many a commercial since (darn it). It’s a thrilling piece of music that illustrates just how powerful and fearful O-Ren Ishii and her band of followers are. Even if this movie was from someone other than Quentin Tarantino, I still would have jumped out to see it just from listening to the song in the trailer.

Santa Esmeralda’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” makes a perfect fit for the final battle between The Bride and O-Ren. It’s a lively song that keeps the adrenaline pumping even after Uma’s character has successfully eviscerated dozens upon dozens of opponents. Of course O-Ren is going to be her toughest opponent at this point, but heaven forbid they misunderstand one another even if they despise each other, you know?

And then you have Malcolm McLaren’s “About Her” which plays in the scene where Uma has a relaxing moment with the true love of her life. It’s a beautiful song that is perfect for falling asleep to, and I loved how successfully it sampled both The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” and Bessie Smith from the movie “St. Louis Blues.” It’s perhaps the last piece of music you would expect to hear as we get towards the final battle the movie’s title hints at, but it puts one in a rather sublime mood that few other songs can.

It should also be noted that “Kill Bill” has the closest thing to an original score that any of Quentin Tarantino’s movies have ever had. RZA adds some choice pieces of music throughout as does Robert Rodriguez’s band Chingon which wraps up the whole thing in rapturous detail.

In the end, it’s probably best that “Kill Bill” was split into two movies; one was a Samurai movie that forced you to look at Uma’s character as though she is nothing more than a killer, and the other resembles a western where we then look at her as a person who is justified in seeking her revenge. But as a whole, “Kill Bill” is a fully realized experience that enthralls you in a way most movies don’t these days. Like many of Quentin’s other films, it is a reminder of why it is so much fun to go to the movies. To have an experience that fully engages the audience to where we never look at our watch feels like a rarity these days as Hollywood keeps throwing stuff at us which they think we will like.

Thank you Quentin Tarantino for showing this particular version of “Kill Bill” at New Beverly Cinema. No other theatre in Los Angeles deserves to be this lucky!

* * * * out of * * * *

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) will present Quentin Tarantino with its first ever Critics’ Choice Music+Film Award at the 16th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The all new Critics’ Choice Music+Film Award was created to honor a single filmmaker who has not only inspired moviegoers with his cinematic storytelling, but has heightened the impact of film through the brilliant use of source and soundtrack music. Maroon 5 will perform a special musical tribute from one of Tarantino’s most memorable movie scenes. The ceremony will air live on VH1 on Friday, January 14 at 9:00 PM ET/PT from the Hollywood Palladium.

The inaugural Critics’ Choice Music+Film Award will honor director Quentin Tarantino who, throughout his career, has truly harnessed the power of a single song and created unforgettable, heart-breaking, exhilarating, and always dynamic moments that remain in the minds of his audience. His mastery of the artful integration of music and film can be seen in such classic movies as “Pulp Fiction,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2,” and most recently, “Inglourious Basterds.”

Counting down to the live premiere of the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, VH1 and MTV will air the 16th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Red Carpet Pre-Show live on Friday, January 14 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Covering the excitement of the celebrity arrivals on the red carpet will be co-hosts Tim Kash and La La Vazquez. The pre-show will also be available on CriticsChoice.VH1.com

“Nazis, I hate these guys!”
-Harrison Ford from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”

“You know somethin', Utivich? I think this might just be my masterpiece.”
-Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine

Could this truly be Tarantino’s masterpiece? Hard to say, but it is indeed his most ambitious movie to date. “Inglourious Basterds” is another brilliant love letter to all things cinema from Quentin Tarantino, and it ends this rather crappy summer of movies on a high note. With this film, Tarantino has created his own version of World War II and has given it the ending many of us would have preferred to have seen. It is also his tribute to movies like “The Dirty Dozen” and other war movies of its ilk. It is not a remake of the film of the same name, but it has the same title of it out of respect.

“Inglourious Basterds” is told in a series of chapters, and it features several different threads of story that eventually intersect at the film’s fiery climax. We meet our chief Nazi villain, Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) as he questions a family as to whether or not they are hiding any Jews, but we soon realize that he is asking questions he already knows the answers to. Then we are introduced to the Basterds themselves, and they are lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who announces that they are being dropped into Nazi occupied France to do one thing and one thing only, killing Nazis. Not only that, they plan to take souvenirs to show Germany they mean business. Then we meet Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), the only Jew to escape Col. Landa’s deadly grasp, who has found a safe hiding place as the owner of a German cinema which will soon host the most powerful members of the Nazi party for a film opening gala. Little do they know of the act of brutal vengeance which will eventually greet them…

At a running time of 153 minutes, “Inglourious Basterds” is one of those rare movies that really takes its time. There’s no big rush to get from one big action set piece to the next which has been the case with just every movie that gets released in the summer. Even while The Weinstein Company had to work with Universal Pictures to get this film, Tarantino still gets full creative control which is a blessing for those of us who love his films. We also get the great dialogue we have come to expect from Mr. Tarantino, and there are moments where words speak louder than actions. There are many verbal duels between characters as each one tries to outdo the other, and what is implied by them ends up generating an amazing amount of tension.

Tarantino also retains his keen eye for casting, and he has said that one of the actors he chose had in fact given him back his movie. That actor would be Christoph Waltz who plays the intelligent but deadly Col. Hans Landa. Christoph won the Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and the way I see it, they should just hand him the damn Oscar come next March. Brilliant almost seems too subtle a description to describe his performance. His role is an extremely difficult one to pull off because he has to come off a certain way while allowing us to see in his eyes what he already knows. Christoph comes off with simple gestures that has us unnerved, and a key moment where he deals with another one of the main characters is great cat and mouse moment where he is trying to figure out the person he sees before him while she tries to remain calm and hide who she really is. Waltz’s opening scene with the French farmer is remarkable in how he psychologically tears him down to where he finally reveals what Landa already knows.

I’m not sure if I have seen Christoph Waltz in any other movies before, but I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future. Seriously, his character is to “Inglourious Basterds” what Heath Ledger’s Joker was to last year’s “The Dark Knight.”

Then we have Brad Pitt who I am glad to see get down and dirty after being all cute and cuddly in the very good but somewhat overrated “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” As Lt. Aldo Raine, he starts off by giving a speech to his men that makes him come off like George C. Scott in “Patton.” It is clear from the start that Pitt is having a ball playing this character and saying the dialogue Tarantino has written. Brad looks like he managed to save some of the manic energy from “Burn After Reading” for this role, and while his performance comes close to caricature at times, he has rooting for him throughout as he manages to outsmart the devious Nazi’s.

Quentin also continues to prove great at writing strong roles for women. Mélanie Laurent does great work here as Shosanna Dreyfus, the Jewish woman who is the only survivor of one of Landa’s murderous rampages. Throughout the movie, she goes from playing it cool around the Nazis to being terrified as she comes under close examination from them. She has managed to maintain her cover as a German while running her own cinema, and she also has to fend off the advances of Pvt Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) who is something of a pop star in the Nazi party when he meets her. She also has a strong relationship with her boyfriend projectionist Marcel (Jacky Ido) which allows her to show compassion she would otherwise have to keep hidden from the prying eyes of those out to eliminate the Jews. Mélanie gets to portray many different facets of her character throughout the movie’s running time, and her performance is every bit as memorable to me as was Christoph Waltz’s.

I also got a big kick out of Diane Kruger’s highly entertaining performance as film star Bridget von Hammersmark, a Marlene Dietrich of sorts. She is a wonderful performance as she goes from an outgoing actress who always seems to enjoy the company of others to a tough woman who shares in the Basterds passion of doing in the Nazis, most especially Hitler. Best known for her work in “National Treasure” and “Troy” among other movies, she really comes into her own here and gives a performance unlike any she has previously given.

“Inglourious Basterds” has a great cast overall with other memorable turns from actors like Michael Fassbender as a British spy posing as a German officer and from Sylvester Groth as the irrepressibly snooty Joseph Goebbels. It’s also a hoot to see Mike Meyers here in a “guest starring” role as a British general, and it almost fully makes up for the mess he inflicted on us last summer with “The Love Guru.” Eli Roth, the “torture porn” director of movies like “Hostel” is also on board as Sgt. Donny Donowitz, aka “The Bear Jew.” Although this role was originally intended for Adam Sandler who had to decline because he was making “Funny People,” it almost makes sense that the “Hostel” director would play a soldier who beats Nazis to death with a baseball bat.

Many of Tarantino’s favorite movie devices are on display here like the “Mexican standoff” and all the talk about movies. But here, they feel much more fresh and exhilarating to watch in the way they are portrayed. The scene in the German bar where one Nazi soldier is celebrating the birth of his son may seem almost too long, but Quentin builds the scene to a fever pitch of tension as everyone has their gun on the other, and you watch in terrifying anticipation of who will shoot first. With the character of Shosanna, Quentin takes the time to express his love of foreign cinema. In his other movies, especially the “Death Proof” portion of “Grindhouse,” he mostly speaks of his affection for American movies and pop culture, but his love of cinema certainly does not stop there.

Quentin also gives us another one of his great soundtracks that is a collection of film scores from other movies, and songs that capture the essence of the characters to the letter. Interestingly enough, much of the music is not of the WWII period, and Tarantino even uses David Bowie’s theme song from Paul Schrader’s 1980’s remake of “Cat People” to perfectly capture Shosanna in her final preparations for revenge. As with the “Kill Bill” movies, he makes effective use of the film scores of Ennio Morricone who remains a big influence on his own work. It didn’t take me long after seeing the movie to buy the soundtrack (I wish it was on sale though).

Many will complain of how inaccurate this film is to the historical facts of Hitler and WWII, but they are just wasting their own time. We should all know by the time we head into the theater that Tarantino is not out to be anymore historically accurate than Michael Mann was with “Public Enemies.” Every once in a while, you need a movie that breaks the rules, and it is such infectious fun to see “Inglourious Basterds” break down the normal conventions of how a WWII is made. So many of them over the past couple of years tend to be depressing affairs over the humanity lost, but Quentin is out to do the exact opposite of that. His WWII movie is a fantastic genre movie that borrows from many movies and Quentin is still genius at taking elements from them all and making them all his own.

2009 has been a bad year for movies so far, but “Inglourious Basterds” is one of the best of the year and is yet another cinematic triumph for Quentin Tarantino that shows he is no one trick pony. I just hope we don’t have to wait another six years for his next one.

**** out of ****

David Carradine’s death in Bangkok, Thailand was a huge shock that no one could have seen coming. It also served as another example of how the media can be all too presumptuous as to the cause of death. I have a hard time believing his death was a suicide, but that’s all I will say about it at this time. Of course, everyone is reporting on his death, and a retrospective of his career will come before we all know it. At this time, I would rather look back at a book he wrote that I read a few years ago when I was vacationing with my family in Kauai, Hawaii…

“The Kill Bill Diary” by David Carradine is one of those books like “The Firm” by John Grisham which got me back into reading books more often than not. I go through periods, as I’m sure we all do, where I feel like I have no time to read any books at all. It can feel like you have to plan out a period of time where you can take the time to read a book that you don’t just pick up and put down. But in the end, it is not a question of whether or not you have the time to read a book. If it is important to read, you make the time. “The Lord of the Rings” may not be a book that you just pick up and put down, but you can do that with a book like this one, which gives us an enthusiastic look at the making of a Quentin Tarantino movie.

Carradine is now known as one of those actors whose career was miraculously brought back to life by Quentin Tarantino. Indeed, his performance as Bill in the “Kill Bill” movies was nothing short of brilliant. To think that Warren Beatty almost had this part instead of him is (with all due respect to him) almost unthinkable. But at least Warren, after turning down the role, had the good sense to recommend David for this role to Quentin. Best known for his role in the TV show stolen from Bruce Lee (“Kung Fu”), David Carradine ended up creating one of the most memorable villains of this past decade; One that you couldn’t quite hate, but one whose presence (even when he was not onscreen) sent shivers down your spine.

I am sure that Tarantino would prefer to be known as a writer/director who always managed to cast the right people in each movie he does. But whether he admits it or not, he managed to bring stars from the past to a new generation. In “Pulp Fiction,” he managed to resurrect John Travolta’s ailing career, and it marked one of his many comebacks in film history. Later, he went on to give Pam Grier and Robert Forster a whole new set of fans with their performances in the underappreciated “Jackie Brown” (Forster’s performance still blows me away to this day). David Carradine is one of the more recent additions to that list of actors Quentin was such a big fan of as a kid, and of whom became a star again in one of his many exhilarating movies.

All of this makes Carradine’s book entitled “The Kill Bill Diary” all the more enticing to read. Tarantino may have resurrected many a career, but this particular actor is the first one to write about that. David’s diary chronicles what lead up to him being cast in the movie as well as the making of which had its ups and downs. To see everything occurring through his unique perspective makes this book a must read for fans of the “Kill Bill” movies as well as fans of Tarantino and Carradine.

Any good writer can write a diary that puts you right into their shoes and vividly captures what they went through. Carradine more than does that with his “Kill Bill” diary as he goes from has been to an audience that was bigger than the one he had before. The book starts off with him more or less describing how he got the role of Bill, and of the state of his career before that. David had become one of those actors relegated to doing nothing but B-movies, many of which went straight to video, and who subsisted on endless convention appearances which helped keep a roof over his head. Carradine even talks about how he ended up canceling some convention appearances in order to get the part of Bill in the two movies, and of how it affected him financially. Reading about that in this day and age makes the book a bit scary. Indeed, many actors end up making their incomes from endless convention appearances, and they have been so typecast to where they cannot get work elsewhere. You can feel the depth of risk that Carradine takes to get cast, and it illustrates how difficult it is for anybody to make it in show business.

Several books have already been written about the making of a Tarantino movie (“Killer Instinct” being the most infamous) and it is entertaining to see Carradine’s perspective on that. During post-production and the training period for the actors, he captures how hard Tarantino can be on the actors. His drive to make his actors do the best work they can ends up getting the ire of Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green in “Kill Bill Vol. 1”) who makes him ease up. I got a big kick out of reading that section of Carradine’s diary.

At the same time, David also defends Tarantino from his many critics who claim that all he does is copy scenes from classic movies and puts them into his own. Indeed, Tarantino has done a lot of that in his career, but so have Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg among others. Carradine ends up comparing Tarantino to a chef who takes all the familiar ingredients made available to him, and who ends up creating a great feast. Anybody can steal, but it takes a real talent to take something and then make it their own. Tarantino has managed to do that for over a decade now, and “The Kill Bill Diary” captures that fact perfectly.

But moreover, “The Kill Bill Diary” captures David Carradine at a point in his life where he seems to be the most relaxed with who he is as a person. At different points, he mentions how he went off the deep end with relationships and drugs and how this almost ended his life. You believe Carradine when he writes of how he has put all that behind him, and that he is more than prepared to move forward with his life. We see how he has found a happiness with his 5th wife (eat your heart out Billy Bob Thornton) Annie Bierman. You feel his satisfaction of where life is at for him, and you share his excitement as his career is revived through the making of this brilliant movie.

“The Kill Bill Diary” also features a lot of great photographs taken by Andrew Cooper, Annie Bierman, and David Carradine himself. David got a class photo of a crazed looking Quentin Tarantino which you can find on page ten of the paperback version. His wife Annie always seems to get his best side while Andrew Cooper does his best to make him look like one cool dude. David himself captures some great shots that take us behind the scenes, and he gives a look at how the actors are preparing themselves behind the scenes. The photos included here are another great reason to buy this book.

I don’t want to give too much else away as it would spoil some of the diary’s best moments. It is safe to say that any fan of David Carradine, Quentin Tarantino, or of movies in general would be doing themselves an unforgivable disservice by not reading this book. It’s not necessarily a book of great literature, but it is a fun and entertaining look at the making of a Quentin Tarantino film, and it serves as an illuminating look at an actor who is about to see his dormant acting career be born before his very eyes. At a time where I just couldn’t get myself to pick up a book (let alone listen to an audio novel), “The Kill Bill Diary” turned out to be endlessly entertaining.

David Carradine may have been in his 70’s, but that does not make his sudden death any easier to take. There is no doubt that he lived a good life, and there is also no doubt that it ended far too soon. RIP.

Quentin Tarantino attempts (intentionally or not) to resurrect the dormant acting career of one of his favorite actors from the 1970’s: Larry Bishop. Larry he has acted in many movies and guest starred on numerous TV shows, but he is best known for his fine performances as badass bikers from movies like "The Savage Seven," "Angel Unchained," and "Chrome and Hot Leather." Tarantino himself gave Larry a fantastic and hilarious cameo as the manager of a strip joint in “Kill Bill, Vol. 2” where he tells Michael Madsen’s character that he is not working for him again anytime soon. Now Tarantino has given Larry a chance to bring back the biker movies that he loved watching in his youth. The result was “Hell Ride” which was written, co-produced, and directed by Mr. Bishop himself. Larry also plays the lead role of Pistolero, the leader of the Victors biker gang.

In short, here is what I can say about “Hell Ride:” Great look, awesome cast, crappy screenplay shitty movie. “Hell Ride” is a mess of a movie that wastes some very talented actors in a story that makes almost no sense at all. The movie only runs about 83 minutes, but it sure felt like a LONG 83 minutes all the same. The movie involves, as far as I could lift out of the mess of a story, Pistolero and his gang going after a rival biker gang known as 666 to revenge the death of one of their own. I can’t really explain it anymore than that because all the little details got lost on me. This is a loud movie to be sure, but I almost passed out while watching it.

The story, like many a Tarantino movie, shifts back and forth in time to help give more depth to the story and the characters. What it really ends up doing is confusing the hell out of me and the rest of the audience. We see a young kid on his bicycle, and we think that’s Pistolero, but it could be someone else. We see the names of other characters who knew this kid, and we see other bikers burn this Cherokee woman to death because she stole money or something like that. By the end of the movie, I really didn’t care much who did what because I was too busy looking at my watch waiting for the movie to end. When I look at my watch while I am watching a movie, that is NEVER a good sign.

“Hell Ride” also features a plethora of naked ladies and bloody violence. The look of the movie is very rough, and it is one of the very few pluses here. To its credit, the movie never glamorizes anything about the lifestyle of these beer-hungry gang bangers, and shows the hideous nature of these outlaws for what they are. There are not really any good guys to be found here. I cannot say that I didn’t enjoy the naked ladies here, but I am glad to say that they are not bad actors. I wish some of the ladies in this movie would talk to me the way they talk to Pistolero.

This movie does want to make me see some of Larry’s earlier biker movies to see what was so great about them, and to see how good he was in them. I am sure they make for a great drive-in movie going experience. But Larry’s performance in this movie is so one-note, and he brings nothing more to it than a growling menace. He speaks just about every line in the movie the same way, and I kept wondering if he was one step away from getting a tracheotomy. I have heard a lot of people arguing about the voice Christian Bale gives Batman in “The Dark Knight,” but if you really didn’t like his voice there, you will hate the way Bishop speaks even more.

As a director, he shows no signs of pacing at all, and there are too many lingering shots of men on their motorcycles driving their way down that lonesome highway. Those scenes could have been shortened, even at the threat of turning this into a short film. Yes, yes, they all look cool on their motorcycles and even more so without helmets, but that gets boring after a while.

As a screenwriter, Larry’s dialogue falls flat no matter how good the actor is delivering it. It’s clear that Bishop was trying to ape the Tarantino style and make it his own, but there is no flattery in his imitation. It’s bad enough that the movie makes no sense, but for the dialogue to suck as well is a darn shame. I can forgive the “Star Wars” prequels for their hideously hollow dialogue, but I cannot forgive it here.

Is there anything good about this movie? Sure. Some of the actors are definitely on their game and rise above the ridiculousness of the material. Michael Madsen puts on his Nice Guy Eddie persona for the role of The Gent. Michael excels in this kind of role, and he is a funny fight scene between him and Eric Balfour (“24”) which helps redefine the term “tough love.” Dennis Hopper has a small role here as Eddie ‘Scratch’ Zero, and he is always a crazy hoot to watch as he channels his “Easy Rider” mojo while riding his motorcycle. David Carradine is barely in the movie, but he has a strong presence here just like he did in the “Kill Bill” movies. David remains an intimidating presence however softly he speaks.

This movie has a very rough look to it which fits the movie and its characters perfectly. After being subjected to so many slick and sterile Hollywood productions where everything is spick and span, it is actually refreshing to see a movie that is willing to get down and dirty to the utter annoyance of studios trying to make everything as inoffensive as possible. There is nothing clean at all about this movie and its characters, and that proves to be both a positive and a negative.

In the end, this movie is irredeemable trash. I certainly didn’t go in expecting anything epic. This was clearly meant to be a B-movie along the lines of last year’s “Grindhouse.” That movie unfortunately bombed at the box office, and this movie is not likely to do any better. Tarantino obviously wanted Bishop to make the best motorcycle movie ever, and it didn’t happen. At best, this movie is a fight against what the late George Carlin termed:

“the continued pussification of the American male in the form of Harley Davidson theme restaurants. Harley Davidson used to mean something! It stood for biker attitude! Grimy outlaws and their sweaty mamas full of beer and crank, rolling around looking for a good time!”

Carlin would like the fact that “Hell Ride” fought against the pussification of that, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is a crappy movie with a barely existent plot and schizoid characters who can never seem to figure out if they want to shoot their friends or hug them. It’s not enough to have biker attitude. You need a good film to go along with it, and this was a blown opportunity. All the same, it makes me want to check out some of the biker flicks Larry Bishop became famous for. They certainly can’t be any worse than this.

* out of ****