"Inglourious Basterds": Dir. Quentin Tarentino Characters/Actors: Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), SS Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), Shosana (Melanie Laurent), Diane Kruger, etc.
Rated R for profanity and graphic violence
In Nazi-occupied France, a Jewish girl named Shosana hiding under the floorboards at a farmhouse barely survives after a ruthless SS officer (Christoph Waltz) has her whole family slaughtered. Under a new identity, as a movie theater owner, the Jewish girl plots her revenge.
Elsewhere in Europe, a untit of mostly Jewish-American soldiers, under the command of U.S. Lieutenant Aldo Raine parachutes into enemy territory nearby to torture, kill, and scalp as many Nazi soldiers as possible. In more recent parlance, they are waging pre-emptive war or committing war crimes, depending on your point of view. Those few German soldiers whose lives they spare have their foreheads carved with a swastika.
Lt. Raine's men are nicknamed the "Inglourious Basterds" by a very worried German high command, including a paranoid and supersitious Adolf Hitler, but SS officer Hans Landa may foil the 'Basterds' plans to create as much Nazi-killing mayhem as humanly possible. As in most Quentin Tarentino movies, the dialogue is the best part of the film, but be forewarned: a lot of the movie is in German, French, or Italian, with English subtitles; which can be a little hard to keep up with at times. Also, the violence is graphic and sometimes over the top, with at least one head bashed in with a baseball bat and many dead Nazis shown being scalped. Not as good as "Pulp Fiction" or the "Kill Bill" movies, but better than a lot of movies by more mainstream directors. The "Inglourious Basterds" act as if the Ends always Justify the means, just like the Nazis and the George W. Bush administration did after 9/11 occurred.
"Adam" (2009) (Independent Film) Character(s)/Actor(s): Adam Riki (?) (Hugh Dancy), Beth ( Rose Byrne), Peter Galagher, Amy Irving, etc.
A school teacher and children's book author inexplicably has a relationship with a young man with Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Adam is a very sweet and intelligent man, but due to his autism he has a difficult time with socializing and he has an extremely difficult time with a romantic relationship. I normally hate chick flicks and romantic comedies, but this movie was quite unique and worth seeing. However, it would be just as good on Redbox or Netflix or Cable when it eventually arrives there.
