Inglourious Basterds

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (Nominations: 8)

Considering all of the hype this year has been over The Hurt Locker and Avatar, I think it is pretty impressive that Quentin Tarantino’s version of WWII events garnered eight nominations, second to the nine that the aforementioned films each received. Tarantino’s films tend to be Oscar bait, especially for writing and acting. Inglorious Basterds is no exception.

Like his other films, Inglourious Basterds includes witty dialogue, suspense, some blood and gore that actually informs the story and in some ways is required by it rather than just for the sake of it, and of course, Samuel L. Jackson. The acting is superb, led by Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz. Pitt has been left out of most of the conversations and lacks a nomination this year, but Waltz on the other hand is the clear frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor and should get the chance to deliver an acceptance speech. That makes one win for the Basterds. Waltz portrays his Nazi officer so uniquely it is uncanny. We have seen the Nazi’s portrayed so many times over the years, yet Tarantino induced such distinctive characters it feels like a brand new story.

Of course, it is a brand new story. Tarantino actually rewrote WWII, leaving in a few truths here and there. The result though is a new take on an overdone story, and despite the criticism, portrays the other side (the non-Nazis) as just as cruel as Hitler’s men, something I do not recall ever seeing. For this, and for Tarantino’s incredible ability to write scenes you cannot help but laugh at while feeling terrible for doing so, his Original Screenplay should come away with the trophy. That makes two wins for the Basterds.

Alas, two wins will be the final tally as the Basterds must battle The Hurt Locker and Avatar in the other categories, enemies not so easily defeated as the Schutzstaffel(SS). Tarantino’s war epic received nominations for cinematography, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing and directing for the man himself. All the nominations were deserved and though I would love to see Quentin deliver an acceptance speech twice on the night, the one for his screenplay will be the only one we can expect to see from him, unless Christoph Waltz invites him to the stage as a thank-you.

PREDICTED WINS: 2