Shoot 'Em Up

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : Sep 2007
Time : 86 minutes
Director & Writer : Michael Davis;
Starring : Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, Paul Giamatti, Stephen McHattie

This one is so over the top that it makes the whole experience enjoyable


A deadpan Clive Owen, sitting at night in a graffiti filled neighbourhood bench, munching a carrot, watches a pregnant woman run past him, chased shortly after by a goon. ‘What you looking at ?’, the goon berates Clive, before chasing the woman down an alley. A bored, slightly weary Clive decides that he cannot be a mere spectator and for the next 90 minutes fights a succession of gun men in bizarre fashion (using carrots a few times) and bizarre locales while protecting the baby and discovering the secret behind it….

To match the eccentricity of our hero, we have a equally crazy villain, the snarling, limerick spouting Paul Giametti. We have the hooker with a heart of gold and a breast for hire, the delectable Monica Bellucci. And we have questions, lots of them and only a few answers…but they’re enough to keep us going.


The writer here is probably a frsutrated Bond writer who had an overdose of a hallucinogenic substance or substances. And its great fun. The one-liners never stop (“eat your vegetables” is Clive’s admonition as he uses a carrot to kill someone). The situations never let up. The goons keep coming. And a deadpan Clive Owen keeps swatting them away.

We get a pretty good list of what Clive hates. People who wrongly park under handicapped signs, for one. It made the decision of which car to steal an easy one. Or people who don’t signal before changing lanes, for another. Which provides a cheap thrill moments later. Or we can go with what he likes. Dogs, for example, refusing to shoot down one that is chasing him. Or mice. He’s constructed an elaborate lock using one for his house.


This one is clearly inspired by Tarantino and Sin City, both in terms of plot development and stylisation. There is non-stop action, guns, a beautiful woman, a snarling villain (who is so sweet and considerate to his wife on the phone). And a hero who wont stop.

I loved the sheer implausibility of it all...makes you smile and enjoy the ride despite the growing body count and gore…

Inglourious Basterds

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 2nd Oct, 2009 (India)
Time : 153 minutes
Director & Writer : Quentin Tarantino; Music Supervisor : Mary Ramos
Starring : Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger, Daniel Bruhl, Jacky Ido, Dennis Menochet


What demented, kinky and perverted mind comes up with a story like this ? Pure genius ! Who else but Tarantino could use blood and gore to paint such a picture, that captivates you from frame 1 and doesn’t let up till the very end, making you feel throughout the film as if you’re sitting on a lit powder keg.


There are several stories which merge into one, all set in Nazi occupied France, from 1941 onwards till shortly before the end of the war. It’s the story of a Jewish family caught hiding and butchered mercilessly and the story of a survivor of that butchery. Its the story of a extremely engaging yet cold-blooded SS Colonel, Hans Landa, who is also known as a Jew hunter, because of his ability to ferret out the Jews from their hiding places. Its the story of an American, Lt Aldo Reine (Brad Pitt), who puts together a daredevil bunch of Jews to hunt down the Nazi’s using guerrilla warfare tactics (they are called the Basterds - whether Glourious or Inglourious is upto you...and I have no idea why its misspelt). And its also the story of a premeire of a German film which stars and outlines the heroics of a German soldier who single handedly killed 250 American troops. How all these stories come together is what the film is about.


Tarantino’s reputation does precede him. You feel tension, even when someone is drinking milk and engaging in what seems polite chit chat. You feel tense even though there is no scary music in the background, there are bright sunlit blue skies and pretty girls (briefly) in the foreground. Even simple acts like washing up, lighting up pipes to smoke and the ‘routine’ questions being asked in Chapter 1, seem laden with menace. The stories move swiftly but again, they keep us on a knife edge as we see the brutal interrogation of a Nazi at the hands of the Basterds. We see a German actress trying to help a British service agent in a tavern full of Germans and play light hearted games while making us dizzy with tension.



Special mentions for the photography (amazing angles used), the background score (some known and unknown numbers provide all the atmosphere you need) and the acting. While everyone was very very good, Christoph Waltz, who played Hans Landa was simply outstanding, stealing the show from some of his more famous co-stars. My only gripes would be for the excessive violence and gore shown and for the fact that they kind of altered history towards the end (which I don’t think is a done thing).

I don’t know of anyone else who could have thought of this film and romanticised the blood and brutality the way Tarantino did. Humour is used throughout the film to make sure that despite the tension the film doesn’t become too intense. Its an amazing plot, brilliantly told and like all Tarantino films, makes its way very swiftly in to a ‘Must Watch’ list. Catch it on the big screen for the right impact and be warned, its not for the faint hearted.