INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Quentin Tarantino's latest effort Inglourious Basterds has been given an August 21st release date. Here is the synopsis, via Ropes of Silicon...

"The film begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own…"

"Basterds" features a huge cast, including Brad Pitt, Mike Meyers, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Cloris Leachman, Samuel L. Jackson, Rod Taylor and Maggie Cheung.

BURN AFTER READING

BURN AFTER READING

Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring - George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins

Opens September 12, 2008

Burn After Reading is the latest film from everyone's favorite modern maverick pros The Coen Brothers. The comedic follow-up to Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men is reminiscent of the way the Coen's followed-up the critical success of Fargo with the now classic comedy The Big Lebowski. The film recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Here is what Andrew Pulver of The Guardian UK had to say after the screening:

"Clocking in at a crisp 95 minutes, Burn After Reading is a tightly wound, slickly plotted spy comedy that couldn’t be in bigger contrast to the Coens’ last film, the bloodsoaked, brooding No Country for Old Men. Burn, in comparison, is bit of a bantamweight: fast moving, lots of attitude, and uncorking a killer punch when it can."

It doesn't seem that Burn has much Oscar potential, but if nothing else, this quirky screwball comedy should be a fun ride.