Calloway and Hicox

I just realized that my favorite character from Inglorious Basterds, Archie Hicox as played by Michael Fassbender, looks a lot like my favorite character from The Third Man, Calloway as played by Trevor Howard.

Coincidence, or homage?

Film Frames Launchday

A special Film Frames edition for the launch day of The Girl With a Clock for a Heart.

Film Frames Friday

Paul

Pretty mediocre, especially considering Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's previous collaborations. Still, while it wasn't funny (that's really the biggest problem with the film) it was sort of likable, and the alien design with the Seth Rogen voice actually worked, and I really liked Kristen Wiig's character, and the aped Spielberg shots were fun. That's all I have to say.

(Fun fact: Because of complications with shooting this film, Simon Pegg was unable to play the Archie Hickox character in Inglourious Basterds, the part that went, instead, to the relatively unknown Michael Fassbender. Did Paul turn Fassbender into a star?)

Wait for the cream

I found these screencaps on film experience blog and the one above, in particular, made me laugh out loud. There are many things I love about Tarantino's movies but the thing I love most of all is his randomness. Why does this scene work? It does, but I can't exactly put it into words. It's an incredibly tense scene interrupted by the arrival of food (all of Tarantino's films fetishize food at some point with the possible exception of Jackie Brown). What makes this so good is that Landa, of course, is toying with Shoshana, even if he does not entirely know her identity.



Then there's the cutaway close-up to the actual strudel, and then--my favorite shot in the sequence--Shoshana taking a bite and acknowledging with her facial expression for a moment that it tastes good, even though she is sitting across from the man who murdered her entire family.



I know down deep that this won't win the Oscar on Sunday night but if it managed to actually do it then I'd be a very happy moviegoer.

The Lost Art of Inglourious Basterds

The Upper Playground art gallery in Los Angeles is doing a benefit for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Several artists have created imaginary posters for Inglourious Basterds, the lithographs are being signed by Quentin Tarantino, and then sold at a benefit. Details here.

Here are some examples: