Unexpected double-bill this weekend. Last nite I saw Taking Woodstock, and found it rather sweet and low-key, which I guess people weren't expecting -- most critics assumed (I guess) it would be some sweeping Altmanesque epic with 17 main characters criss-crossing the landscape. It's smaller and more intimate than that, and for what it is, quite nice. Demetri Martin is not a great actor, but his awkwardness worked for the character.
And since today was too hot to go to my (non-air-conditioned) gym, I saw Inglourious Basterds. I'd been putting it off due to its length, but 3 hours (including "pre-show" and trailers) in a cool theater was a good deal. And so was IG -- very entertaining, from the cheezy opening titles and florid theme music, to the big-ass set pieces, to the wink-wink movie references (one character is named "Emmanuelle Mimieux" -- oh QT, you card!). In the latter category, it's not nearly as annoyingly look-at-all-the-obscure-movies-I've-seen as the Kill Bill flicks, thank gawd. Like all his stuff, it's too long. And to call it "Tarantino's most mature work" as our friend Mr LaSalle did, is just silly. But if Mr Waltz (the main Nazi) doesn't get an Oscar nom I'll be gobsmacked, and on a hot summer day, it was a lotta fun.
