Inglorious Bastards

[Pat K]

Has anyone heard the QT interview on this week's installment of The Treatment? Spoiler alert: QT comes across like a real dunce.

At one point, in the course of praising the actors in this movie, he says something like "If you want to act in one of my movies, you can't be dumb. Dumb people can't understand my poetry."

I may be mis-quoting, but I know the phrase "my poetry" was in there. I almost choked on my butter croissant when I heard that.

I also nearly did a spit-take when I heard him start throwing around the P-word. I'm just surprised that Elvis Mitchell didn't beat him to it. The two of those windbags, talk about a two-way tie for last.

Did anybody else find BJ Novak's presence really out of place? I know QT likes the stunt casting and all, but really, that shrimp is supposed to be one of the 8 toughest Jews they could find for this superteam? And that scene where he gets a couple of lines about his nickname as the "Little Man" plays almost right out of "The Office". I know QT was just looking for a little comic relief there, but aren't all of those guys supposed to be insane, Nazi-scalping bloodthirsty psychopaths? Dude seemed a fair bit coser to Dimitri Martin than Lee Marvin.

Was he all that bad in Pulp Fiction? I thought it was fine.

For what it's worth, his part in Pulp Fiction is actually the only Tarantino film performance that doesn't make me want to smash the TV/movie screen, for whatever reason. His scenes in Planet Terror and Death Proof were both so irritating they almost brought me to tears.

[Chris L]

Did anybody else find BJ Novak's presence really out of place? I know QT likes the stunt casting and all, but really, that shrimp is supposed to be one of the 8 toughest Jews they could find for this superteam? And that scene where he gets a couple of lines about his nickname as the "Little Man" plays almost right out of "The Office". I know QT was just looking for a little comic relief there, but aren't all of those guys supposed to be insane, Nazi-scalping bloodthirsty psychopaths? Dude seemed a fair bit coser to Dimitri Martin than Lee Marvin.

He was indeed out of place... like the world's first slacker Nazi-scalping psycopath.  So was Mike Myers, but not distractingly so, and at least Tarantino didn't cast him as Churchill.   Also weird to think that Simon Pegg was supposed to play the British spy. 

Didn't at least two of the Basterds (including Samm Levine) just disappear after "chapter two?"  Did I miss something? 

[Pat K]

Didn't at least two of the Basterds (including Samm Levine) just disappear after "chapter two?"  Did I miss something?  

Yeah, it seems like about 50% of the Basterds were there just to fill out the framing in some of the group shots. I might be misremembering, but it feels like at least one or two did not have any lines at all.

So was Mike Myers, but not distractingly so, and at least Tarantino didn't cast him as Churchill.

I forgot about that scene. I love how Churchill is in that scene for no reason whatsoever. Mike Meyers and the spy spend 5 minutes talking about his film critic bona fides, and then Churchill is like "OK, brief him." Did he really have to see to that part of the mission personally?

[Jouster]

I also nearly did a spit-take when I heard him start throwing around the P-word. I'm just surprised that Elvis Mitchell didn't beat him to it. The two of those windbags, talk about a two-way tie for last.

Elvis Mitchell is a national treasure.  He is the best out there as far as interviews go - he does the research, he comes at things from interesting angles most of the time, he doesn't kiss too much ass (though he does have a tendency to over-laugh).  I think comparing him to a genuine windbag like Tarantino is crap, and I'm calling you on it.

[Omar]

I also nearly did a spit-take when I heard him start throwing around the P-word. I'm just surprised that Elvis Mitchell didn't beat him to it. The two of those windbags, talk about a two-way tie for last.

Elvis Mitchell is a national treasure.  He is the best out there as far as interviews go - he does the research, he comes at things from interesting angles most of the time, he doesn't kiss too much ass (though he does have a tendency to over-laugh).  I think comparing him to a genuine windbag like Tarantino is crap, and I'm calling you on it.

I second Jouster's response.  Elvis Mitchell is as good as it gets. 

[masterofsparks]

I also nearly did a spit-take when I heard him start throwing around the P-word. I'm just surprised that Elvis Mitchell didn't beat him to it. The two of those windbags, talk about a two-way tie for last.

Elvis Mitchell is a national treasure.  He is the best out there as far as interviews go - he does the research, he comes at things from interesting angles most of the time, he doesn't kiss too much ass (though he does have a tendency to over-laugh).  I think comparing him to a genuine windbag like Tarantino is crap, and I'm calling you on it.

I second Jouster's response.  Elvis Mitchell is as good as it gets. 

I third. I'm amused every time he mumbles his way through the station's call letters.

[Pat K]

The guy knows his stuff, for sure, and I listen to The Treatment with regularity. When he gets Soderbergh it's always great.

But still, there's no denying he is a windy, windy gentleman. And he does come off like more than a bit of a brown-nosing fanboy in that QT interview. He wasn't the first person in that interview to refer to Tarantino's writing as "poetry", but he does go on and on about how his dialogue is "like jazz", which raised my hackles. But hey, that's why God made horse races, guys.


One thing that I like to do when listening to The Treatment is imagine that the voice saying "shake it, don't break it!" in the bed music is actually Elvis Mitchell just barely on-mic. I don't know why, but it makes me laugh every time. You should try it.

[Christina]

 I had a feeling this was your criticism. Who gives a shit. It's a character in a movie. Samuel L. Jackson didn't seem offended, I don't know why you need to be on his behalf.

Oh, Charlie, you are such a fathead.

[Reeleyes]

I didn't hate the movie. It was entertaining but every time Eli Roth opened his mouth I wanted to kick him to death. What was that accent supposed to be?

[chrisfoll577]

I didn't hate the movie. It was entertaining but every time Eli Roth opened his mouth I wanted to kick him to death. What was that accent supposed to be?

I believe it was supposed to be a Boston accent, since he referenced Ted Williams as he beat the hell out of the Nazi Sergeant with a baseball bat.  Though it was worse than Kevin Costner's Boston accent in Thirteen Days, Joe Pesci's in With Honors and Robin Williams' in Good Will Hunting combined.

[NJL]

I just heard Quentin Tarintino on Charlie Rose say that he wants to make a movie on the life of abolitionist John Brown.

I pasted this from another post I made in a less appropriate place.  But is he running out of old foreign films to make homages to and turning to  history as inspiration for his splatterfests?

[Reeleyes]

I didn't hate the movie. It was entertaining but every time Eli Roth opened his mouth I wanted to kick him to death. What was that accent supposed to be?

I believe it was supposed to be a Boston accent, since he referenced Ted Williams as he beat the hell out of the Nazi Sergeant with a baseball bat.  Though it was worse than Kevin Costner's Boston accent in Thirteen Days, Joe Pesci's in With Honors and Robin Williams' in Good Will Hunting combined.

Yeah, I'm not basebally enough to know who Ted Williams is but I now recall him making a referance to Fenway which I'm just basebally enough to know. Awful, just awful. Eli Roth must be a blast to do coke with for him to keep getting handouts from Tarantino.

[Joe Rogaine]

Im eagerly awaiting Mikes thoughts on the movie. Do you think Tom saw it and will discuss it on the show? I really enjoy his movie reviews, he hasnt done one in a while.

[namethebats]

I didn't hate the movie. It was entertaining but every time Eli Roth opened his mouth I wanted to kick him to death. What was that accent supposed to be?

I believe it was supposed to be a Boston accent, since he referenced Ted Williams as he beat the hell out of the Nazi Sergeant with a baseball bat.  Though it was worse than Kevin Costner's Boston accent in Thirteen Days, Joe Pesci's in With Honors and Robin Williams' in Good Will Hunting combined.

Yeah, I'm not basebally enough to know who Ted Williams is but I now recall him making a referance to Fenway which I'm just basebally enough to know. Awful, just awful. Eli Roth must be a blast to do coke with for him to keep getting handouts from Tarantino.

It could be worse: that role was supposed to go to Adam Sandler. It makes me think the whole thing was just a labored Tollbooth Willie reference ("I'll f---ing Carlton Fisk your f---ing head with a Louisville f---ing Slugger!")

[Joe Rogaine]

Did anybody else find BJ Novak's presence really out of place? I know QT likes the stunt casting and all, but really, that shrimp is supposed to be one of the 8 toughest Jews they could find for this superteam? And that scene where he gets a couple of lines about his nickname as the "Little Man" plays almost right out of "The Office". I know QT was just looking for a little comic relief there, but aren't all of those guys supposed to be insane, Nazi-scalping bloodthirsty psychopaths? Dude seemed a fair bit coser to Dimitri Martin than Lee Marvin.

He was indeed out of place... like the world's first slacker Nazi-scalping psycopath.  So was Mike Myers, but not distractingly so, and at least Tarantino didn't cast him as Churchill.   Also weird to think that Simon Pegg was supposed to play the British spy. 

Didn't at least two of the Basterds (including Samm Levine) just disappear after "chapter two?"  Did I miss something? 

I remember seeing him in the previews running down a hall firing a machine gun. Did i miss this or was this one of the cut scenes?