Inglourious Basterds

I am fortunate that I have a husband who tends to enjoy the same movies I do.
We find comfort, fear, and a somewhat joyful disgust
in the same sorts of celluloid dreams and nightmares.
He also likes to attend sporting events,
and I have a love/hate relationship with that concept
of sitting in the stadium, gymnasium, etc.
and watching others duke it out.
I find it utterly frustrating,
especially when my team ain't winning.

Today I've got 2 sets of "Inglourious Basterds" to discuss,
so I think I'll start with UTEP's inglorious football team.


photo stolen from www.mill1on.com

We've got a history here.
A history of dashed hopes and broken dreams.
It goes back many decades and I lost interest long ago.
It's just too freakin' painful.

Several years back, when Mike Price was gonna convert our team
into something respectable, I was reluctant to jump in
and try to be a supportive UTEP football viewer.
Still, I went along with Brett's desire to get season tickets.
I regretted it almost immediately and feel that regret more today.
Half the battle is getting through the tailgating
without wanting to throttle somebody who has indulged too much.


image stolen from Fox tv

Then there's the other dilemma
of wanting to throttle players, referees or coaches
for all the bone-headed plays and poor calls.
Saturday's showing by UTEP against Buffalo was excruciating to watch.
I'm not going to say that our team is weak.
I don't really think they are.
The Miners showed great promise in what they were able to execute.
What they also exhibited was a severe lack of discipline.
Some of the most ridiculous mistakes were made over and over and over again.
All those yellow flags declaring incompetence.
I can only sum it up in one way:
Pathetic.
My husband can find somebody else to go to the games with.
I've had my fill of wasted days and wasted nights.

Adios to Mike Price, and hasta la vista Paydirt Pete.


Image stolen from art.com

I feel calmer already.

And now for part 2 of my observations on how I spent my Saturday:

Despite many flaws in the Quentin Tarantino film,
I'd definitely recommend it.
I'd take in 3 movies like this over 1 UTEP football game any day.
For most who know me, that should be taken as a resounding
"No, don't waste your money, you will hate it"...
unless you like Tarantino's films.
This guy knows how to weave magic.
His ability to make you laugh
while trying to choke back the bile
after seeing someone get their head bashed in
...pure and simple film harmony.
It is all about the details
and it is all about the lack of details...
Taking great liberty with history
casting Brad Pitt in this redneck character
the absolute brilliance of Christoph Waltz


image stolen from hollywoodreporter.com

...a truly mesmerizing performance by Waltz
...that weepy close-up sadness in the eyes of LaPadite
...the fantastic imagery of Shoshonna's fiery face on the big screen.

Every nuance cleverly calculated by the director
and I'm sure I missed out on a lot of it.
A second and third viewing is in order to catch each one
and I aim to see this one again very soon.

It was bold and brash, and almost excruciating to watch
but there was no worry about this film's final score.
2 thumbs up and no sign of yellow flags on that battlefield.

image stolen from fotosearch.com