THE FUTURE EMBRACE

"WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE" (2009) OFFICIAL TRAILER

It has arrived at long last.

THE "500 DAYS OF SUMMER" SOUNDTRACK

With all due respect, the comparisons to Zach Braff’s (Scrubs) mediocre romantic comedy Garden State regarding the whole atmosphere of 500 Days of Summer is absolutely faux-pas and pointless, and having reminisced the soundtrack to Garden State earlier today, I found myself realizing it really wasn’t that sensational a soundtrack after all.  If you plan on revisiting Garden State when you go to see Marc Webb’s 500 Days of Summer, then you will only be wasting your time, because there are some blantaly obvious differences between the two films, especially when it comes to the story.  Lastly, I doubt  Garden State got compared to Woody Allen’s classic, Annie Hall, which Webb’s film has most recently - an acknowledgment that really says something about the potential for this film to be the next Juno or maybe even bigger.  This is the reason I have been seemingly obsessing over this film on this blog for the past few weeks, and I think it will all ease once July rolls around.

I thought the anticipation could be eased somewhat, but I thankfully came across something that many probably have already come across already, although it may not be as widely known as it should be.  I am speaking of the actual soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer, which stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  If you remember right, the soundtrack is essentially a fundamental element that can really either make or break a film.  Some of the best examples of this include Forrest Gump, Atonement, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Trainspotting, and the aforementioned Juno.  Imagine all those films minus the scintillating soundtracks they were provided with.  The experience would certainly not be the same, and would most likely diminish your love for the film in more ways than one.  This is the beauty of the soundtrack to a film, whether it’s original or a compilation of various artists.  With that in mind, the soundtrack listing to 500 Days of Summer seems refreshing and oddly beautiful with a mix of songs that should flow together wonderfully in the film, or so I’ve heard and read up to this point.

Personally, seeing “Bookends” by Simon & Garfunkel in the mix alongside Regina Spektor and the Black Lips is the ear candy I believe will make me appreciate the film even more than I may.  One last thing you must bear in mind ahead of time is that Some of the songs on the list below are actually sung by actors in the movie, so they might not be as bland as you may think they just by casting your eyes down the list.

US
Written and Performed by Regina Spektor
Courtesy of Sire Records
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

THE BOY WITH THE ARAB STRAP
Written by Sarah Martin, Stuart Murdoch, Richard Colburn, Michael Cooke, Christopher Geddes,
Stephen Jackson and Isobel Campbell

THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT
Written by Johnny Marr and Steven Morrissey
Performed by The Smiths
Courtesy of Warner Music U.K. Ltd.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

BAD KIDS
Written by Cole Alexander, Ian Brown, Jared Swilley and Joseph Bradley
Performed by Black Lips
Courtesy of Vice Records
By arrangement with Zync Music Inc.

SHE’S LIKE THE WIND
Written by Patrick Swayze and Stacy Widelitz
Performed by Patrick Swayze Featuring Wendy Fraser
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
By arrangement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET ME GET WHAT I WANT
Written by Steven Morrissey and Johnny Marr
Performed by The Smiths
Courtesy of Warner Music U.K. Ltd.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN (Karaoke Selection)
Written by Bobby Dall, C.C. Deville, Bret Michaels and Rikki Rockett
Courtesy of Turn Up The Music, Inc.
Under license from Downtown Music LLC

SUGAR TOWN (Karaoke Selection - performed by Zooey Deshanel)
Written by Lee Hazlewood
Courtesy of Stingray Music

HERE COMES YOUR MAN (Karaoke Selection)
Written by Charles Thompson
Courtesy of Stingray Music

GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Written by Lee Greenwood
Courtesy of Turn Up The Music, Inc.
Under license from Downtown Music LLC

HAVE I BEEN A FOOL?
Written and Performed by Jack Peñate
Courtesy of XL Recordings Ltd.

THERE GOES THE FEAR
Written by James Goodwin, Andrew Williams and Jeremy Williams
Performed by Doves
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd./Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

YOU MAKE MY DREAMS
Written by Sara Allen, Daryl Hall and John Oates
Performed by Daryl Hall and John Oates
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
By arrangement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

KNIGHT RIDER (MAIN TITLE)
Written by Glen Larson and Stuart Phillips

SWEET DISPOSITION
Written by L. Sillitto and A. Mandagi
Performed by The Temper Trap
Courtesy of Liberation Music

QUELQU’UN M’A DIT
Written and Performed by Carla Bruni
Courtesy of Sheridan Square Entertainment

VENI VIDI VICI
Written by Cole Alexander, Ian Brown, Jared Swilley and Joseph Bradley
Performed by Black Lips
Courtesy of Vice Records
By arrangement with Zync Music Inc.

THE MUSIC
Written by Chad Howat, JT Daly and Andrew Smith
Performed by Paper Route
Courtesy of Universal Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

TRAIN IN VAIN (Stand By Me)
Written by Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer
Courtesy of Stingray Music

MUSHABOOM
Written by Leslie Feist
Performed by Feist
Courtesy of Universal International Music, B.V.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

AT LAST
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Performed by Kevin Michael
Kevin Michael performs courtesy of Downtown Records/Atlantic Recording Corp.

HERO
Written and Performed by Regina Spektor
Courtesy of Sire Records
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

THE INFINITE PET
Written by Britt Daniel
Performed by Spoon
Courtesy of Merge Records
By arrangement with Bank Robber Music

BOOKENDS
Written by Paul Simon
Performed by Simon & Garfunkel
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

VAGABOND
Written by Myles Heskett, Chris Ross and Andrew Stockdale
Performed by Wolfmother
Courtesy of Interscope Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

SHE’S GOT YOU HIGH
Written by James “Tate” Arguile, Niall Buckler, Oli Frost, Gareth Jennings and James “Noo” New
Performed by Mumm-Ra
Courtesy of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) LIMITED
By arrangement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "500 DAYS OF SUMMER"

(UPDATE: The now “official” trailer for 500 Days of Summer has been released and is now being circulated around the country. Personally, the absence of The Tender Trap’s “Sweet Disposition” is almost unbearable, and I deeply feel saddened that it wasn’t included, if anything, at least at the opening. Regina Spektor adds something nice to it, and that elevator ditty is absolutely adorable. Say, if only it happened to us all just like that - just one little song suddenly mutually adored by two complete strangers to one another, and poof, the heartstrings bloom smitten for the other.)

Dear me, it does seem as if it’s been years since an honestly astounding romantic comedy has taken my breath away. Do you remember all those picture perfect romance comedies from the past decades? I’ll take pleasure in naming some of my absolute favorite delights: When Harry Met Sally, Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, Sleepless In Seattle, Mystic Pizza, Desperately Seeking Susan, Annie Hall, and of course Pretty in Pink.

Throughout the 2000’s, there have been some moderately good romance comedies that made my heart swing around in its private playground, and I’ll name some of them: Casanova, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, Knocked Up, Just Friends, Enchanted, and one of everyone’s all-time favorite, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Aside from the aforementioned films, it’s been rather bland as of late save for a handful of decent ones. We could all assume that it’s because of the actors or the story itself, and that’s quite the safe bet to go along with. As an audience, we all wish to laugh and embrace the love story as it unfolds and goes through its expected turmoil and chaos until it finally lets up in the end and we all take a deep sigh of relief and applaud proudly. As hard as it is for that magic to happen in a theater or a living room, there’s still hope for something truly great to steal our hearts away with each passing scene. We don’t worry about the kiss too much, because ultimately we know it’ll come sooner or later. We don’t worry about the end of result of the date or cup of coffee, because we know that it’s just part of the process of getting to know the central characters and their relationship with one another. We deeply have a soft spot for getting to know their flaws and what keeps them distant from one another. Everyone loves the passionate quest that is made in order to win the heart of the one desired, but everyone also adores the little things about the characters that make them so darn lovable.

Unlike obscure, grotesque films (which are highly admirable in some rare cases) which use sex as a primary bonding mechanism between the two hopeless romantics, honest and true romantic comedies will focus on the pieces of the protagonist’s puzzle that define that person for who they are on both the inside and outside. Sure, we love if they’re attractive and appealing, but we cherish the little treasures about those characters, such as facial expressions or random tendencies. We’ll always love the smitten boy riding his beat up bike to his heart’s desired destination in order to throw a pebble at her window in hopes of winning over her heart with a delicate serenade, which may be a song, poem, or those wonderful gestures such as the boy actually climbing up to her window to show her how he truly feels.

Beautifully made romantic comedies don’t need clichés or strings attached, but rather originality and characters that we can love and follow until the end whilst getting to become a part of their lives as we experience all that they experience, good or bad. The drama that’s bottled up in the story eventually comes out full-fleshed and we’re always anticipating how the drama will be dealt with while acknowledging the pains and pleasures that come along with that drama. Issues make the bonds between the two happy-go-lucky souls come closer together, and that is where the real beauty of the romantic comedy genre rests. It is peaceful, tranquil, and above all, beautiful.

With all that said, I feel more than anticipatory for what is looking to be one of those rare gems with each month that passes by. I’ve known about this film, 500 Days of Summer since roughly last summer (ironic, no?) and I had a funny feeling that this movie was going to be a rabbit pulled out of the hat at the right moment in 2009. Marc Webb, music video extraordinaire is the director of the film, and with his experience and visionary expertise, I’d be shocked if he didn’t give a vibrant life to the story behind Summer. Clearly, I adore Zooey Deschanel, and she’s obviously one of the main reasons I felt so drawn to 500 Days of Summer. But there’s more than what meets the eye with this film, and it lies in the story itself, which seems so simplistically brilliant that it’s amazing how no one figured out how many wonders a plot like this could work on an audience.

Zooey is, of course, Summer, and the smitten guy, Tom, is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who previously worked with Zooey in Manic, a well-done 2001 drama film.

The synopsis goes a little something along the lines of this: Tom, who’s a greeting card copywriter and (wait for it) hopeless romantic, becomes utterly blindsided after his girlfriend, Summer, dumps him. This causes Tom to shift back and forth through various periods of their unique 500 days “together” in high hopes of figuring out where things went wrong. His many reflections ultimately lead him to finally rediscover his true and most dear passions in life and love.

Oh, and remember me mentioning the incredible plot to the story? Well the tagline to that plot just happens to be something you may have seen before…or have you? “Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.” Yes, I know, it’s utterly brilliant.

From all that I’ve seen, read, and heard about the film, I can only assume that this particular love story will not keep its course and will continually keep us guessing. It sounds fresh, exhilarating, funny, sad, and full of twists that will take us a dainty ride along with the characters.

There’s another bonus to this film. Remember the catchy, poppy soundtrack to everyone’s favorite film involving a girl named Juno? Well it seems that 500 Days of Summer is going to be entirely accompanied by a lively, upbeat soundtrack featuring music by a mass of unique artists, such as The Smiths and a new Australian band called The Temper Trap (love the name), who actually provide the trailer for the film with their catchy, melodious tune “Sweet Disposition.” I now beg you to download it and place it in your favorites folder in your music library as soon as humanely possible.

Overall, there is so much promise revolving around this movie and I could care less about expectations. They just don’t make movies like what Summer is shaping up to be anymore, at least, not in this “age of information” where romantic comedies are all about overused clichés and taglines. Who knows, with good promotion and a few strokes of serendipity, 500 Days of Summer could very well turn out to be the best romantic comedy since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (and with all due respect, I am really pulling for this movie to be that one!).

Oh, and I’m now reconsidering how adorable the name “Summer” truly is and how it should be making a comeback sometime soon, although Napoleon Dynamite didn’t help with its Summer being preppy and…well…blonde and incredibly annoying (classic comedy though!). Aside from that, let us hope that 500 Days of Summer will be a triumph and will tug at our heartstrings in countless wonderful ways ‘til death do us part from Summer.

I now leave you with both trailers for 500 Days of Summer, in addition to allowing you to decide which one better suits the film and your humble self.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: "WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE"

Alas, one of our most beloved children books of all-time is slowly crawling its way closer and closer to being widely released after several years of restless and boundless anticipation – something that has rendered many tireless souls obsessed with the most miniature of updates and developments. Restless souls, I tell thee to take your bows from devotion and exhale at long last, because Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s picture book, Where the Wild Things Are, will be arriving with all its extravagance and splendor in theaters October 16th, 2009. At long last, we can all rejoice and sink ourselves into a complete state of pure euphoria and bliss.

The well renowned book was written in 1963 by Sendak, and was triumphantly awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal no more than a single year later, as well as the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, which only boosted its popularity around the globe as decades passed.

In case you are in need of being reminded of what this little gem of a story consists of, allow me to lure you back into the imaginary world of ‘wild things.’ The story revolves around Max, a rambunctiously disobedient eight-year-old boy who one night makes “mischief” in a wolf costume; thus leading his mother, whose personal and job concerns bid her less time to spend with her dear boy, to send him to bed without his much-desired supper. As a result, Max creatively allows his imagination take him to a completely different land – a land that he himself makes up. This mystical forest that takes shape in his mind immerses Max into it; therefore leading him to journey onwards to the land of the all well-known Wild Things, frightful-looking monsters that soon end up crowning Max their beloved ruler “of all Wild Things.” Their ferocity slowly diminishes as they grow fond of their ruler and their ruler grows fond of them.

Despite being seen as rather ferocious creatures, the Wild Things are rather adorable and very much lovable as well. Their names, as to be depicted in Jonze’s visionary work, are expected to be Alexander, Carol, Douglas, Ira, Judith, and K.W.

Over those many decades, the book itself has garnered various praise and criticism, though the praise from children and parents has always managed to outshine the criticism, especially in regards to how the book makes complete use of a psychoanalytic story of anger that revolves around the main character who the young boy Max. It has become one of the most celebrated children’s books of all-time, and for years has been in development for a feature adaptation although, as is the case with many films, it ended up facing countless setbacks and complications as month after month passed; thus leaving many diehard fans and parents disappointed and let down thinking the film may never come to life on the silver screen. Considering patience as a virtue in this case would seem rather accurate, seeing as how this long awaited dream for many will finally get its debut come the fall of this year, and it’s quite about time too.

Rumors have been proven true that Where The Wild Things Are had been on stand-by since the early 90s, but was left lifeless until author Maurice Sendak finally decided to take his idea of an adaptation to film and music video directing extraordinaire Spike Jonze (1999’s well-regarded Being John Malkovich and Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” and “Undone - The Sweater Song” famed videos). Originally, the film was envisioned as a fully animated film, but soon was realized to be much more bigger than that and demanded something more along the lines of realism and “live-action”, which is one of the combinations used to complete the film. April of 2006 saw the beginning of the filming process in Australia, although no one involved with the project, especially Sendak, thought the film wouldn’t reach the general public for another four years, but as the months passed, frustration, incompetence, studio inteference, and development issues caused nothing but chaos throughout the overbearing process.

Worse than that, when Jonze finally achieved his desired vision, he was struck with disappointment thrice when the film’s original May 2008 released got pushed back to October 2008 and then once more to its now scheduled release date of October 16th. More bad news struck the cast and crew when Warner Bros. considered reshooting the whole film early in 2008, but ultimately one of those producers came to sincerely respect Jonze’s vision; therefore keeping the hope alive for everyone involved.

Indeed, Where The Wild Things Are has seen very grim days, but has ultimately emerged from the thick of lost hope and found its redemption in the shape and form of the majestically beautiful work of art that it has proven to undoubtedly be considering the many stills that have been released over the course of nearly a year.

What has been known about the filming process is quite fascinating to say the least. It is known that cameras followed the actors that portray the various Wild Things in order to have their various expressions and emotions captured through the lens of those cameras, which then digitally infused those exact same expressions and emotions directly onto the faces of the puppets of the Wild Things in order to portray those performances. The creatures will be portrayed by actors in nine-feet-tall costumes, along with the use of animatronics and computer-generated faces (as evident in the teaser provided above). It comes as little surprise that these costumes ended up being created by none other than The Jim Henson Company of Muppets fame.

As for the cast, it comprises of Max Records as Max, Paul Dano as Alexander (voice), James Gandolfini as Carol (voice), Ton Noonan as Douglas (voice), Forest Whitaker as Ira (voice), Lauren Ambrose as K.W., and Catherine Keener as Connie (Max’s mother).

The whole concept seems remarkably complicated, but actually couldn’t be any more simple, especially when we consider the stills we have been kindly leaked, which beautifully depict Spike Jonze’s charmingly inventive visionary sense to help turn this rather simple story into something quite stunning. Where The Wild Things Are will be anything but your typical Disney-esque nursery tale, but rather something utterly refreshing in numerous ways through live-action and animatronics. Generations upon generations of children of all ages may either come to adore this film or see as it as just another sad attempt at swooning them with its ambitious nature and enchantingly splendid take on the original story – let’s hope it’s the latter considering the upmost amount of effort poured into this film for years. The pleasurable poetry of Sendak’s eccentric words are sure to be painted in astonishing colors through the vision of Spike Jonze, and the art of what made the book so memorable and simplistically brilliant will undoubtedly be given entirely new fantastical life.

Let us remember that the ever so graceful hype-o-meter is vastly achieving new peaks as the countdown slowly diminishes, and there is more than a mere lot of promise in regards to Wild Things. Fortunately, many of us, including myself, have kept the faith and anticipation as high as ever. The ensemble cast may be one of the foremost details that has caused people to be fascinated with this film, but I have reason to believe that it’s the dashingly tasteful story itself being brought to life through the artistic vision of one who knows what he’s doing that has generated infatuation with its everything.

It is, with certainty, one of the year’s most anticipated films, and the chances of it delivering come its arrival are quite good in my opinion. With a beloved story like Wild Things, it’s hard to think one such as Jonze would not put his heart and soul into making this dream more than a reality, but rather an entirely vivid imaginary world that we the audience can all immerse ourselves into too as we join together as one in theaters and embrace the funny sensations of feeling like disobedient, wildly animated and creative little toddlers again. How could any of us pass a vibrant offer such as that up? Hands up, guilty as charged.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: TIM BURTON'S "ALICE IN WONDERLAND"

(Various images recently released involving the film’s concept art will be posted throughout this piece.)

If you’ve lived life up to this point without having ever seen a film involving legendary directing genius Tim Burton, who has provided us all with timeless gems for well over two enchantingly animated decades, chances are you’ve been living a rather colorless life not embraced in the beauty of Technicolor.  What Tim Burton paints in his films through his imagination is something so enthusiastically tasteful and brilliant that most, if not all, people could never be able to fully comprehend or understand what goes on up there in that forest of his mind where perky, effervescent creatures and characters come to life with even more splendid stories to accompany them.  Despite all the wonderfully adorable things that cinema has given those of us who obsess over films, it’s rather difficult to pinpoint films that have swooned the human heart and imagination more than those made by Tim Burton, and he certainly has gained and earned that honor from us after proving to be always consistent with any project he takes on.

Burton’s latest project has revolved around bringing Lewis Carroll’s vividly surreal classics, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” to the screen with new life and passion.  The 50-year-old filmmaker has only been developing his adaptation for several months, and yet, has garnered numerous buzz regarding the wonders his imagination may work on the classic stories – something that seems rather likely considering the wonders it has worked on most, if not all, his films since first breaking into the filmmaking business.  Those of you who are familiar with Burton’s early work know that he’s responsible for gems that are now denoted as essentials for households: 1985’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, 1988’s Beetlejuice, 1989’s Batman, and most people’s personal favorite, 1990’s Edward Scissorhands.  Within the time span of a mere five years, Tim Burton had masterfully crafted four works that are all near flawless in their own unique, dynamic ways.  Some other notable works from Burton include 1996’s achingly funny Mars Attacks!, 1999’s creepy Sleepy Hollow, 2003’s beautifully memorable Big Fish, and 2007’s devilishly tasteful Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.  In all due honesty, I can only suggest 2001’s remake of Planet of the Apes as Burton’s one and only misstep, though it certainly wasn’t an awful film, just a bad choice.

With his mind having been set precisely and persistently on Alice in Wonderland for quite some time, Burton has most recently said that the film could best be described as a “kind of a mixture of some distorted live action and animation.”  The techniques that will be implemented into the film are live-action and stop motion.  If that isn’t tempting enough, the film will comprise of an ensemble cast that is sure to make every Burton-holic swoon with excitement.  Among the individuals in that ensemble cast are Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, and horror film extraordinaire Christopher Lee.

Newcoming 18-year-old Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, who was sensational in the first season of HBO’s award winning drama series “In Treatment,” will play Alice.  Johnny Depp will take on the role of the Mad Hatter while Helena Bonham Carter will play the antagonizing Red Queen.  Aside from those two, Anne Hathaway will play the character of the White Queen, a protagonist, which fits her lively, adorable self.  Michael Sheen will be the White Rabbit, who unknowingly causes Alice to follow him down the rabbit hole into the vivid Wonderland.  Alan Rickman will have his face composited onto a computer-generated character in his role as the Caterpillar, while a vast assortment of others will take on the roles of the Chesire Cat, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, the Knave of Hearts, and many others.

Richard Zanuck, Oscar-winning producer of Driving Miss Daisy and producer on Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, has revealed that he and Burton have long made the decision to shoot in 2D and transfer the material to 3D, mainly because it just made sense considering the cost and risks.  It must be known that basically everything and everyone in Burton’s visualized Wonderland, save for Mia Wasikowska’s Alice of course, will be digitally enhanced to a certain degree using various effects, perhaps created entirely by computer.  The film’s selling point may just be that it’s in 3D, which Burton himself has said in D23 magazine in addition to noting that it just felt right to take the story into the 3D realm.

At the moment, the film is still undergoing many changes as it evolves and slowly blooms, while Burton is readying to assemble the live-action footage, which Sony Imageworks will be taking care of.  With all this said, one thing that is sure is that Tim Burton is looking to turn Alice in Wonderland into an animated work that people will adore and love.  This once deemed daunting journey for Tim Burton has seemingly been pollinated by a mass of devotees, such as myself, who have an enormous respect for Mr. Burton and are virtually in a frantic state of anticipation as that 2010 date draws ever so closer.  The possibilities are endless whenever it comes to the genius imagination of Tim Burton, and I daresay that I am only one of a vast lot who have and always will go on any new adventure that he provides us with, and Alice in Wonderland is sure to be one of those daringly beautiful adventures to go on come 2010.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: “INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS”

Anyone who is anyone who has seen any movie starring anyone knows who directing extraordinaire Quentin Tarantino is and what he’s given us over the course of two decades. Appropriately speaking, his repertoire, which isn’t that vast to begin with, is by all means absolutely stupendous. It’s no surprise that one of his greatest influences just happens to be one of the greatest and most daring directors of all-time, Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Killing). Tarantino’s unconventional way of telling the stories in his films, such as his usage of retrospective and flashbacks has helped turn him into an icon in the world of cinema, and for good reason. His films are all renowned for witty dialogue and having characters all contain some alias of some sort (think Honey Bunny and Pumpkin in Pulp Fiction). He’s also been known to make various references to the classic spaghetti westerns directed by the legendary Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). Regardless of how you personally feel towards Mr. Tarantino, you simply have to give it up to the man for his unique vision that has helped propel him to the ranks of stardom among his directing colleagues.

It’s no surprise that this year has been and will continue to be full of bland, lifeless films that will continue to reign supreme at the box office for weeks and weeks, such as last year’s ridiculous, Beverly Hills Chihuahua. On the bright side, there are some marvelous little and big films that are shaping up to be saviors to a year that may go down as one of the worst in years. One of those films will mark a very big return from Tarantino after the massive flop that was last year’s Hell Ride. The film is titled Inglourious Basterds, and is a definite must-see for all moviegoers this year. I was not all that fascinated with 2004’s Kill Bill: Volume 2, nor with 2007’s Grindhouse, but this forthcoming film is looking to be a return to form for Tarantino, the directing powerhouse who gave us precious works like 1992’s Reservoir Dogs and of course 1994’s Pulp Fiction.

Inglourious Basterds is an ensemble war film that can best be described more or less a modern-day take on the spaghetti western genre with two converging story lines. It stars Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine or “Aldo the Apache”, the leading protagonist, who is basically an illiterate hick from Tennessee that creates a team of eight Jewish-American soldiers. Alongside Pitt is a mass assortment of various individuals: Eli Roth, B.J. Novak (of “The Office”), Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, Samuel L. Jackson as the narrator, and too many others to name.

The two storylines are centered on the mission of Aldo’s group of Jewish-American soldiers, which is to take out a large group of Nazis, in addition to a young Jewish woman looking to achieve vengeance for the death of her beloved parents, which was committed by that aforementioned group of Nazis. There will be five chapters in which the film’s story is divided into, and separates various portions of the film as it slowly builds steam.

The setting takes place in German-occupied France, where the young Jewish woman, Shoshanna Dreyfus, witnesses the execution of her family and barely escapes herself from death’s grasp; thus leading her to make a break for Paris, where she takes on a completely new identity as the rather ambiguous operator of a cinema.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine’s group of Jewish-American soldiers become known as “The Basterds” to their enemies, and eventually joins a German actress and undercover agent on a specified mission to terminate the leads of The Third Reich.

Needless to say, the various fates of all the aforementioned characters will all twist together as the plot becomes more and more complex while Shoshanna continues her unwavering desire to follow through with her own deviously revengeful objective.

The film is something Tarantino has been working on for years, and at one point hoped to begin production on it sometime in late 2005, but he felt the story needed a revised premise so he ended up taking the entire thing back to the drawing board. The amount of time spent on Basterds is almost always a clue as to how good something such as this film must truly be. Given the circumstances and setbacks, it’s clear that Tarantino had a specific vision for this film and finally followed through with it in his intended ways. It must be known that Tarantino in fact wrote the entire script and has already claimed that much of the dialogue in Basterds is some of the best he’s ever written (he wrote Reservoir Dogs and co-wrote Pulp Fiction). He really wishes that when you think of Inglourious Basterds, you’ll consider this hysterically funny line that will be incorporated into the film: “A Basterd’s Work is Never Done.”

There are high hopes for Tarantino’s Basterds, and he’s certainly been feeling the pressure after having gone quite long since achieving success with one of his projects. Its August 21, 2009 release date will mark another typical fall release for Tarantino, and the moment where years of revisions will either turn out to be worthwhile or met with utter disaster. Beware of various subtitles since a good portion of the film’s dialogue will be in French and German, though Pitt’s “basterd” will remain loyal to his character’s ridiculously hick accent.

It’s a spectacle long in the making, and I hope that everyone will give it a chance and give in to what appears to some savvy dialogue and a well-established story. If Basterds happens to strike gold this fall, it could garner Oscar buzz, as well continue Brad Pitt’s recent streak of consecutive tasteful roles, which have so far consisted of 2007’s Ocean’s Thirteen, the well-made and buzzed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, his achingly funny role in the Coen brothers’ black comedy Burn After Reading, and last year’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I sincerely applaud Pitt for his sudden turn to more significant roles and for taking a leave of absence from rather absurd roles in films such as Troy and the overrated 2006 drama Babel.

So here’s the joining the ranks of “basterds” come this fall, and let’s continue to embrace the anticipatory hysteria revolving around Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, which coincidentally is one of the most ingenious titles given to a film ever.