3. Inglourious Basterds
Inglourious Basterds is a fun movie based around the Second World War and has the kind of dialogue and stylistic flourishes expected from its director, Quentin Tarantino (yes, him again). There are two storylines, one following a Jewish girl called Shoshanna as she attempts to avenge the death of her family, and the predominant one following Lt Aldo Rayne (Brad Pitt) and his Jewish group of Soldiers (the Basterds) as they attempt to strike fear into the heart of the Third Reich. Its not exactly brilliant - but it is genuinely entertaining and never gets close to being terrible.
The Problem? The first scene, where SS Colonel Hans Landa (played perfectly by Christoph Waltz) is interrogating Perrier LaPadite about whether he is harbouring Jews is one of the tensest scenes I have ever watched. Everything about it is just perfect. A later scene in a Restaurant also involving Hans Landa is only just behind it, and theres also a very good scene in a tavern in the Basterds side of the story. These scenes are all far too early in the movie, though (this point is highlighted by the fact that the very best scene in the movie is also the opening one) and, whilst an entertaining action romp with witty dialogue is just fine with me I couldnt help but feel massively underwhelmed to see it follow such brilliance.