inglourious basterds

Eli Roth, mainly known for writing and directing slice-and-dice, gore-rific horror films like the 'Hostel' movies, puts on his acting hat as Sgt. Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in friend Quentin Tarantino's Nazi-scalping opus 'Inglourious Basterds.' At the film's Blu-ray/DVD launch Monday night, we spoke with Roth on the red carpet about the 'Basterds' moment that made his parents cry, the film's award chances and his own upcoming directorial projects.

When we caught up with post-modernist filmmaking master Quentin Tarantino during Monday night's launch of the 'Inglourious Basterds' Blu-Ray/DVD at New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood, it seemed like the Nazi-killing 'Basterds' weren't the only thing on his mind; Tarantino fully confirmed reports of another, hotly anticipated 'Kill Bill' sequel in the works.

With so many "best-of" critics lists coming out this time of the year, it's refreshing to hear what one of our favorite filmmakers has to say about his favorite movies of 2009. In a conversation with the Hollywood Reporter, Quentin Tarantino listed his top eight films for the year:

1. 'Star Trek'
2. 'Drag Me To Hell'
3. 'Funny People'
4. 'Up in the Air'
5. 'Chocolate'
6. 'Observe and Report'
7. 'Precious'
8. 'An Education'

Think of this year's Golden Globes as the semi-finals of the Academy Awards' Best Picture race. For the first time this year, the Oscars will have 10 Best Picture nominees, just like the Globes always do. So the winner of the Globes' drama race and the Globe's comedy/musical race could be facing off against each other as finalists at the Oscars.

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA
Quentin Tarantino has to be happy with this morning's nomination announcements; he seems to have drop-kicked Clint Eastwood and taken what seemed predestined to be the rugby-minded director's slot in this race.

There's plenty of action on the small screen this week courtesy of three theatrical releases wending their way to DVD. Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds' is an all-out assault on the World War II epic, kicking up the revenge flick several notches. 'The Hangover' rolls the dice on three lost souls in Las Vegas and comes up with a 7-11 natural. And a team of rodents get the James Bond treatment in the CGI-animated/live action 'G-Force.'

The Golden Globe Awards, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are nothing without Oscar nominations to go with them, but the 2010 Globe nominations announced today get the nominees halfway there.

And the leader of the pack, sayeth the foreign press, is Jason Reitman's recession comedy 'Up in the Air,' which finds itself on six ballots, including Best Comedy or Musical, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (George Clooney) and two for Best Supporting Actress (Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick).

The Golden Globes nominations are out and loud action films are all over the Best Drama category, with 'Inglourious Basterds,' 'The Hurt Locker' and 'Avatar' in the mix, while on the TV side, newcomer 'Glee' shined alongside familiar faces '30 Rock' and 'Mad Men.' The biggest nominee of the year -- film wise -- is actually the recession-era tale 'Up in the Air,' which snagged six nominations, among them best drama and acting honors for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.
-- Get Full List of Nominees / More Golden Globes

The critics have spoken.

As 2009 winds down, the country's film critics -- always fond of labeling the best and worst in the world of movies -- have gathered together to cast their votes for the top films, actors, actresses, writers, cinematographers and musicians of the year.

This year, as the votes have come in from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Online and the The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association, a pattern has emerged: Kathryn Bigelow's 'The Hurt Locker,' a harrowing film about an elite Army bomb squad in Iraq, took the top honors from the Boston and Los Angeles critics, while the director herself nabbed best director nods from Boston, L.A., NYFCO (who choose 'Avatar' as the best film) and Washington (who picked 'Up in the Air' as best film).

Is 'The Hurt Locker' heading for an upset of Oscar favorites 'Precious' and 'Up in the Air'? The action drama about an Iraq War bomb squad suddenly looks like an awards season front-runner, thanks to votes of confidence from the Boston and Los Angeles film critics groups.

The Boston Society of Film Critics gave the movie an especially strong endorsement in Sunday's announcement of the BSFC's annual film awards, with 'Hurt Locker' taking home five prizes (the most the BSFC has ever given to a single movie), including Best Picture.

Will the opening up of the Oscars' Best Picture category, from five nominees to 10, cheapen the awards show or save it? On the one hand, it seems to lower the standards the Academy has professed to uphold for decades; on the other hand, it could allow films that have been both box office crowd-pleasers and critical favorites, like 'Star Trek,' 'Up,' and 'Inglourious Basterds.'

After all, many more people watch the Oscars when films they know and have an emotional stake in are up for awards than when the Academy nominates films that few viewers at home have seen. In any case, the new rule will certainly make the Best Picture race more interesting and harder to predict, with a lot more wild cards in the deck this year.