Far from "Inglourious"...

Rating: 10/10 (18 September 2009)

A group of Jewish American soldiers. A girl who has fled her home after the brutal massacre of her family. And a group of Nazis occupying France, who will premiere their Nazi propaganda movie at a small theater. How do all these topics fit all together? They are the pieces that form the puzzle that is "Inglourious Basterds".
Brad Pitt plays Lt. Aldo Raine, a Jewish-American solider leading a group of other Jewish-American soldiers, named "The Inglourious Basterds", into France. Their job is to do one thing- exact their revenge against the Nazis for their horrible crimes against humanity. They plan to brutally scalp the Nazis and kill them. As Raine says, "We're killin' Nazis, and business is bloomin'". They have also targeted a movie theater, where the premiere of the aforementioned Nazi propaganda movie is to take place.
Shosanna Dreyfus is a French Jewish girl who has fled her home after the Nazis have massacred her family. She flees to a movie theater that her aunt gave to her long after she died. One night, she meets a charming young man outside the theater, and the next day she sees him again. She is annoyed by him, but is invited by the man to lunch. Turns out he is a Nazi soldier, and that he has brought her to his Nazi family. Hans Linda, the Nazi leader who massacred her family, tells Shosanna and the Nazi family that her theater is the perfect place to premiere the movie. After it is confirmed that the premiere at her cinema is officially "Nazi Night", Shosanna and her partner projectionist have only one plan- to burn the theater to the ground.
Coming in at 154 minutes, "Inglourious Basterds" is a film that does not overstay its welcome. Every minute of its length is epic, and the whole time, you're glued to your theater seat, wanting to know what happens next. The way Quentin Tarantino structures the plot, he sticks to his usual "Chapters" formula, and presents the two stories in a way in which in the last 45 minutes, they come together like pieces of a puzzle. This is enough to keep any moviegoer satisfied! As for performances, every single performance in this is amazing. Pitt does a brilliant job at portraying the cold and brutal personality of Aldo Raine. Also in the film is Diane Kruger, who plays Bridget, a woman the Basterds meet along the way. She has proved herself to be quite the actress over time, and with her being German, she is definitely an easy target for the role. But the REAL star of the show is Christoph Waltz, playing Hans Linda. He steals the show in every aspect here, and he's the type you wouldn't imagine playing a cold and ruthless Nazi.
If you're a big fan of Tarantino, you can also expect his usual trademarks: Red Apple Cigarettes, The woman's feet shot, the usage of music from other movies (the music of Ennio Morricone is a huge character here), and the homage to other films. All of these are shown in the film. The film pays homage to European WWII movies, and does it brilliantly. Also, his dialogue, which is something he's been known for, is the best dialogue in any of his films.
Think of "Inglourious Basterds" as "Pulp Fiction" set in Nazi-Occupied in France. In short," Inglourious Basterds" is a phenomenal piece of film-making and proved to be an excellent day at the cinema.