Inglourious Basterds

The latest from Quentin Tarantino is equal parts WWII action film and fantasy: and totally riveting till the end. The Basterds are a group of Jewish soldiers recruited to work undercover in German occupied territory under the leadership of Lt. Aldo Raine, played by Brad Pitt. Lt. Raine, a good ole boy from Tennessee who hates the Nazis as much as the soldiers under him: and it's likely that an unexplained scar on his neck has a lot to do with that. The Basterds show no mercy to any Nazi, as the part Apache Lt. Raine demands one hundred scalps from every member of his platoon. One of the soldiers, played by director Eli Roth, likes to dispatch Nazis with a baseball bat, evoking the name of Ted Williams in the process. As you've probably surmised by now, the violence comes often, with nothing left to the imagination; yes, these guys really do earn their name. The Basterds eventually plot to do away with the leadership of the Third Reich at a movie premiere, and unbeknown to them the proprietress of the theater is plotting the same thing. Mr. Pitt gives a sometimes comical performance, which does work well in the context of the film: remember this is not your fathers WWII picture. Listening to him try to speak Italian with a Forrest Gump accent is something you wouldn't want to miss. Austrian born Christoph Waltz portrays Colonel Hans Landa, an SS officer who shifts from good cop to bad cop in the blink of an eye, and he's truly one of the great Nazi villains of recent memory. The film has an exciting story and script, and Mr. Tarantino keeps the action moving throughout the whole two and a half hour running time. Not to be missed.

Rating - 3 1/2 Stars