Entering the movie theatre to see Quentin Tarantino’s newest masterpiece of cinema, a few expectations are but certain to be upheld: dark humor, gory, violent and likewise explicit scenes of murderous revenge and fictitious characters (played by an all-star cast) embarking on a specific task to achieve adulterated glory. These expectations are certainties, threading all of Tarantino’s works, from “Planet Terror” to “Pulp Fiction.”

Tarantino films are not for the queasy, easily offended or reality Nazis (no pun intended). If you want to see a comedy not centered on grotesque and sadistic humor, I suggest you go see another film.

The August 2009 release of “Inglourious Basterds” in theatres has left it referred to as “movie of the year” and likewise barbaric in nature. There seems to be no in-between road of criticism for the viewing public out there.

I must say however, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and found it a breath of fresh air in regards to the portrayal of the treacherous rule of Nazi government over parts of Europe during WWII.

To laugh at the cruelties of war, conjured up inside the artistic mind of Tarantino, is in my opinion the best therapy for the world, more than half a century later.

“Inglourious Basterds” is set in Nazi-occupied France during the reign of Hitler’s appointed leaders, the Third Reich in the time of the Second World War. As characteristic of a Tarantino flick, the movie’s plot is dissected into two separate legs, which occur simultaneously and intertwine at certain points.

The movie begins with Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), aka “the Jew hunter,” entering the home of a French dairy farmer in search of Jewish refugees. He slaughters an entire family minus one, Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), who manages to escape his hand. Four years’ time elapses, it is 1944 and Shosanna has not only changed her name to disguise her Jewish identity, but has also inherited a small theatre in Paris which she runs herself.

When the opportunity to host a movie premiere to Hitler and his Third Reich arises, Shosanna accepts, with the massacre of her family still fresh on her mind.

Meanwhile, a band of Jewish-American soldiers, the “Basterds,” led by an outspoken Tennessee redneck, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) are sent to France to do one thing and one thing only, “kill Nazis.”

Pitt, along with his diverse and ethically twisted band of brothers, disembarks on a killing rampage which captures the attention of the Third Reich.

The diverse group of “basterds” include Sergeant Donny Donowitz (a.k.a. “the Jew bear,” known for killing Nazis with a baseball bat) played by Eli Roth and the aggressive former Third Reich member turned Nazi killer, Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger).

The crew learns of the premiere of “Nation’s Pride” at Shosanna’s theatre for the members of the Third Reich and decide to take advantage of a gathering of so many Nazis.

The “basterds” join ranks with German actress/double agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) and British officer Lieutenant Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender) to tempt fate and give dramatic rise to the death toll of Nazis.

The movie is intriguing, action-packed and wildly humorous. The acting is superb, particularly in the manner of Pitt, Waltz (Hans Landa), Laurent (Shosanna), Roth (the Jew bear”) and Kruger (the undercover actress). The characters all sustain very independent and excessive personalities to provide within the movie noticeable character foils (opposites), as if pieces of the puzzle that is Tarantino’s vision.

The movie has been nominated for several awards and rightly so.

Whether the film be too graphic or distasteful to your liking, all can agree the film is well acted with interesting plot twists in every scene. It may be shocking and incongruent to the Hollywood ideal of a well balanced film, but that is what makes it unique and likewise worth scrutiny.

To present you with fair warning, the film is entirely based on fiction aside from the war itself and Hitler’s Third Reich.

It is also rather lengthy, lasting a little more than two and a half hours. It is not appropriate for children, rated R for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality.

You can purchase a ticket online or at any local movie theatre without problem. It has been out for a month and should still be in the theatre for some time based, if solely, on its popularity.

So sit back, try to relax and simply enjoy one of the most risqué, talked about movies of our time.

I promise, if you don’t enjoy it, you will at least appreciate it for its aesthetic purposes.

Therefore, I will leave you with this for good measure now, a quote from Brad Pitt at the film’s end, “You know somethin’, Utivich? I think this might just be my masterpiece.

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