Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger

Official website: http://www.inglouriousbasterds-movie.com/

Inglourious Basterds is not a beautiful movie. In fact, it's downright ugly. While the title refers to Lt. Aldo Raine's (Brad Pitt with all the drawling, Southern swagger and bravado he can muster) ragtag bunch of Jewish-American misfit commandoes, the movie isn't primarily about them. Rather, it's about ugly characters, doing ugly things to survive during the ugliest period of humanity: World War II.

The Basterds have a pretty straightforward mission statement: Kill Nazis. With such a simple plan, it's a sure bet that they're damn good at what they do. Brutally good, in fact. However, to an arguably larger extent, Inglourious Basterds also features a young French-Jewish girl, Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent). After her family is callously exterminated by a Nazi death squad, she manages to run away and grows up dreaming of the day she'll take revenge against the Nazis. With a common goal in place, their paths soon collide when opportunity presents itself - a German movie premiere screening (at a theatre run by Shosanna no less) - with the Nazi high-command in attendance.

Just so we're clear, this is not your typical World War II movie (the intentionally misspelt and schlocky movie title should clue you in). Therefore, let's not dwell too deeply on semantics and historical inaccuracies. Much like the Kill Bill volumes, Tarantino chooses to hang his narrative on a framework of chapters. The film opens with a tension-laced opening scene in a French farmhouse, drawing parallels with auteur Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.

We are introduced to the charming, genial snake-in-the-grass Colonel Hans Landa, (played with masterful glee by Christoph Waltz). Waltz thoroughly convinces as a friendly, yet brutal villain who'd just as soon stab you in the back as share a glass of milk with you.

If you recall the likes of smouldering, iconic Mia Wallace (Pulp Fiction) and the ballsy femme fatales of Kill Bill, you'll know that the babes who inhabit Tarantino's cinematic world are no mere shrinking violets. In Inglourious Basterds, Mélanie Laurent channels steely determination and moments of quiet vulnerability as Shosanna, despite her veneer of icy detachment. Diane Kruger is luminous as quick-witted German film starlet Bridget von Hammersmark.

Inglourious Basterds, by and large, exhibits many of Tarantino's hallmarks: memorable characters, quotable quotes and goresome (gory awesome!) scenes that latch onto your brain cells and refuse to let go. The director has an acute knack for tapping into the essence of pop culture, and characters blister with stylized smarts and crisp dialogue.

Detractors might once again roll their eyes at the portentously talky nature of Tarantino films, but he makes the delicate balancing act of tension and action look effortless, unlike the seizure-inducing noise fest that was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

While the movie clocks in at a meaty two-and-a-half hours long, the movie is plotted and paced tightly enough for one not to notice. Tarantino's cinematic flourishes make for some of the most stirring and haunting imagery in Inglourious Basterds , case in point, the film's fiery final moments.

Tarantino is a master at subverting the audience-goer's expectations - in his hands, no character is safe, and no plan survives intact for long. Just enjoy the "inglorious, uproarious thrill-ride of vengeance," as the tagline so succinctly states. Oh, and bring a strong stomach.

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