The off-putting title and Quentin Tarantino’s penchant for hard R-rated films might keep some moviegoers from checking out his new film, Inglourious Basterds. It includes scenes about war, segments about killing Nazi’s and violence. So if it walks like a duck, is it a duck? Not this time. Inglourious Basterds is actually entertaining enough to make non-Tarantino fans laugh out loud many times. Those who adore this director will get plenty of the odd, artistic and over-the-top bits of filmmaking he’s known for giving his fans.

Done in chapters, the film starts in the lush countryside of France during the first year of the German occupation there. Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) makes a visit to the home of farmer Perrier Lapadite (Denis Menochet) to check for hidden Jews. He plays a game of cat and mouse with Perrier before ordering his soldiers to shoot through the floorboards and kill the family hiding below. A lone girl gets out and takes off running across a field. Landa stands amusedly by and yells to her, “Au Revoir Shosanna.”

Chapter Two takes us to where a group of Jewish-American recruits are planning “Operation Kino.” Led by hillbilly-down-to-his-core Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), the group appears like a bunch of soapbox derby drivers trying to enter a Nascar race. Their object is to retaliate against the Nazis for the injustices they have committed, and when it comes to dishing out the violence, these guys are no kids. The Lieutenant gives each of his men a quota to scalp 100 Nazis.

Of course, with Pitt’s silly Southern accent, a rope mark around his neck and a jutted jaw like the Godfather, none of this can be taken seriously. But the casting is extremely authentic and the ever-unique Tarantino actually pulled actors from the countries of their corresponding characters. The results keep the fable-like story feeling authentic.

In addition to Pitt, two other actors stand out in the film. Waltz, whose 88 feature-film career is filled mostly with German movies, comes across as superb playing the ruthless Nazi Colonel. In every scene he’s like the predator handing a kid candy with a genuine smile only to break his arm if he reaches for it. His best scenes are with the beautiful French actress Melanie Laurent, who plays Shosanna. Years after she escaped death at the hand of the Colonel, Shosanna became owner of a cinema in Paris.  She keeps a low profile under the assumed name of Emmanuelle Mimieux and using fake French papers to disguise she’s a Jew. Her luck gets tested when Adolf Hitler’s (Martin Wuttke) people decide to show a propaganda film, and they choose her theater for the event.

Right before that event, Raine and a few of his men plan a meeting with popular German actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger), who’s really an undercover agent on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich. Their meeting in a basement bar oozes with tension, especially when German officers show up and put a kink in “Operation Kino.” 

The most dramatic scenes take place in Chapter 5. The night air fills with tension as German soldiers and top society members enter the theater. Raine and his men, disguised as Italians, have their own plan, but unbeknownst to them, Emmanuelle has plans of her own. Laurent’s last scenes are so powerful they’re reminiscent of starlets of earlier years who have sacrificed everything to live like Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind.

What I like most about Inglourious Basterds involves its unpredictability. One moment it’s about WWII, the next we’re laughing at a silly man with a Tennessee accent and the next we’re drawn into the lives of people reminiscent of those who lost their lives for merely being of a particular persuasion. The thread combining these stories is Colonel Landa, proficiently played by Waltz. I hope to see him again soon on the big screen. 

I have to admit this is my favorite Tarantino film, but anyone planning to see Inglourious Basterds should be aware of the varying subjects covered.

(Released by The Weinstein Company and rated “R” for strong graphic violence, language and brief sexuality).

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.