It’s wonderful to watch a talented professional mature in their skills and with the release of Inglourious Basterds that’s what’s clearly happened with wunderkind director and film biz bad boy Quentin Tarantino. His earlier works are best typified by Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, interesting stories that are so extraordinarily violent that the graphic violence appears in lieu of story or character development. Let me put this another way: Inglorious Basterds is the first Tarantino film I’ve actually enjoyed.
Tarantino is an unabashed fan of cinema, from the sublime classics to goofy stuff like Chinese martial arts films and even the hilarious marionette movie Team America: World Police. As a result, most of his movies overtly play homage to a genre, and appreciation of that genre helps you understand many of the narrative devices he employs. For example, without having seen martial arts films, you’d be fairly baffled at some of the scene cuts and camerawork in Kill Bill.

Finally got to see it, after a hectic weekend. Loved it. Thanks for your review! Glad to hear you liked it as well.
I just finished reading the Inglorious Bastards screenplay. It was another awesome display of talent on paper.
A writer who breaks all the rules and still manages to sell his stories. Maybe, he has earned the right to write in his own voice.
I am going to go see the movie next. It was quite an intriguing story.
Regarding Visiona Romantica. Do you honestly not see that this is a reference to not only Tarantino’s obvious love of film but the characters of Inglourious Basterds’ love of film. What about Shoshana? Fredrick? Landa?
New York Magazine referred to the Inglourious Basterds screenplay thusly: “It reads like Kill Bill meets The Dirty Dozen meets Cinema Paradiso.”