Unlike his previous offerings, this film has a comparatively simpler plot and is even narrated in a linear fashion. However, the film gathers its strength from various other aspects making the idea of plot and narrative really insignificant compared to them. As Tarantino himself describes it, Inglourious Basterds is definitely a commentary on the Spaghetti Western which becomes quite evident in the opening sequence which is even titled “Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France” as a tribute to the legendary Sergio Leone. Besides using a Leone like choreographed cinematography, editing pattern accompanied by score composed by the inimitable Ennio Morricone, the viewers are introduced in this sequence to Standartenführer Hans Landa, a notorious Jew Hunter played with a delicious relish and panache by Cristoph Waltz and Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) who is a Jewish girl on the run with her family massacred by Landa. Thus the viewer’s are left with the two typical genre archetypes of the western; the lone avenger and the evil antagonist with considerable shades of grey tones.

Despite marked differences in style and approach from his earlier films, there are certain familiar Tarantino touches in the film which are equally enjoyable. Besides the quirky sense of humor injected in unlikely sequences, there is the shadow like presence of his comic strip sensibilities in sequence build up and characterizations along with sudden shifts to non fiction and documentary mode of address of both satirical and serious nature in case of the backdrop of Hugo Stiglitz and the commentary on the flammable nature of nitrate films both narrated by Samuel Jackson. An almost tactile and tangible symptom of Tarantino’s maturity becomes evident in his structuring of the film where he draws his tale not from history but from the concept of war presented in films and the notion of audience sympathizing with a party. In the penultimate sequence where ironically inside a cinema house and during a screening of a war propaganda film a large assortment of German people including a major section of Nazi political leadership are gunned down by the Basterds while the former are unarmed the notion of spectatorship of war films is questioned and thus disturbed in an unprecedented way and on a concluding note one must say that only Tarantino could pull off this thing while keeping up the usual cool and casual demeanor.

• Invictus – Scheduled to be released in December, this Nelson Mandela biopic directed by the iconic Clint Eastwood has succeeded in capturing the attention of millions around the world. With Eastwood’s growing reputation over the past decades as a thoughtful and intense director, the film is already being discussed as a potential forerunner in the Oscar race. With Morgan Freeman playing the role of Mandela one can always expect certain sparks that was previously evident in the Freeman-Eastwood ventures like Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.

• Shutter Island – Talking about Oscar race and actor-director partnership, the only thing that can offer stiff competition to the aforementioned is the legendary Martin Scorsese and his highly productive and creative partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio. This thriller cited by many as being in same vein as Cape Fear, is among the most anticipated films to hit the theatres in February 2010. With a strong supporting cast of Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow, Shutter Island will certainly carry forward the success story of Gangs of New York, Aviator and The Departed.

• Avatar – One doesn’t have to waste words regarding the anticipation of a film which comes from a director after a gap of 12 years along with the fact that his last outing with a fiction film earned him 11 Academy Awards. Movie goers around the world are eagerly waiting for James Cameron’s comeback vehicle to be released mid-December. An unprecedented application of motion capture technology that has been in the R&D for the last decade has been the primary reason for the air of expectancy surrounding Avatar’s release.

• The Lovely Bones – The film has already been tagged as the Trial by Fire for director Peter Jackson whose unquestionable reputation for silver screen spectacles faces a stiff challenge with the question about his capabilities for treating for sensitive issues of a human nature. Yet another mid-December release, the film starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon deals with the rape and murder of a young girl and the plight of her parents and loved ones following this event.

• Nine – One of the biggest Christmas releases in recent years, this Rob Marshall film is a musical retelling of Federico Fellini’s celebrated 8½. While Marshall’s flair for musicals is already established and recognized after the critical and commercial success of Chicago, the primary thing to watch out for would be the orchestration of the various characters in the narrative played by a dream star cast of Daniel day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench and the legendary Sophia Loren.