Forget about inter-galactic monsters or psychopaths armed with garden shears looking to snip as many Achilles tendons as time permits. There is no villain more frightening or worthy of an audience’s hatred and contempt than the Nazi. And Quentin Tarantino’s master opus could be the most Hitlerious movie of its kind since Mel Brooks had the audacity to set the Third Reich to song. Not since Jackie Brown had critical darling Tarantino been able to set aside the in-jokes and pop-culture babble and apply his knowledge of and passion for cinema to a coherent and wildly entertaining narrative. Brad Pitt received top billing for his role as a Tennessee-born “Natzy” killer, but it was Christoph Waltz’s ruthlessly engaging performance as Col. Hans Landa that stole every scene. (For once, the Academy was correct in their selection for Best Supporting Actor.) With the Reichstag positioned inside a movie theater for the premier of Dr. Goebbles’ latest propaganda masterstroke, Tarantino’s murder weapon of choice was highly flammable nitrate film stock. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one other WWII film, the unintentionally uproarious American propaganda picture Hitler: Dead or Alive that manages to do away with Der Führer before the final fade-out. — Scott Marks