These new “Inglourious Basterds” character posters have been knocking around for a few days now, but I only really paused to look at them this afternoon. I must say, whatever my suspicions of the film itself, the marketers deserve a bouquet: I wholeheartedly love the cinema-steeped wit and intelligence of the artwork we’ve seen thus far, and this is no exception.

On another note, however, I’m very interested to see that hitherto unknown Austrian thesp Christoph Waltz has been promoted in the film’s marketing to the degree that he now commands his own individual poster. Since winning unanimous critical plaudits and the Best Actor prize at Cannes, it’s become clear that Waltz’s performance is the unequivocal story of “Basterds.” He’s probably the film’s sole awards hope, but it’s a strong hope nonetheless.