Review: Django Unchained

-

The D is silent.
Dr King Shultz (Christoph Waltz) has enlisted the help of a slave named Django. (Jamie Foxx) Shultz is a bounty hunter, and Django can identify his next bounties. They form a bond, and Shultz offers to help Django free his wife (Kerry Washington) from an eccentric slave owner named Calvin Candie. (Leonardo DiCaprio)

I never thought I would say a scene involving the KKK would be one of my favorites in a film, but alas, that's Django for you. The film is brutally honest when it needs to be, and downright outrageous when it wants to be. In fact, I think Django Unchained might contain one of the best shoot outs in cinema history. Certainly the most creative.

Let's talk about the acting: Brilliant all around to say the last. Christoph Waltz has proven time and time again what a fantastic actor he really is, and he thrives under Tarantino's direction. Leonardo DiCaprio takes on a different role from what we're used to seeing him in, and he totally nails it. I seriously think he will finally get that Oscar we all know he covets. Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington give some of the best performances of their careers, while Jamie Foxx keeps it cool, calm and collected as our lead.

In retrospect, the movie was a bit long. It didn't feel like that to me when I was watching it. It was only after the movie got done and I looked at my watch and thought: "Holy shit, I should've told the babysitter that this was a 3 hour movie." I questioned some of the character's motives at points, but Django still classic Tarantino, and I can't help but love that.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A-

Memorable Quote: "Gentleman, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention." - Calvin Candie (Leonard DiCaprio) 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2013 at 4:30 PM

    Great review, Brittani! I love this line: "The film is brutally honest when it needs to be, and downright outrageous when it wants to be." :-) I am really looking forward to this movie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JoshJanuary 3, 2013 at 7:13 PM

    Glad you liked it! I hope this will bring DiCaprio an Oscar, but I'm not even convinced he'll be nominated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Candice FrederickJanuary 3, 2013 at 10:30 PM

    glad you enjoyed it! Sam Jackson FTW! it is a bit long, but i read Sam Jackson said that Tarantino had a more generic ending than the one they went with, but decided to change it to this (which extended the screenplay). LOL i thought the KKK scene could have been cut, but it is as outrageous and poetic as you say it is!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more