Django Unchained

FLIX!

Quentin Tarentino never ceases to be fun and spectacular. Not only must it be fun to write such interesting stuff, but then to be able to get a deal to make it. And I mean a deal. To be able to shoot in different locations, and sign stars like Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, Oscar Nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar Winner Hans Woltz, and Samuel L. Jackson, and surround them with guys like James Remar, Don Johnson, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, and Walton Goggins - that must be fun.

This is Tarentino's western. Some of his other films had westernesque qualities, but this is his out and out straight ahead western. So....where to start? Storyline I guess is as good a place as any.

This movie takes place in 1858 - two years before the Civil War. Django was a slave whose brutal history with his former owners bring him face to face with German born dentist-turned Bounty Hunter King Schultz (played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz). Schulz is on the trail of the Brittle Brothers and needs Django to properly ID them. Schultz acquires Django - under dubious circumstances - and agrees to free him when they have gotten the Brittle Brothers....dead or alive. They do, and instead of splitting up, they decide to pursue the mission of acquiring Django's wife Broomhilda (played by Kerry Washington). Django and his wife Broomhilda were split up at separate auctions years before. Schultz and Django's search ultimately leads them to one Calvin Candie (played by Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of the infamous "Candieland" plantation where men are trained as "fighting bucks" who fought to the death to amuse their owners. Exploring "CandieLand" under false pretenses Schultz and Django fall under the suspicions of Stephen, Calvin' trusted house slave. Stephen was played brilliantly by Samuel L. Jackson. Of course, things go awry, and there is a bit of violence. SURPRISE!!! I hope I didn't spoil anything for you Tarentino buffs.

By the way, NOBODY does shoot-outs better than Tarentino. Reference? Any of his other movies. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?"

Tarentino loves movies and it always shows throughout any of his films. His film references flourish in everything he does. This guy has seen everything, and it is always obvious, most notably music that sounded straight off Sergio's spaghetti western soundtracks....as well as the choice of title graphics - straight from the westerns of the 50s and 60s. The soundtrack? A bit strange - from Jim Croce to Rap.

So what about this movie. Even though it runs nearly 3 hours, it kept me interested throughout. The violence, although never pleasant, could have been much more graphic than it was. There is a scene where dogs are allowed to tear a man apart. I told my daughter to be ready to cover her eyes, but she never needed to. It was bad, but mostly implied.

The Good: Wonderful performances from all of the actors in a storyline that wound it's way through different terrains, different seasons, rich with characters. Tarentino knows how to create tension as well as anyone and he does it never better in a scene where Calvin Candie takes out a box and removes a skull, cuts a piece off to demonstrate that there are dimples inside it that predispose black people to want to be servants. But we know that Candie has just been made aware of Schultz and Django's subterfuge. So it puts we as an audience on the edge of our seats, not knowing where this is going to lead. For some reason I have never cared for Leonardo DeCaprio, perhaps it seemed in the beginning that he was headed for teen idol status...but it cannot be because of his performances. He has turned in some dandies. And this is no exception. Samuel L. Jackson sold me on why the house staff on plantations were so reviled. Another great thing about this movie was that it made me like Christoph Waltz. He was so rotten in "Inglorious Bastards" that I went away not liking the guy. But in this, his character has heart and compassion, and was disgusted by slavery. From the beginning he saw Django as his equal.

The Bad: Really, Quentin, Jim Croce's "I've Got A Dream"? This one seemed silly. And I usually really love your soundtrack choices. And then there is Don Johnson playing "Big Daddy". Don Johnson was a great choice, but Mr. Tarentino, there already is a "Big Daddy" found in the heart of quintessential American Literature - that is, in a little thing scrawled out by a guy named Tennessee Williams called "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". Ever heard of it? That is "Big Daddy". The only "Big Daddy." And finally, starting off calling the plantation of Calvin Candie "Candieland" in the early stages might have been funny, you know because of the child's game and all, but seriously, you left it in? Candyland?

The Ugly: 1. Great shootouts, but fake blood that looks like paint and is never believable. 2. Tarentino putting himself in a scene near the end wherein he is in a pristine Australian stereotypical outfit doing one bad Australian accent. 3. The sunglasses Django wore seemed out of period, but maybe not. I guess this one is unimportant - Tarentino is often not going for historical accuracy anyway; note the ending of "Inglorious Bastards."

But then again, very few films are perfect. Is this another masterpiece like "Pulp Fiction"? Nope. But it's pretty close. It is one of those films that I saw three days ago and can't stop thinking about. Like I mentioned it runs nearly three hours, but I didn't feel like it. It held my attention the entire time. Jamie Foxx was superb, and he and Waltz seemed like a natural team. But Mr. Foxx proves here once and for all "Ray" was no fluke. I like this guy. He's got real chops. I have to keep reminding myself that this guy started off as some kind of comic or something. That was a long time and a great distance ago.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to own this one. So see it if you can.