Django Douple Dip

There's a lot to say about Django Unchained. Fortunately, DJ already covered the review quite nicely, so I don't have to worry about objectively describing the story or background. We can get right into discussing Quentin Tarantino's latest movie, and the strengths and weaknesses that I've wondered about. Your mileage may vary, and that's the only warning you'll get.

I left Django feeling stunned and quiet. No part of me was going to feel happily excited or amped after seeing people treated like that. I'd feel the same way if it involved any other oppressed group. The realistic brutality couldn't leave a smile on my face. Tho it's not impossible for a film to reach out to me, it's impressive that a movie like this could have any kind of profound impact.

Yet, at the same time, I think this was one of the funniest pictures of 2012. I hadn't seen Inglorious, so I had no experience with Christoph Waltz. In fact, during the bar scene that introduces King and Django to each other, I began to lose patience with his part a bit - but I barely needed to wait for CW to pay the scene off. And the aftermath of Django Freeman picking his very first wardrobe was brilliant. Chuckles, grins, and belly laughs were in surprising abundance, given the topic and content.

I'm not sure whether I should credit the humor to Tarantino's skill or to that of his actors, but DU also had this odd ability to keep me from being pulled out of this story. I expected that I would be, but the narrative had enough of the typical familiarity of Quentin's stories that I kept getting drawn back in. Hell, I should probably write a post about how every one of his pictures feels like a fan version of some other film.

Those were some of the obvious strengths in QT's 2012 oddball opus. As to its weaknesses, I have much more to say: DJ and I talked, shortly after leaving the theater, about Waltz's final scene. I said that I couldn't believe that King decided to blow everything and murder Candie.

DJ correctly noted that this moment was integral to the whole movie - not only did it signal the true rise of Foxx's Django, but it showed that Schultz had reached his breaking point. The awful, senseless violence and stupidity he had witnessed made him incapable of dealing with DiCaprio's role any longer; even the calmest, most experienced con man couldn't keep cool in the face of such vile and evil behavior.

Great Moments In... Wild West Duels

It's amazing that I have seen probably two dozen Westerns, but have missed out on some of the bigger ones. I don't think I've seen one with John Wayne, or Gary Cooper. I've seen Silverado, but not Heaven's Gate. There are big gaps in my knowledge of this genre, but I can abso-fing-lutely guarantee that Tombstone isn't one of those gaps.

It's a fun film, full of good performances. The cast is exceptional, and I have a lot of love for the lead, Kurt Russell, along with some of the smaller actors like Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton. But if anyone aside from Russell made a massive impression, then it is, hands down, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.

In a movie full of strengths, Kilmer's work here stands out. His Doc has charm and grace and wit and, above all, a wisdom that matches his loyalty. The Earps are painted as a bunch of natural-born do-gooders, and so Holliday here serves as the guy with a real understanding of how the world works.

Review: Django Unchained

 

For the past ten years, Quentin Tarantino's cinematic output has been focused entirely on revenge fantasies. Over the course of five films (four, if you count Kill Bill Volumes I and II as a single film) Tarantino has explored revenge across multiple, pulpy genres (including the Kung Fu flick, the war film, and the ultraspecific 1970s/80s muscle car movie mini genre) taking on the natural urges for payback felt by wronged contract killers, Jews during the Holocaust, and the female victims of sexual predators.

Tarantino's latest foray into the revenge milieu is Django Unchained, a pre-Civil War Western/Blaxploitation film set against the backdrop of Southern slavery. Like the other films of Tarantino's revenge period, it's not for those weak of stomach or short on patience. But amid the stylish gore and slick modern musical cues, Django actually has some interesting things to say about slavery and filmic revenge.

Just Watched Django

I just saw Django Unchained with DJ; yes, we watch films together sometimes. It was a complicated experience - although Django is a "good" movie, and I laughed harder than I expected, I had no way to understand what I was feeling afterwards, much less try to explain it.

One/both of us will follow up on this pic later. If you want a (forced) recommendation: It made me laugh hard, had some strong performances, and was shot beautifully; the issue of slavery was not-disrespectful and felt horrifying, QT worked tension on me like he hasn't since Pulp, and somehow, I actually didn't flinch at every n-bomb, after a while.

Also: holy s--t, $14 for a ticket?

Movie Review Quickies, VII

Before I get to it: there are 5 new ways to view this blog: got to http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/view/ and you'll see what I mean. "Sidebar" style loads automatically, but if you select the "Sidebar" button at the top, you can pick other modes. I don't know how the thumbnail system works, but I really like the "flipcard" view. I invite you to check it out.

After so long, it's back! 7 random movie reviews in one go; I cover: "The Quick and the Dead," "40 Days and 40 Nights," "Splash," "The Sweetest Thing," "The Island," "Rising Sun," and "Kiss of the Dragon." I even set up links so you can jump to the review you want to read.  I'm really going to make the next one shorter; I mean it this time....

The Quick and the Dead
Usually, movies with a bad-ass female lead make the mistake of having a female bad-ass who constantly talks about how bad-ass she is. 1995's "The Quick and the Dead" did not make that mistake. It did, however, fail to put together a compelling or thoughtful or all-out Wild West drama/action-er.

That was particularly disappointing because the cast features Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russel Crowe, Keith David (yay!), Gary Sinise, Lance Henriksen, and Sharon Stone as the lead. How can you make a movie like that and have it bomb? How did it only take $17M in the US on a $35M budget?

There's a town where it's dry and hot, and it holds a multi-day quick-draw competition. It's all overseen by the town's ruthless criminal ruler/dictator/Ubermensch - played by Hackman, he's the fastest, nastiest gun in the universe. Now the towns bustling with all sorts of gun-fighters, including a gifted kid with something to prove (Leo), a former Civil War soldier (David), a chained-up preacher with an ugly past (Crowe), and a mysterious woman with no name or reputation (Stone).

How's it all going to play out? Which ones are the quick and which ones are the dead?

The Most Appropriate Independence Day Films

Since it's our anniversary, I figured I would highlight some quality movies that reflect the character of this country. By "character," I mean the positive aspirational sentiments of this nation and its people, so exclude "The Scarlet Letter" and "Missing" (the Jack Lemmon pic). By "quality," I mean fairly good movies, so "Independence Day: ID4" and "National Treasure" are out.

The Right Stuff
This is an exceptional movie. It's hard to find a flaw as the picture charts the creation of NASA and the space race. It follows the lives of pilots who became astronauts, scientists who both helped and struggled against them, and the government officials who brought them all together. Courage, patriotism, and ambition are writ large across the screen throughout.

But the movie isn't exactly jingoistic fluff. There's enough "bite" in some of the dialogue to express serious practical and human concerns - like LBJ being forced to wait outside the home of an astronaut's wife. Johnson is there for a state visit and publicity op, while she's just terrified that her beloved man will die horribly. Another brave astronaut is humiliated and demoralized when he learns he won't get a ticker-tape parade.

A beautiful fireworks display, too pretty to matter that it's in Sydney, Australia.

Silverado
"Silverado," like "TRS," is a film with a broad cast and a hoard of themes. It moves fluidly back and forth between folks in the Wild West : a pair of free-spirited brothers (Kevin Costner and Scott Glenn) who lack any bad intentions despite the trouble they get into. A black rifleman's family is being crushed by a despotic cattle baron and a pimp. An honorable crook (Kevin Kline) finds he's almost always getting double-crossed or manipulated.

I'm impressed enough by the determination and hope inside these disparate men, all rough but good-hearted. And it's all the more appropriate since they have to work together and risk everything they value to stop rampant corruption and murder.