Django Unchained

    In a word, overrated. Now, don't write this off as a reflection of how I simply don't like or appreciate the true genius of Quentin Tarantino. I absolutely loved Inglorious Basterds, I really liked Kill Bill Vol.1 and 2, I loved Pulp Fiction, etc. I genuinely do like Quentin Tarantino's work and do not begrudge him his taste for excessive violence. In fact, I generally find his violence horribly hilarious.
   That being said, I was disappointed by this movie. I don't mean I didn't like it, though a horrendously bad mood caused me to think so immediately after watching it. I just meant that I wanted something better. The Academy seems to agree since they "snubbed" him in not nominating him for Best Director, though his film did receive many other nominations. My bone to pick is not with individual scenes, not with violence, not with the psuedo mockery of slavery, slave owners, and the entire slave culture. My bone to pick is with the disconnectedness of the whole film/story and Samuel L. Jackson.
   It starts with Christolph Waltz only wanting Jamie Foxx because he knows what a couple bounties look like. One bounty, and done. However, because Jamie Foxx's "wife" is a slave named Broomhilda. The name is from a German fairy tale and purports to set the plot for the rest of the movie. For a while it does, and I guess in the end it does, but not in the best way. The problem comes in when Samuel L. Jackson fucks shit up and acts like a crazy. I usually appreciate his crass and stupidity, but here I did not. I especially disliked his moderately useless soliloquy towards the end of the film. Though I guess it does make it a little more fun when he does ultimately die.
   There are some really funny moments in this movie. Jamie Foxx gets to pick his own outfit, and it's excellent. There is a whole wanna-be KKK scene that severely mocks the entire organization that is also excellent. Quentin Tarantino gets blown up, and a woman gets blown into oblivion, which are also funny. Chistolph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio were both excellent, and Jamie Foxx was predictably good.
   So in the end, I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. It's no Inglorious Basterds, yet it wasn't bad.