Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland August 26, 2013 - 9:38pm

Renee's movie pick for this week is D'jango Unchained. I'm a huge fan of Q's films and this one did not disappoint. Can't wait to see what you all thought about it.

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Renfield from Hell is reading 20th Century Ghosts August 26, 2013 - 10:08pm

I've got it queued up for tomorrow. I'm deeply conflicted on Tarantino so I'm interested to see some writerly perspective on this.

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ronin356 from Cape Girardeau, Mo is reading Mark Twain August 26, 2013 - 10:58pm

I'll go see it this week. I have it somewhere in my house.

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OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz August 26, 2013 - 11:46pm

I saw it in the theatre and I bought the blu ray, which I'm yet to tear the plastic off of. This gives me good reason. I'll try to find the 2 1/2+ hours this week to rewatch and discuss it.

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Jay.SJ from London is reading Warmed and Bound August 27, 2013 - 3:45am

I went on a date to see this film and ignored the girl to watch it all in full detail.

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madhuri from india is reading The Zen of Helping August 27, 2013 - 4:03am

loved this larger than life zany mix of Western and pre-emancipation America. the music egets the blood racing, though definitely not as much as the classics like For A Few Dollars More and The Good , The Bad, The Ugly

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Linda from Sweden is reading Fearful Symmetries August 27, 2013 - 5:30am

^^I agree, regarding the soundtrack. It was interesting, to say the least.

As with most of Tarantino's movies, I found Django visually appealing, pushed to the extreme, and (admittedly) sort of cool. The dialogue is certainly not the most natural, but it's polished and witty, and few words are wasted (when you take entertainment value into account, rather than what moves the plot forward).

Morally, I found it interesting at times, but ultimately aimless. I doubt QT was trying very hard to be political, but I'm sure he patted himself on the tummy when the outrage started pouring in. For me personally, films/art/music/literature/etc trying too hard to be provocative is a turnoff. 

What else? It's at least half and hour too long, damn thing never ended. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed this more ten years ago.

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jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like August 27, 2013 - 7:08am

I think Tarantino's last two (never saw Death Proof) have been easily better than typical wide-release movies. At this point, I'd mainly like to see him do something out of character, like a movie with zero retro.

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big_old_dave from Watford, about 20 miles outside London, Uk August 27, 2013 - 7:48am

Intresting fact here film fans, when Dicraprio losses it and cuts his hand he stayed in character and kept moving through the scene. His real-life bloodied hand made it into the final version of the film. Hardcore. 

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big_old_dave from Watford, about 20 miles outside London, Uk August 27, 2013 - 7:50am

Oh and tarantino's ozzy accent sounds like a pissed up cockney at four on a Sunday morning trying to hail a taxi to get home.....

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Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies August 27, 2013 - 9:13am

such a weird flick. i like a lot of it, but the whole film is hard to stomach at times. it's pretty brutal, but also very funny. i think Q really knows how to put us through the wringer. i'm not as big a fan of his "exploitation" and over-the-top flicks. i think Pulp Fiction is still his best, probably. i need to rent Bastards, still. he's so good, not sure why he has to be sensational all the time. it makes things a bit too cartoony for me. i wish he'd do some more serious films, like Reservoir Dogs, which is also another favorite of mine.

did anybody else have a problem with the word "nigger" being tossed out a hundred times, or is that just the nature of the film?

i really did enjoy Foxx though, as well as Leo and Waltz. some terrific acting at times.

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Sound from Azusa, CA is reading Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt August 27, 2013 - 10:00am

Overall I liked the movie, although I would agree with Linda that it seemed a half hour too long. I think if they could have cut the entire Tarantino scene and just ended after the shoot out, it would have been great. Although...we would have missed out on all the uncomfortable crotch grabbing by Jackson.

@Dave: I heard about that. I remember thinking during the movie that it was odd. I think it was the fact that they didn't put a lot of emphasis on it while it happened. Credit to him for staying cool and making that scene all the better.

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jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like August 27, 2013 - 10:06am

I liked the girl with the bandana over her face.

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drea from Rural Alberta, Canada is reading between the lines August 27, 2013 - 11:12am

The use of nigger seemed gratuitous after a point, although at 38 and raised in rural Saskatchewan, I can honestly say that I grew up buying penny nigger baby candies at the general store with not one single clue as to the etymology or implications of the word. Totally clueless the way only a white kid in the country thirty+ years ago could be. 

There were times in D'jango where I laughed out loud so hard I found it hard to stop tittering afterwards; the scene with the hoods and when Fox comes out in his Austin Powers suit being standouts. Freeman's character was initially hilarious but then overblown. The shoot out scene at the end was awesome in an over the top Tarantino way; that's his thing so I let him have it and enjoyed the over-dramatization. 

I saw this in NYC when my trip got extended due to winter storm Nemo. I may or may not watch it again to see how it holds up outside of that context. 

 

Whoever brought up DeathProof, that flick has the single greatest lap dance scene in movie history ever. I'd post a link but someone broke the youtube. 

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Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On August 27, 2013 - 11:37am

I can't remember the last movie where I was burst into a belly-laugh, and then cringed out of utter revulsion within the same ten minute period. The use of nigger was as disturbing as the use of violence in the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan, which it should have been; at this point, anything less than the utter, ugly realism of the situation, place, and time, and it would ring as even more offensive. That word was simply the norm of the times, and I accepted it as such. As for the movie, though it ran long, it was paced well and I never felt bored or pulled out of it, except for one time: when Tarantino shows up. That accent? Seriously? That was horrible. It actually felt like a parody at that point. Totally unnecesary for him to be there. He and M. Night Shyamalan need to stay behind the camera.

As much as I liked Cristof Waltz, Sam Jackson should've won the supporting Oscar for this role (was he even nominated?). His turn as a house slave who plays the servile minion while at the same time being the true ruthless runner of the place is his best work in over ten years.

@big ole dave: If that's true about DiCapprio, bravo to him. He's truly earning his spot as DeNiro's replacement in all Scorcese movies.

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Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies August 27, 2013 - 11:44am

good points, dino and drea. 

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Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On August 27, 2013 - 12:08pm

@Drea: Good call with that lap dance scene! I'd forgotten all about it, and now I can't shake it from my mind.

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ReneeAPickup from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig August 27, 2013 - 1:01pm

Late to my own discussion, how typical of me... 

I agree with Dino, the use of the word nigger, and the extreme violence made my stomach twist, but at the same time, if your stomach isn't twisting in a film about slavery and men fighting to the death for the entertainment of others... well I'd have to assume that there was something seriously wrong with you or the film (or both).

I've been a big Tarantino fan over the years, and I have to say I have a strong affection for his more cartoony films. My favorite will probably always be Reservoir Dogs, but I think Basterds and Django stand up, but it's a style thing. I would guess you either love it or hate it.

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ReneeAPickup from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig August 27, 2013 - 1:03pm

Oh but I disagree that Tarantino needs to stay behind the camera. Some of his cameos are excellent-- Pulp Fiction and Mr. Brown especially. This one... yeah it left something to be desired (namely, another actor).

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jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like August 27, 2013 - 1:41pm

I disagree with everyone. I didn't find his cameo to be distracting or poorly executed. I mean people complain about the Aussie accent but not the myriad Colonel Sanders/Foghorn Leghorn-type Southern accents. His was no worse than the others.

EDIT --- I don't know if I've ever actually heard Col. S. talking, but that's what sprang to mind.

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Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland August 27, 2013 - 2:58pm

I think it's funny that you all keep refrencing the Lap Dance scene from DeathProof, because in the double-feature Grindhouse version in the theatre, they edited that scene out, and on the screne it was chalked up to being a miscue on the projector or some other (technical difficulty) if I recall, which made it hilarious and all the more desirable, I guess it left it up to the imagination. Then when I bought the dvd, and saw the real "lap dance" it was good. but not what I had imagined. I'm talking about the wrong movie now.

I have Django somewhere arround the house, I saw it once at the theatre and once right after it's release, I want to watch it again this week, then I shall chime in more.

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JEFFREY GRANT BARR from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my life August 27, 2013 - 8:29pm

I thought the entire thing was overrated. Waltz was far more interesting in Inglorious Basterds (though that was a mess as well). I liken QT's work to Spike Lee's - very hit or miss, and so impressed with itself it teeters and falls under its own gravitas as it drags on... and on...

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Linda from Sweden is reading Fearful Symmetries August 28, 2013 - 2:36am

^That's certainly one way of putting it.

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voodoo_em from England is reading All the books by Ira Levin August 28, 2013 - 3:19am

I have a soft spot for QT's films, I love his dialogue, pop-culture references, over the top violence and all round general geekiness :)

So Django, yeah I enjoyed it, it disturbs where it should and entertains everywhere else. I thought Samuel L Jackson was great in a totally dislikable role for a change. I don't remember thinking it was too long, it's long sure, but lengthier films are pretty common these days.

Deathproof ~ ahh the stand out scene for me was always the girl circle around Stuntman Mike at the finale.

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big_old_dave from Watford, about 20 miles outside London, Uk August 28, 2013 - 12:02pm

I found it to be a lot better than the last couple he's done. It's still about three quaters of an hour too long.

My only real criticism is in his casting, Sam Jackson, Dicraprio and Waltz you all expect to be ace and he wastes his master stroke of getting Walton Goggins. Being a Justified\Shield fan he needed to be in it a whole lot more.

As for QT's work in general I'm in agreement with Kermode on this one....

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Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin August 28, 2013 - 2:03pm

never saw Death Proof

 

You should.

I went to see the Grindhouse movies in theaters (Death Proof and Planet Terror) and when I left I felt really sorry for Robert Rodriguez. It's not that Planet Terror is a bad movie, but when you watch Planet Terror after hearing the premise for Grindhouse you get the vibe that Tarantino went up to Rodriguez and said "Hey buddy, let's make a couple of goofy little films, you know, we'll riff off of old exploitation film archetypes and it'll be a good old time."

And then when Rodriguez had made his cute little film Tarantino shows up and says "Oh yeah, I've been working on the idea for this film for, you know, my entire career."

-

Haven't seen Django yet, I'll look into it.

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JEFFREY GRANT BARR from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my life August 28, 2013 - 2:47pm

big_old_dave, that video was pretty good; I agree with the reviewer's comments for the most part. Except: I think that QT believes he's making fine art pictures (my previous drunken comment should have read 'under its own pseudo-gravitas', and now I can see why I left that out), and not homage/fanboy pics. He wants to imbue these scenes (his movies are just scene after scene, not novels but linked short stories IMO) with the kind of look-what-a-clever-boy-I-am thematics that should make any self-respecting film buff itch. Instead, he's credited as bridging the gap between genre flicks and cinema because occasionally he writes some snappy dialogue and violence. Feh! Feh I say!

 

Of course, Reservoir Dogs was fucking awesome. So. There it is.

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big_old_dave from Watford, about 20 miles outside London, Uk August 28, 2013 - 3:02pm

Jeff, 

Bit unrelated but if you fancy a laugh youtube Kermode transformers 2 and sex from the city 2 reviews...Well... not reviews as such more full on rants.  :)

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JEFFREY GRANT BARR from Central OR is reading Nothing but fucking Shakespeare, for the rest of my life August 28, 2013 - 4:14pm

I'll check that out - I kind of liked Transformers 2, in a strange way.

Dino Parenti's picture
Dino Parenti from Los Angeles is reading Everything He Gets His Hands On August 28, 2013 - 6:28pm

I liked Amadeus way more than Django Unchained.

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drea from Rural Alberta, Canada is reading between the lines August 28, 2013 - 7:04pm

^ bwaaahaaa haaa. AND awesome, Dino. 

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ReneeAPickup from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig August 28, 2013 - 8:39pm

I don't think he denies that he's a big fanboy and his films are pastiches of films he loved. At least, he's been up front about it some films (Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, and this one, too).

MattF's picture
MattF from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected Fictions August 29, 2013 - 2:37pm

Django was good, but I really wanted it to be great. I agree with Kermode that Tarantino has not made anything approaching his first three films, but he eschews logic to conclude it was post Jackie Brown box office fear sending him back to the safety of fanboy claptrap. His two previous movies were Pulp Fiction and Resevoir Dogs. What was the old claptrap?

I think the issue is the same I have with Stephen King and Haruki Murakami: they've earned the right to create whatever the hell they want, as long and overstuffed and disjointed as they want it to be.

Django has some great moments, Inglourious had great moments, but neither was tight enough to compare to Resevoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction, but who's going to edit him? I agree with Renee, he's up front about what he's doing, and I think he's making movies exactly how he wants them to be. I don't expect anything to be as near perfect as his early work when he was a young ambitious unknown, desperate to prove himself. But he can still write a badass scene.

 

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Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies August 29, 2013 - 12:35pm

^^well said.

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Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies August 29, 2013 - 12:35pm

yeah, i'll read anything king put out.

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Bill Tucker from Austin, Texas is reading Grimm's Fairy Tales (1st Edition) August 31, 2013 - 10:26pm

MattF, I felt exactly the same.  I've always wanted him to branch out to something "great", but after seeing the film, I'm fine with him making movies he loves to make.  Maybe he'll never do another Pulp Fiction or branch out into real dramatic territory, but when you're so good at making iron clad genre sendups, why should I care?  He pumps out great films and I thought Django was his best since Kill Bill, maybe Jackie Brown (criminally underrated).

Here's my full review if anybody is interested:  http://thesurrealityproject.com/2013/02/19/django-unchained-2012/