Django Unchained

Started by MacGuffin, March 27, 2011, 10:14:40 PM

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tpfkabi

Still not getting Notifications and I don't know why.

SPOILS



I agree that the QT cameo is horrible. It was a mostly fun escape for 2+plus hours (until I had to pee with a large chunk left). It doesn't feel fully 'masterful' as IB or other Tarantino, but even off a bit is better than a good deal of others.

I wonder, too, how big of a part Menke played as editor.

Was anyone else thinking Samuel L. was about to totally change his character when he threw down his cane? Was he faking a bad back? After we saw Django pretend to be mean to the slaves, I almost expected SLJ to reverse character and say that he was pretending all this time just to try to stay alive.

That tooth boucing around was pretty funny.

Still can't fathom the nutsack shot.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

Reel

Quote from: tpfkabi on December 28, 2012, 04:41:06 PM
I wonder, too, how big of a part Menke played as editor.

None, I'm sorry to say.

JG

reiterating what others have that said, that its mostly boring and predictable.

also, i'd like to think i'm a pretty open minded and lax dude, but in what world is girls lambasted for not featuring a black character, but this is not getting more shit for being unfunny and kinda in bad taste? NOT IN MY WORLD.

Jeremy Blackman

The first words that occurred to me when it ended: "that was a nearly perfect movie." And I very rarely feel that way. I was fully prepared to agree with all the mixed reviews, but to my surprise I loved it almost unreservedly.

Yes, the QT cameo was sort of horrifying, and the 2 or 3 clips of fake slow motion were even moreso (pet peeve I guess). But that's pretty much it... I have no other complaints. It was such a beautiful film with so many stunning cinematic flourishes, the kind that really send a tingle up your leg, as the kids say. It certainly is a popcorn movie, but what a glorious one it is.

It derives incredible power from its simplicity and precision. I don't want it to be anything more than it is. Tarantino is not really equipped to make profound statements about slavery, so he doesn't. How can you not respect that?

Reel

you just liked it cuz you're black...

polkablues

I'm pretty much with JB on this one. I have very mixed feelings about Inglourious Basterds, but I felt like this one was the perfected version of what he was trying to do with IB. It's also the most focused film QT's made since Reservoir Dogs.
My house, my rules, my coffee

JG

focused how? cos its linear?

ono

I saw this the day after Christmas and wasn't quite compelled to post anything then.  I guess that tells you how lukewarm my reaction was.  Seeing the accolades this is getting then seeing how some are ignoring The Master while a few aren't letting anyone forget, it made me want to rethink my apathy.  I enjoyed myself, sure.  But I predicted most steps before they were made (I whispered to the girlfriend "Schultz has a bounty for the sheriff he just shot" minutes before he revealed that that's exactly how he'd get out of that situation).  The only time I was surprised was when Schultz killed Candie, and that was because it was out of character -- the character had been painted throughout the whole film to have more control than that.  I thought I was done with Tarantino after Kibble 2.  Killer Crow sure doesn't excite me any.  I want to see Patton Oswald's take on what Tarantino should do next: his take on women's suffrage to premiere in 2015: UNCORSETTED BITCHES.

There are no nuances here (heh, I just watched Diner this afternoon and early on one character pontificates about the nonword nature of the word "nuance").  He stopped being able to tread that line after Jackie, and the only reason he was able to was because it wasn't his material.  He makes popcorn films very well now, but that's all he makes.  A perfect, cleaned, spit and polished popcorn film, replete with Django in blue suit.  Shiny, but absolutely ridiculous.

On another tangent, the guns used back then in no way had the firepower Tarantino purports them to have in this film.  An anachronism, sure.  Sort of fun, I guess, but it took me out of the film.  Sure, we all laughed when Django blew away Candie's sister (creepiness +1, that).  But it just goes to show he'd be just as adept at scripting new Warner Bros. cartoons.

polkablues

Quote from: JG on December 30, 2012, 05:50:16 PM
focused how? cos its linear?

Because it has a clear protagonist with a clear goal and arc and doesn't meander off from that goal for long tangents.
My house, my rules, my coffee

Jeremy Blackman

Quote from: ono on December 30, 2012, 06:22:45 PMOn another tangent, the guns used back then in no way had the firepower Tarantino purports them to have in this film.  An anachronism, sure.  Sort of fun, I guess, but it took me out of the film.  Sure, we all laughed when Django blew away Candie's sister (creepiness +1, that).  But it just goes to show he'd be just as adept at scripting new Warner Bros. cartoons.

Were you surprised? He's been doing cartoon violence at least since Kill Bill. I think it really works here.  *SPOILERS*  The way Candie and Big John Brittle fall over dead is straight out of cartoons. The violence itself is something else... it's like gunshots cause blood and guts to come splurging out of bodies in a kind of syrup, as if internal organs are just waiting to burst out of the body. Reminds me of some of the Starship Troopers violence. I'm not sure why it works so well. Maybe it takes things more fully into the realm of fantasy, which is good because it's basically a full-blown cartoon Western.

polkablues

The whole movie is about myth-making. Django is a tall-tale character, like John Henry or Paul Bunyan. The heightened, unrealistic nature of the violence is in keeping with this theme, which I think is the master key to a proper reading of the film.
My house, my rules, my coffee

jenkins

Saw this at a record store yesterday, it's 5/6 letters on topic

RegularKarate

I watched this again yesterday and now I think I love it.


modage

Quote from: RegularKarate on December 31, 2012, 04:49:41 PM
I watched this again yesterday and now I think I love it.
I'm gonna give this a second chance on Friday but if its still one of his weaker films, you owe me $12.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.