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januaryman-1
Reviews
Lucy (2014)
Imperfectly Constructed; Perfectly Enjoyable
Lucy can be picked apart if you wanted to do it. If...then...really? Why would the character do that? Does increased brain power allow someone to do that? The movie is built around the false premise that humans only utilize 10% of their brains.
So, don't try to pick the movie apart. Just sit back and enjoy it. Lucy is quickly paced; you won't be bored. Scarlett Johansson is vulnerable at the beginning and engages the viewer as being almost pitiful. She turns into a complete bad-ass as the movie progressives. You end up not pitying her character, just glad that your not standing between her and her goal. Johansson reaches the status of Terminator in this movie.
Morgan Freeman's voice and subject matter has you convinced that you're watching "Through the Wormhole." Min-Sik Choi makes a good villain, though uncharacteristically inept at times. Amr Waked plays an Interpol(?) cop who is the closest thing to a love interest this movie has for Lucy.
There is a good mix of black comedy in with the action and violence. A couple of times, the director made heavy-handed assurances through awkward dialog that Lucy's violence didn't cross a line, pointing out that someone had been shot in the leg and that people were asleep instead of dead. There are more elegant, less obvious ways of pointing out things. If the director wants a violent movie (and Lucy can't be non-violent), then own it.
Turn your brain knob to seven and enjoy this summer action flick. Have fun!
Moms' Night Out (2014)
Full of funny moments without raunch.
The Metascore critics almost scared me away. Then I watched the trailer. It seemed funny, so my wife and I decided to give it a shot.
I'm glad we did. This movie caused some very genuine belly laughs. The ensemble cast didn't have lot of faces that I recognized, but nearly every one of the actors did a very good job. Sarah Drew, as Allyson, portrayed a harried mom with a natural, believable grace and humor. Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins, and Sean Astin had some wonderful comedic moments too. The movie was just plain funny.
Don't leave when the closing credits start. There are several inserts of outtakes and wrap-ups of minor story lines.
I think the pissy reviews given by some are based on ideology and not the movie. Some people do take comfort in their religious beliefs and some women do think that raising their children is their career. The movie is not preachy as some reviews state. Four or so mentions of God in 98 minute isn't preachy. Progressive ideologues, viewpoints other than yours are allowed.
Where We Started (2013)
A delight to watch; great dialogue and ease between the actors.
I saw this movie in two sessions. I watched the first third or so at a film festival but had to leave before it was over. I found it hard to leave the screening, and the movie stayed in my mind. I used IMDb to get the e-mail address of its production company and contacted the director/writer. I was able to buy a disk of Where We Started and was finally able to see the entire film. I'm glad of that.
Where We Started is essentially a two-person movie with minimal supporting cast. Matthew Brumlow plays Will and Cora Vander Broek plays Nora. They look like people you could run into on the street on any given day, a fact that adds much to the believability of WWS. The two had a remarkable ease of interaction in their roles as they carried out high quality dialogue written by Christopher Hansen and themselves. It was the dialogue and rapport between the actors that hooked me on my first shortened viewing and that's what made me seek out the DVD to finish my viewing. Will and Nora are nice, normal, likable people who aren't really happy with their humdrum, married lives. That likability carries the first two thirds of WWS but the two aren't without their flaws. WWS is decidedly not a romantic comedy, but it is rich with humor and lightness that thinly cover a more serious issue--marital infidelity. Will they or won't they? I'm not saying; Hansen tells the story far better than I ever could.
Keep in mind that this is a lower budget film made in Texas. I tell you to keep that in mind because that is a strength of this film. It is polished without being slick. WWS is not the typical Hollywood pablum. It is fresh, interesting, and theater ready. Too bad that distribution is such an issue for films that don't come in a Hollywood wrapper. The cherry on top of WWS is a infectious soundtrack performed by local talent. It will stick in your head.
With its limited cast and sets, WWS would be at home on the stage if Hansen ever decides to adapt the screenplay.
WWS is a job well done.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Interesting commentary track
The Carpenter/Russell commentary was quite interesting and candid. Russell provides several insights on his attitudes toward his career, movie shootings, and the general state of film making. Carpenter also offers his opinions but seems a bit more reserved. The two of them make the commentary track a very interesting feature of the DVD.
BTLC is an unusual film that was not received well in 1986 but become somewhat of a cult classic following its home video release. (Russell credits home video sales with saving his career during a period of slumping box office results.) One source categorizes BTLC as a martial arts comedy. BTLC isn't a favorite of mine because I am not a fan of martial arts films. I disliked the campy special effects that included electrical arcing from finger tips and shaft of bright light emitting from eyes and mouths. Turns out that things such as this are staples of kung fu movies. I didn't know this because I don't watch kung fu movies. Turns out that the parts of the movie that I disliked the most were a sort-of homage to the kung fu genre.
The characters are cavalier in a way reminiscent of Indiana Jones movies. The poster art also reflects the style of the Indiana Jones series. There are creatures in the movie whose appearance seemed quite cheesy to me, nowhere near the quality of Carpenter's The Thing (1982). But they weren't intended to be. I think that Carpenter's overall vision was to make a fun movie. It was that; don't expect much more.
Kurt Russell is a favorite of mine for his portrayals of Snake Pliskken and J. R. MacReady. Russell's character in BTLC is Jack Burton. He is a polar opposite of those characters in that he is an all-around good guy without a dark side. A braggadocio yes, but without menace. Kim Cattrall is smoldering as Gracie Law. I found myself vapor locking at every close-up of this comely lass. The film is worth watching for her eyes alone. Suzee Pai is no slouch either. James Hong plays villain Lo Pan to add to his impressive lists of roles.
The DVD of BTLC contains a Carpenter/Russell commentary track that was quite interesting and candid. If the film disappoints you, listen to the commentary track. It won't disappoint you. Russell provides several insights on his attitudes toward his career, movie shootings, and the general state of film making. Kurt Russell is a Disney (make that Touchstone) version of Bruce Willis: a true action hero. Carpenter also offers his opinions but seems a bit more reserved. The two of them make the commentary track a very interesting feature of the DVD.
Falling Down (1993)
Gritty; granular
Falling Down is a gritty look at the granular realities of modern life. William Foster's trek across L.A. shows us a non-homogeneous look at the city. Douglas's Foster is an anti-hero. You root for him but can't quite ignore the danger of his break. His pathetic life becomes superimposed on other people's pathetic little lives, any of which probably strike too close to home for many viewers. You may identify with at least one of the characters way too much to be comfortable for you. Robert Duvall does some of his best work as Detective Prendergast who has to deal with his burden of boorish co-workers and shrewish wife (played very well by Tuesday Weld). Rachel Ticotin is Prendergast's partner, Detective Sandra (that's it, no last name), who is the kind of co-worker we all wish we could have. (An aside here, Ticotin is one of those actors who doesn't come to mind when you think of the great ones, but look at her work. It is always good, maybe so good that she becomes lost in the character instead of maintaining her own identity. Isn't that the mark of a great actor?) Falling Down is a bittersweet look at the end of one man's life attended by people with similar lives who handled their challenges differently.
Skyline (2010)
Good effect; holds your interest
I wasn't expecting much from Skyline. I expected it to be B movie. It was, but it was a higher end B movie.
Some of the special effects were top draw. The aliens and their crafts were good. The movie makers made very liberal use of color saturation (I guess that is what it termed) in the film, and it got a little tiresome for me. It seemed sort of cheap and cheesy compared to the other effects.
The cast was adequate. No one really stood out as overly good or bad and were mainly biased toward the good end.
Skyline had a genuinely creepy ending that began were a view might have thought the move was ending. That is, there was a clear climax but then the film continued with a bit of a wrap-up. It was the wrap-up that left one of the bigger impressions in the movie.
Alex Cross (2012)
Underrated, competent movie
Alex Cross was poorly received at the box office and by critics, but I don't share in the sentiment. The film didn't boil with drama as most Hollywood blockbusters do. Instead, it simmered along with determination that didn't leave the viewer shell-shocked. I can't really compare Tyler Perry's portrayal of Alex Cross to his other work because I haven't watched his other work—not my cup of tea. Perry's portrayal of Cross was very effective and believable. His anger was palpable but he controlled and focused it without running around like a lunatic. It was very elegant compared to other cop movie heroes.
And why was Cross angry? Matthew Fox. Fox's depiction of sadistic killer Picasso was flawless. Picasso could have easily become a caricature, but Fox played him just right.
Edward Burns played Cross's partner Thomas Kane and Rachel Nichols plays copy Monica Ashe. These two and Perry gave the impression of people who worked together for years with their easy interactions. We didn't see a lot of Ashe and Burns seemed understated, but both were supporting roles. Perry and Fox were the stars of this show. The lovely Carmen Ejogo plays Cross's wife Maria.
Alex Cross is out on DVD and won't cost you the chunk of change that a theater viewing would. Spend a few bucks and rent the movie. I think you'll be happy with it.
By Dawn's Early Light (1990)
Suspenseful techno-thriller
By Dawn's Early Light is tautly paced and very suspenseful.
It chronicles a mistaken nuclear exchange and the aftermath. The cast is very strong and extensive. There is much intrigue at work in BDEL and it involves players you wouldn't expect.
My complaint about BDEL involves some improbable happenings in the relationship between pilot Booth and co-pilot de Mornay. There is early establishment that Booth is the alpha of the pair. That is quickly and inexplicably reversed very soon after. Suddenly de Mornay is ordering Booth around and he follows instruction with no hesitation. Second, de Mornay has one eye exposed to a nuclear flash. She says she is blind in that eye. No more mention of the injury for the rest of the film. No visible evidence of the retinal burns. No red eye. No swelling. No watering. Nothing resulting from this painful injury. Baffling.
Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed this 1990 HBO production. Back in the day....
Captain Phillips (2013)
Quickly paced; suspenseful
Captain Phillips is the story of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in 2009 off the coast of Somalia. The movie is quickly paced until the final act when it seemed to lose its momentum. Don't get me wrong; there was still plenty of suspense in that final act but the pacing slowed dramatically. The small cast feel of things was also lost when the US Navy showed up. No surprise there; that happens when the US Navy shows up.
Hanks and the lead Somali pirate(Barkhad Abdi)have a very interesting interaction throughout the film as Abdi sometimes menaces and sometimes protects Hanks.
Captain Phillips seems to be in a head-to-head competition with Gravity. In my book, Captain Phillips wins hands down.
Gravity (2013)
Stunning images
It's hard to write of Gravity without introducing spoilers, but I'll give it a summarized shot.
The images are stunning. The local theater is only showing 3D; that may be the only choice. I'm not a glasses fan, but the 3D is done very well. The sets are also very nicely done.
There are a lot of places where it is quite difficult to suspend disbelief on some of the technical points. Gravity is not accurate in the physics sense (from what I read) and a few other places, but to discuss them is to give away things. Just accept Gravity as a suspenseful movie chock full of memorable images.
The Grey (2011)
Overlook a couple of things and be stunned.
The trailers had me expecting a unbelievable survival thriller in which a pack of wolves throws down with the survivors of a plane crash. It turned out to be something much more than that. My wife and I turned and looked at each other as the end credits started roll. We were stunned. The movie was a deep psychological piece that explored the thoughts and actions of men who were staring death in the face. The wolves were less than characters than were the introspections of the survivors.
The film, as most works of fiction, required you to suspend your disbelief of some of the elements of the situation and the choices the survivors made. They could have sat in the wreckage and waited to die, but that would have made for a very boring film. Instead we got a film from Joe Carnahan and Liam Neeson, a film that stuns.
The animatronic wolves looked less than realistic, but offset that with beautiful scenery and very artful shots. I don't know if the director of photography or the Carnahan is responsible for those shots, but some of them really stood out in their quality. The wolves became the stimulus that forced the survivors into a cohesive group. The survivors each had a story to tell. The telling of those stories is "The Grey." I had thought the title referred to the wolves. It did not. I am still musing on what it references, but it was not the wolves.
I don't remember if Neeson received an Oscar nomination for The Grey, but his performance deserved one. His character is incredibly complex and he adds depth to every scene of the film.
Watch the movie all the way through the end credits. There is a significant shot at their end.
The Front (2010)
A little trite but characters were good
The Front is a bit trite as far as the plot goes, but most characters have depth enough to make watching this Lifetime movie worth watching.
Daniel Sunjata makes an interesting detective, and he seems at ease with his role. Diahann Carroll also has an interesting character as Sunjata's grandmother. Ashley Williams has an adequately damaged character but her performance is a bit thin in places but fine in others. Andie MacDowell is very sleazy and a bit one-dimensional. Patricia Cornwell makes a cameo appearance. Dane Dehann stands out in his portrayal.
While the characters have depth, their dialog doesn't. That is the norm for this type of production. These films get made without a prolonged effort. It is a four-door sedan of a movie. Don't set your expectations too high and you won't be disappointed by the film.
We're the Millers (2013)
Better than I thought; a disturbing undertone
The trailers looked good. Early buzz about the movie said it was disappointing. I relied on the buzz because I'm not a huge Sudeikis fan and Aniston has been hit and miss in her projects.
The film had its funny moments and some colorful characters. The movie shows that the world of drug dealing and smuggling is a dangerous world, but then turned that into a long gag. Yeah, it's a comedy, but the attitude that Sudeikis displayed was that yeah, bad things are happening and some people were probably killed, but I'm a hip little dealer who is cooler than everyone else. That recurring attitude just added a little stink to what was an enjoyable movie. Aniston was okay, but the character was pretty cliché. Standouts were William Pouter(funny, funny), Matthew Willig as One-Eye, Emma Roberts, and Molly Quinn. Laura-Leigh was quite funny in a short role as a moral-less stripper.
The closing shot had me wondering if the "Millers" epiphany was vaporous. The whole ending was a bit trite.
The Wolverine (2013)
Mixed bag
The Wolverine was quite good until the final act. In that final act, it took on the characteristics of a Roger Moore variety Bond film. After a very suspenseful build-up, the climax got a little silly. Despite the silliness, the movie wasn't destroyed, just diminished.
Advice to people who haven't been following X Men or Wolverine, familiarize yourself through some internet searching with the Wolverine's back story. It will help you figure things out in the movie's flashback scenes.
Speaking of flashes, the atomic explosion (I won't say when or where) was a little underwhelming. It looked more like a hydrocarbon explosion that a nuclear pop. Its effects seemed muted and slow motion also.
There was a dandy battle on top of a bullet train. Very exciting and well done. There were a lot of fight sequences that were well choreographed.
The cast was good at their jobs. The dialog seemed muffled, but that may have been the theater in which I saw it.
The Call (2013)
Suspenseful but fell short
The Call was very suspense with a lot of tension in it, but there were quite a few contrived moments in it that left me disappointed.
The ending of the movie was also very disappointing to me. Unbelievable action from what were otherwise very sympathetic characters.
Halle Berry is lovely and capable as usual. Abigail Breslin grows with each role. The script however could have used a script doctor. The movie could have been much better with a blop of Bondo and some polishing.
Its an okay move that will entertain you now and be forgotten fairly quickly.
Shutter Island (2010)
Masterfully done
Shutter Island is visually rich and very atmospheric in its opening scenes. An approaching hurricane with non-stop rain and wind give a claustrophobic sense of foreboding to the first third of the film.
The filmmakers make liberal use of flashbacks to tell the story set at the insane asylum on Shutter Island. We see interleafs of torrential rain and driving snow as the detective played by DiCaptrio switches between the present and a past experience at the Dachau death camp. The mixing of his experiences at Dachau and Shutter Island are perfected by special effects images.
Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Willaims, and Max von Sydow add to DiCaprio's impressive performance.
The tone of the movie changes significantly near the midpoint. Don't leave to get popcorn then or you'll be wondering what's going on. In fact, you'll wonder that even if you stay. The film keeps you guessing until the very end.
Death at a Funeral (2007)
Fantastic farce without slapstick
The strength of this film is its ensemble cast. No one actor dominates the film, though almost every frame containing Alan Tudyck is memorable. The British are noted for their dry humor and this film is loaded with it. The least subtle scene is a bathroom scene with geriatric Uncle Alfie; it will leave you rolling. Peter Dinklage turns in a great performance as a villain that you can't completely dislike. He appears in a 2010 remake of Death of a Funeral. I haven't seen that version, so I don't know if he reprises his role. It would be hard to improve on the 2007 work though.
The DVD contains a gag reel and two commentary tracks. The first is with Frank Oz who is a master of giving a movie crew flexibility in the production and having it work out for the better. No command and control guy, he is. The second commentary track features several of the film's prominent actors. Both tracks added to the experience.
This Is 40 (2012)
Watch for dialog.
This is 40 is a funny movie that left me depressed. The dialog is witty but the characters have so many flaws that I couldn't like any of them. A general current of neurosis ran through the film. Think of any indie film where a family is drawn back together for some holiday or event. The whole film is an inexorable expose' of the characters' shortcomings that grows tedious despite the liberal salting of clever (sometimes mocking) dialog. I kept hoping that it would end soon because it didn't seem to have an arc to it; it just kept droning on. I think that a beer–maybe two–would have helped. This is 40 is a rom-com of the subspecies for long-married couples. Sort of. It follows the standard structure of general unhappiness followed by a display of loyalty and love coupled with a life-affirming epiphany. Sort of. I thought things were going to continue on just as they had been going after a very brief respite.
Watch This is 40 for the dialog. It was tight. Melissa McCarthy makes a brief, profanity laden appearance. With her, the profanity is a given and only the time on screen varies. Hint: salt is a nice spice in moderation. Too much can ruin the dish. Her dialog is sailor grade. Maybe pimp grade. Maybe even up to eighth-grade boy levels. The laughter evoked starts out well but ends up as nervous laughter as it goes on a bit too long. The two daughters of director Apatow and female lead Mann appear as the daughters. The older daughter does a convincing portrayal of an emotion-fueled adolescent. The younger daughter relied on precociousness for her persona and had a few good quips. They were the only characters that I found likable. Maybe Megan Fox's character wasn't too messed up.
Eagle Eye (2008)
Exhausting; still relevant
I gave Eagle Eye a six;it probably should have been a five, but it raises issues that need to be looked at again today. I watched EE five years ago when it was in theaters. I was not especially impressed then. I rewatched it now because of its theme of overreaching government surveillance. EE now seems a bit naive. It proposes that a federal supercomputer runs amok and takes control of people's lives through its intimate knowledge of everything they do. Substitute an overreaching executive branch operating through the paranoia kings in the national security infrastructure for the insane supercomputer and you can see that Eagle Eye is still relevant today.
Relevant, but exhausting. The pace is that of a meth-addicted Jack Russell Terrier... Terrierist. The pace left me numb and unable to see all the plot holes. Saw many, but not all of them. The action and visuals are stimulating though.
Shia LaBeouf is Shia LaBeouf. Michelle Monaghan and Rosario Dawson do capable jobs in their roles and are always a delight to watch. Billy Bob Thorton is Billy Bob Thorton. Michael Chiklis does a good job in his role as a cabinet secretary.
Eagle Eye will hold your attention unless your as ADHD as it is.
The Americans (2013)
Artfully woven; nostalgic in a way.
My childhood ended in 1981. I finished college, moved to another state to start a new job, and lived on my own for the first time. The Americans is set in 1981. The 1980s were the beginning of a new era the end of another. The 80s were a time of change. The news reports that set the back story, the tuna boat cars, and the funky hair styles unleashed a flood of memories for me. Some were good; some were not. The point is that The American evoked an emotional response from me and probably from others. That is the goal of story-telling, and The Americans does a good job of it. Don't make the mistake that The Americans relies on the current 80s nostalgia kick though. The plots and scripts are top notch, intricately woven to generate a keen interest from viewers. The Americans has a vast and talented cast that doesn't have huge names. You'll recognize many of them from co-starring roles. Perhaps Keri Russell is the biggest name among them. This is a plus as far as I'm concerned. The cast is very talented but their lower level of fame helps them become the characters that they play. They are so good that many will establish their careers with this series. It is their vehicle to fame. The intrigue keeps your rapt attention.
Secretariat (2010)
A quietly elegant film; uplifting
A conventional, inspiring sports story, and yet it stands out. Thank you, Walt Disney for producing it. Thank you, Randall Wallace for directing it. Thank you, Mike Rich for the screenplay. Thank you, William Nack for the book upon which the movie is based. This film is a breath of fresh air. It tells the story of the legendary racehorse, Secretariat. I remember the phenom he was in the early 70s, and his impressive story has not dimmed in the 40 years since. He was a horse that never gave up, that loved running. He was surrounded by people who believed in him. The result is an unforgettable story that is eloquently told by director Wallace. His film is tight and without excess or superfluousness. Ladd and Malkovich take on the roles of Secretariat's owner and trainer with comfort. The film is set in the early 1970s but the props and costumes are done subtly and without any hint of introduced novelty.
I felt good when I finished watching Secretariat. I even read up on Secretariat afterward. He was a truly amazing horse. His Triple Crown records stand to this day.
Thanks again for this movie.
The Frighteners (1996)
Fun and frenetic
The Frighteners is a fun little movie from the mid-90s. It has an pleasing mix of stars who hit their stride in the 80s (Fox,Wallace, and Ermey) and others who count this as among their first works (Alvarado, Busey, McBride). It is an odd mix of horror and humor from Peter Jackson and had state-of-the-art special effects for the time.
The Frighteners, filmed and produced in New Zealand, was the biggest special effects movie made at that time outside the Hollywood movie base. It made extensive use of blue screens and had over 400 computer-enhanced special effects. Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh wrote the script and Jackson directed and produced the film.
The Frighteners has an overall tone of whimsy but also has some impressive horror movie moments. The Danny Elfman score fits the movie perfectly. Frank Bannister, played by Fox, is a widowed psychic investigator exploring supernatural goings on in a placid rural town. Newcomer Alvarado plays his romantic interest. Veteran actor John Astin plays a ghost called The Judge who has seen his better days. Ermey plays drill instructor (go figure), Sgt Hiles, who is in charge of the local cemetery. He has several lines and a general demeanor that pays homage or satirizes (depending on your viewpoint) his character in 1987's Full Metal Jacket. Jake Busey plays a good bad man, and McBride plays a funny role as Bannister's ghostly aide.
The Frighteners is amusing, frightening, entertaining, and a bit exhausting. It is a great Fall or Halloween movie.
Bachelorette (2012)
Unsympathetic characters leave you not caring
Four high school friend reunite for the wedding of one of them. The bride-to-be is the only one of the quartet that is remotely decent. Her friends call her Pig Face behind her back, but they are the pigs. They are nasty skanks behaving uber boorishly. Not only did I not care what happened to them, I was actively hoping that terrible things would happen to them. The trio cussed like fourteen year old boys who value volume and quantity over quality, well-placed profanity. These three women seemed to hate everyone including themselves. The film makes a late attempt to humanize the self-destructive trio by showing them as vulnerable victims of--I don't know--life. I'm not buying it. They were having their come to Jesus moment, and I have no doubts they would return to their nastiness after a good nap followed by more drugs and alcohol. I know the world has people like these, but it scares me that they form packs.
There were some humorous one-liners, but they were mostly delivered with such vitriol that they became just mean.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
A bit long but very well done
Maintain suspense when everyone knows what happened. That was Bigelow's job. She did this, I think, by concentrating on the intelligence chase that led to the location of Bin Laden. The actual shooting of Bin Laden (not a spoiler unless you've been living in a cave) was almost anticlimactic. Thank you, Bigelow, for not doing it in multiple angles in slow motion. Gimmicks would have detracted from the film. The real suspense was also in the chase, and more than a few people died in gathering the intelligence. The torture scenes are brutal. There is little gore but plenty of violence. Bigelow does a good job of making the raid suspenseful despite us knowing the ending. The middle of the film seemed to drag a bit though the beginning and end moved along nicely. The movie crew built stealth helicopters from scratch based on conjecture. They looked very plausible. The DVD has an extra feature called "Geared Up" that is quite interesting.
The cast was top notch. Chastain took on her role completely. She becomes a portrait of obsession, singularly dedicated to getting Bin Laden. Jason Clarke is also a stand-out as Chastain's fellow spook. Joel Edgerton ("The Thing" prequel--yay) leads the Seal Team that ended the long quest for payback.
Django Unchained (2012)
Over-hyped; Tarantino excess
Reservoir Dogs was a pretty conventional buddies-in-crime movie that became noteworthy for its level of violence. Tarantino got himself under control for his sophomore movie, Pulp Fiction--one of my favorites. Pulp Fiction was violent, no doubt, but it was held together by well-developed, interesting characters and dialog. With the exception of the pawn shop crew, you had some level of empathy for all the major characters.
Tarantino became much admired after these two movies and seems to have become lazy and dependent on shocking viewers. He reminds me of the creature in John Carpenter's The Thing. He watches other works and stores snippets away until he can assemble them into something different yet reminiscent of the other works. The extended conversations involving DiCaprio and Waltz kept bringing to mind the plantation scene from Apocalypse Now Redux. Waltz's accent and quite a few references to the German language kept me thinking about Inglourious Basterds. Couple the accents with the lack of emotion as Waltz pursues his bounties, and I was thinking Schindler's List. Long panoramic shots with soaring swells of music brings to mind every spaghetti western. Put all these snippets together and you have a contemporary Tarantino movie. Django lacked smoothness; it seemed a choppy agglomeration of...snippets.
Django is full of anachronisms. The count on this site is 22 plus three factual errors. Though many people rely on Hollywood to school them in history, I don't expect non-historical, fictional films to be 100% accurate, but it seems like Tarantino had a complete disregard for accuracy. Was this laziness by Tarantino or a deliberate disregard for accuracy in favor of being cool? The characters in Django were one-dimensional. Waltz's dentist was mysterious as to his back story and motivations, and Jackson's Stephen was interesting for his devotion and dismissive behavior toward his "owner." (No person can own another, but very often damn sure act like it.) In fact, Stephen's dismissive attitude was unbelievable given DiCaprio's Candies' general intolerance. I think that the attitude was allowed/incorporated to protect the Samuel L. Jackson image as an eternal bad-ass. Everyone else was explicitly good or evil. No shades of grey here. And speaking of shades of grey, there seemed to be a lot of images of women being dominated, whipped, and bound. Shades of misogyny? Rumor has it that $10 million of the $100 million budget was spent on prop blood and fire hoses from which to shoot it. More stylized Hollywood violence for the motive of revenge. Any wonder that people think that the way to right every wrong is obliterate someone? The violence level in Django compared to the general level of movie violence is the difference between pornography and erotica. Perhaps Tarantino's Thing incorporates a snippet from This is Spinal Tap by putting an 11 on his violence amp. Make that a 12. Okay, let's assume that killing three dozen people in a scene is necessary to tell the story. Do we also have to see geysers of blood with every shot? Too much of anything is desensitizing and dilutive.
The cast did a good job with their shallow characters. Waltz and DiCaprio stood out from the rest. Foxx, strangely enough, seemed to blend into the background in scenes involving Waltz and DiCaprio. Washington seemed to be a prop, a token as the boys played "no, **** you." You probably won't hate Django, but you likely won't be very satisfied unless you drank the Tarantino Kool-Aid. I'd love to see something from him again that is the caliber of Pulp Fiction.