Master Storyteller Tarrantino at it Again

Rating: 7/10 (7 September 2014)

Director Quentin Tarrantino is a master storyteller and he carefully lays out yet another imaginative and original historical piece with Django Unchained. He is one of the few modern film makers who clearly works hard at delivering qualitative and unique ideas to mainstream audiences. The film does not disappoint movie goers looking for classic Tarrantino elements either. Django Unchained is filled with well-developed, strong leading characters, awesome musical cues, a few surprising cameos (Don Johnson), lengthy and intense dialogue, gratuitous violence (pushing the point of ridiculous) and of course, an epic grand finale.
****SPOILER ALERT**** Although Jamie Foxx falls surprisingly flat as Django - Tarrantino will always deliver at least some interesting casting choices. This time the true stars of the film were supporting actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Waltz. Waltz shined as the unusual and well-mannered German bounty hunter who meets his demise on account of pride, human decency and honor (his Oscar was well-deserved). DiCaprio plays a wealthy plantation owner (Candy Land - where the cinematography is best) who, despite all his privileges has gone slightly mad with an unnerving attraction to brutality and violence. Watch the film just to see their performances, but be warned - Django Unchained plays out too slowly with a run-time well over two and half hours. Tarrantino gets caught up in too much dialogue and unnecessary tangents.
Viewers will get their fill of well-choreographed fight scenes in the lengthy run time though, with a hefty body count that includes lots of blood splattering (a director trademark). Tarrantino even keeps the camera steady through it all - disregarding the current craze of intense camera shaking that seems to be so common now in action films. And, despite my ability to appreciate a glorious fight, one critical piece of this story involves one of the most disturbingly violent scenes I've ever seen.The director succeeds in making you uncomfortable during the scenario - an emotion his works play on often. I shook my head slowly while at the theater and said to myself, "It's not Tarrantino unless I have to close my eyes at least once."