Am I missing something???

Rating: 4/10 (20 April 2013)

The popularity of the movie and seemingly high regard by critics have me wondering why I did not enjoy this movie to the extent I had anticipated. There are so many strange elements, character non sequiturs and inappropriate dialogs that take away from what is a good story and fine set of actors.
Here is the short list of issues I have. The music would have been perfect for "Blazing Saddles". The hokey lettering for times and places (especially the elongated "Mississippi"). Some of the scenes purported to be in the deep South obviously came from dry rocky areas of California. The overuse of the sudden zoom shot (like the early scene with DiCaprio). The stupid hooded mask scene before they raid Dr. Schultz' wagon. What it does to the film is to make it look disjointed and out of context a good portion of the time. Plus, plot contrivances appear to make the story end properly. I can't buy the whole Django escape from the crew taking him to the mine.
This film is long, and by that I mean long in a way that is not good. I kept wondering when it was going to end. The movie is by no means a good follow up to "Inglorious Basterds" which was a fine film. The gratuitous violence and gore isn't what hurts the film as much as how the tone is mangled at various points along the way. If you like films, you'll probably want to see it. But don't be surprised if at the end it doesn't satisfy.