Uhhhhhhhhhh

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2012)

This is a sloppy movie. Maybe the sloppiest I've seen all year. It beat out TDKR and Alien: The Beginning. Let me start by saying I think Tarantino is a very talented director. It doesn't always show in his movies, but he's very good. I'm tired of his movies that are always too long, and uneven. While this movie is long I didn't feel it and I didn't get that sense of him just having characters talk just to talk so he can hear the dialogue he wrote for himself. Basically QT is a kid who uses actors to reenact his favorite scenes from other movies he loves. I do believe he redeemed himself a little , because I was getting sick of him and his indulgences. I think he gets too much credit for doing stuff other actors get hanged, poor choice of words, for. I think Edgar Wright is a much better director and will soon pass him and hopefully get more credit. Now that said I'm going to try my hardest to make more sense then this movies tone.
First off let me start off with the bad. This movie is all over the place. I though Inglorious Basterds was crazy , but this takes the cake. I actually have to give that movie more credit, because it felt like it was working towards something and everything fit in a crazy sort of way. You're going to here this a lot. This movie has 3 different parts and everyone who reviews will say what I'm saying verbatim. The First hour is a buddy cop western, The second hour is a tension filled game of deception, the last hour is the action. The problem is that the transition is not smooth at all, there's no balance or real order and you will know what I'm talking about if you go see it. Think back to Kill Bill and how different the two volumes where. Now Imagine if it was in one movie. The pacing is slow, but for Tarantino it's a step in the right direction. Really the movie can't make up it's mind and it damages the film a significant degree. From the trailer I thought Jamie would be one note, but he turns in a solid performance. Kerry Washington has the worst performance I've seen in a Tarantino film. She is so underused and has absolutely no character. No wait. There was a worse performance. Tarantino has a cameo and it has to be the worst performance of a director in his own movie I've ever seen. He should be ashamed of himself.
Next I'm going to touch on the issue of race and the use of the n-word. I'm black and I'm pretty lenient on the n word. I say it my friends say it, some of my white friends say it. I don't care it's just a word. If this was any other director I wouldn't have minded, but it's by a guy who constantly pushes the boundaries of good taste and not in a good way. I understand that it is in a time where the word was probably used a lot, but the way the movies uses it is a little gratuitous at times. I feel like Tarantino tried to fit it in when he could as opposed to using it occasional to shock people. Next is Samuel Jackson's character is extremely coonish . Once again it's hard to fully criticize, because he's playing a cliché house negro, but even then he's such a cartoon it's hard to accept. Basically like most Tarantino's recent films, it's all about if you love Tarantino or are tired of him. Me being Tired surprisingly was mildly annoyed, but as his performance went on he was given some depth. I'd be okay with all this if this was a serious movie about slavery with Western elements. But really it's a goofy western with moments of seriousness that doesn't fit. Tarantino wants to deal with slavery, but it's so cartoonish when he does the only message you can take away was "Slavery was bad" Good Job Quentin definitely a revelation.
Now the good. Wow the action in this movie blew me away. It's incredible and it makes me wish there was more of it. The Gore was refreshing from movies where it looked to bright or was CGI. This was all practical and it gave the action scenes a real sense of beauty and coordination. There's no doubt someone got shot because they'll be a huge splash of blood that highlights the trail of the bullets. Next performances all pretty much top notch . Leo is amazing , Sammy is good, Waltz is good. I love westerns and this one is a good one.
Unfortunately I have to give this movie a 7 or a Matinée. It felt like Tarantino was sleep walking through this one. Too much light comedy where it doesn't belong and too much deep ugliness that doesn't fit. I did feel more positive then negative even though the movie needed more scenes of tension and action. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and I even debated sneaking back in the theatre to watch it again. Any 2 plus hour movie that makes me want to not only sit without breaks, and rewatch right after is either called Fight Club or GoodFellas. Definitely a must see, but not one that you need to rush out and see.