Django Unchained
I'm a huge fan of the original and most Spaghetti Westerns I've had the pleasure of seeing. Films like the Dollars Trilogy, or Death Rides a Horse, Sabata, Once Upon A Time In The West, and so on.
This new film has very little to do with Franco Nero's character of Django. Only thing they share is name, theme song, and Franco Nero, though Franco is now a camero character.
Tarantino was attempting to make an homage to the Spaghetti Western genre, whilst adding a Blaxpoitation element. Shame though, this film could've used a Jim Kelly type actor. Not hating Jamie Foxx's performance though.
I had fun watching this movie, but it feels like Tarantino sort of slapped this one together. Sure, it screams Tarantino, but it just feels like he was trying to fill those expectations.
This movie doesn't apologize for anything, nor should it. Do I feel that it's racist? Not really.
Part of the problem I have with it, is it goes from Sergio Leone to Mel Brooks. The two never blend.
You get your Spaghetti Western, but the meatballs are soon replaced with beans and Blazing Saddles.
The thing that really saves the movie from ADD hell that it is, is the wonderful acting. Leonardo Di Caprio and Christoph Waltz really put on a great show. Samuel L Jackson does what you expect from him. Jamie Foxx does pretty decent, really glad they didn't get Will Smith like they had planned. Then it would've been Wild Wild West 2.
Let's get to the music. This time around, Tarantino isn't using music that works. He is using music for the sake of slapping shit on top of his film. The theme song for Django really didn't work in Django, not gonna work in this one either. Then he shoves the "His Name Was King" theme song in the middle of the film. Then boom, let's shove some gangsta rap in there. Pulp Fiction's soundtrack was all over the place, as was Kill Bill's, but hey, it worked brilliantly. Ennio Morricone has never been so out of place in a film as this.
Looking past all this, I still had fun watching it. I just can't call it a Spaghetti Western.
6/10 meatballs
I watched it because Spike Lee bitched about it, so it helped me enjoy it more.
Lincoln
There's a reason Daniel Day Lewis has a wheel barrel full of oscars, he's damn good.
My knowledge of Lincoln has always been fairly decent, but not complete. So, I'll leave the discussion of it's accuracy to the people who know better.
It's amazing to finally see a Lincoln that doesn't look like a rubber puppet monster. Daniel performs in such a way that you feel like Abe himself is on screen. For an actor to blend that seamlessly in the role is something amazing.
The film is loaded with an absolutely amazing cast. I loved this movie. It didn't feel the need to rake up dirt like most modern films. It didn't paint Lincoln in a heroic light either. It showed him as a man.
8.5 out of 10 stove pipe hats.