Django Unchained-
This isn't a formal review (I want a second viewing for that, probably later this year, loosely possibly in theaters), but basically the editing fucked with the whole goddamn movie. The whole film had a peculiar rhythm that became most obvious in the second half. Additionally, the photography was bland and boring. I realize Tarantino wanted to echo spaghetti westerns, but I've seen the most famous of them and they're all visually spectacular (or most of them). Django was far from. That said, it's a fucking spectacular and wild film with an ensamble of many of the best performances of the year. Christoph is the best by a healthy margin, but Leo and Jackson are both frickin' fantastic themselves. Where it's going and how it gets there is always a riveting, hilarious, and shocking thing to watch unravel. It's a crowd pleasing film in the vein of Kill Bill with also some of the weightiest materiel in Tarantino's catalogue, placing it, for me, under Basterds and Pulp Fiction, both of which I consider absolute masterpieces of filmmaking. Unchained could have been, and really, the footage itself really is that good, but the editing stifles it with a bizarre flow from scene to scene and even within some scenes themselves. Scenes have different movements without really building between them much at all. It also has what might be the most badass shootout in decades and possibly even cinema history given the way many are talking about it.
9.1/10
-Vader
This isn't a formal review (I want a second viewing for that, probably later this year, loosely possibly in theaters), but basically the editing fucked with the whole goddamn movie. The whole film had a peculiar rhythm that became most obvious in the second half. Additionally, the photography was bland and boring. I realize Tarantino wanted to echo spaghetti westerns, but I've seen the most famous of them and they're all visually spectacular (or most of them). Django was far from. That said, it's a fucking spectacular and wild film with an ensamble of many of the best performances of the year. Christoph is the best by a healthy margin, but Leo and Jackson are both frickin' fantastic themselves. Where it's going and how it gets there is always a riveting, hilarious, and shocking thing to watch unravel. It's a crowd pleasing film in the vein of Kill Bill with also some of the weightiest materiel in Tarantino's catalogue, placing it, for me, under Basterds and Pulp Fiction, both of which I consider absolute masterpieces of filmmaking. Unchained could have been, and really, the footage itself really is that good, but the editing stifles it with a bizarre flow from scene to scene and even within some scenes themselves. Scenes have different movements without really building between them much at all. It also has what might be the most badass shootout in decades and possibly even cinema history given the way many are talking about it.
-Vader
It's just my way...I used it with Life of Pi and found that it worked for me.
