Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Men in Black 3 was quite good.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I respectfully disagree.


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Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

No, no.. nepotism was why Will made MiB3. Without that, there would be no Karate Kid for Jaden or the upcoming After Earth. Heck, might have even contributed to Jada's 2 seasons of HawthoRNe.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Men in Black 3 was a huge improvement over MiB2 and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't Django Unchained.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Wow, this flick kicked so much ass. I was not expecting it to be as good as it was....mainly because well, it just didn't look all that great to me from the trailers.

I personally feel Leo took the show from everyone but not any actor solely ran away with the show because they were ALL excellent.

It made me cringe to think that shit like this happened back then (yes, I know what slavery is, I'm talking about the branding, the fighting to the death, being fed to the dogs....fucking terrible) and for a reimagned spaghetti western...I was not expecting to feel such strong emotions when the more serious scenes came to light.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Tarantino isn't subtle, is he?

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I'm watching the special features and was wondering how well the film had done at the box office. I'm stunned to learn its made over $420 million. Stunned because this film looks like it wouldn't have much of an audience overseas because of the subject matter. Happy for QT that the film was such a success.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I finnally saw it on Blu and it is a fantastic film. I'd been told Christoph Waltz was very good and he was. What I wasn't expecting was how good Sam Jackson was and what an incredibly complex, nuanced, layered and hysterical role had been written for him. Monumental! Just amazing. QT just loves that man and he wrote something so great for him and together they just knock it out of the park.

It's a great film. Audacious and unafraid. Exploitation and message at the same time. I'm glad it found a popular audience but sometimes I wonder if even 10% of this film (and Inglorious Bastards) registers with the popular audience. I hope they don't just show up for the exploitation elements and pump their fists in excitment. So much is going on here cinematicly. Homages to De Toth, Boeticher, Fleishcher and a pantheon of Italian westerns and mondo films. Even QT's choice of location are frequently an homage.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Saw it this weekend as well, and I agree that Sam Jackson and Leo Dicaprio stole the show. This scene with Dicaprio, in particular is remarkable in that he badly cut his hand and continued with the scene...even integrated it and made the scene even more disturbing. I'm not sure who's a better actor right now than he is.

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I actually think any one of the three supporting actors could have legitimately won the best supporting actor Oscar, and I'm closer and closer to thinking this should have been Best Picture, or at worst, is a toss-up with Lincoln. I watched Argo the night after watching Django and was entirely underwhelmed.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Michael Shannon is better than DiCaprio. And I'm only counting someone who has come to great fortune in the past 5 years.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I'd love to see Michael Shannon in a QT film. That would be fucking epic!

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

If there were a list of actors in the running, Michael Shannon wouldn't be on it...maybe Daniel Day Louis, Johnny Depp or Russell Crowe.

I submit Gilbert Grape, Gangs of New York, Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Departed, Revolutionary Road, Inception, J. Edgar, Django and probably The Great Gatsby as evidence of range and depth. I think he's probably the DeNiro/Pacino/Brando of the current generation of actors.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I'd argue that DDL is the best working actor today. With very few who could match up with him. Shannon for sure could. Depp and Crowe are nowhere near DDL level. I like them both though. DiCaprio as good as he is, and he is one of my favorites...can't for the hell of it shake the fact that he's performing. Candy was one where he WAS the character. You felt it. I'd blame that on QT's direction. You want your actors to not just act but you want them to become characters.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I second this and I will add that Mortensen, Seymour Hoffman, Fassbender & Penn are also better than DiCaprio.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Love Michael Shannon BTW...just don't see him in that tier.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Now this, I'll buy. DDL is off the scale.

But I think a case will be made for Dicaprio in hindsight and he is underrated right now, which is largely a residual effect of Titanic backlash.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

But I think Brad Pitt is underrated too, so what the hell do I know? :shrug:

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

DiCaprio underrated? The man gets praised all the time for his work. He's rated very well. He MIGHT be overrated but I don't think so. He is rated fine.

Inri222 brought up a good list of actors there. All of them envelop their characters without showing the work being done. It's my ONLY criticism on DiCaprio. Is that you can tell he's playing a character instead of becoming one. Mortensen is a good actor to see how they just ARE their roles. You see no strain, stress, thought, in their roles. They just are. While their characters may go through many emotions, the emotions are presented naturally...more so than DiCaprio. Again..I love his after Titanic work, for some reason those roles just don't interest me. Though I do like Titanic...but it's not cuz of the actors. GoNY was a film where he was NOT ready to face DDL. He was not there yet. He could probably go toe to toe in a film with him today and it doesn't show. In Gangs he wasn't near as strong as he was today and nowhere close to being able to hold his ground with DDL. While someone like Neeson did damn fine. As did Gleeson. And Diaz..well...yeah.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

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Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

DiCaprio is badass. As is DDL. And Michael Shannon. And Sean Penn, and Michael Fassbender, PSH..

All badasses.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I'll agree to that. They are badasses. Talking about PSH...he was badass in MI3. Best villain so far in there.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I'm on board with that too...didn't mean to start a whole debate...just thought DiCaprio put on a hell of a performance in Django and was as menacing as hell. Sam Jackson too. Really, the supporting cast made the movie for me, as they often do in QT films.

I think my underrated comment about DiCaprio was based primarily on his continued snubbing by the Academy etc.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

Arguably Jackson's best work.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

As much as I like to believe in actors getting awards for their works. All that matters is whether they matter in the history of their craft. Ellyn Burstyn had the best performance in her category...she lost to Julia Roberts. Now...there's no fucking way Roberts in her whole career has ever given a performance as powerful as Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream. That's how much the Oscars really matter. Scorsese won for The Departed? That's one of his weakest films in the times he's been nominated...and it's damn good too.

Scorsese is bigger than an Oscar. As are the actors we've discussed. Their performances will be remembered for the excellence in their craft.

...I think so as well. And he's playing the BIGGEST Uncle Tom ever too. Damn. I remember watching the film and being astonished as to how good that character was. And he's NOT the type of character you tend to like but goddamnit. He was a layered mothefucker.

Re: Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) — The Reviews Thread
 

I think Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are two of the most flawlessly directed films in the past 40 years, so the fact Scorsese didn't win for either bugs me. Not sure if he should have won for The Departed, but maybe he should have, along with about a dozen other films he's directed.