Django Unchained (2012)
Brief review: Three years after the phenomenal "Inglourious Basterds", mastermind Quentin Tarantino shows us yet another different side of him with "Django Unchained" - a controversial spaghetti western, riddled with subtle irony and a confronting mixture of originality and absurdity, that plays more like a spoof on slavery, rather than taking its subject matter of racism seriously. The answer to how is Tarantino capable to create a 165-minutes-long movie, full of many overextended scenes, that is still hugely entertaining every step of the way is: compelling dialogues, and tons of wit and playfulness. Yes, talkiness is this film's main strength. "Django Unchained" is also filled with over-the-top violence, outrageous manga-like gore, and exciting, almost shocking blood-soaked gunshots. Every single shooting location is chosen with flair and discernment, the smooth cinematography and warm color palette give the film a stylishly western-ish look, the intentionally clumsy super-quick zooms à la Shaw Brothers add edge to the already impressive camera work, and the fact that the film is being shot in an anamorphic format on 35 mm film, adds further authenticity and roughness to the visuals. Every performances her is award-worthy. Jamie Fox does a solid job as the slave-turned-bounty hunter Django, Christoph Waltz's delightfully nutty performance is simply amazing, Samuel L. Jackson delivers easily the best supporting performance of 2012, and all the tiny cameos are just fantastic.
Overall summary: Although certainly not the best movie in Tarantino's impressive career, "Django Unchained" is nevertheless a stylish, wittily-written, blood-filled, and wildly enjoyable near masterpiece of a spaghetti western like no other, which is destined to become a classic.
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