'DJANGO UNCHAINED'

'DJANGO UNCHAINED' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Actors: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel Jackson, Kerry Washington, Walton Goggins, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Jonah Hill.

Quentin Tarantino might be my greatest soulmate that has come in my life. That might sound pathetic but we are both ex video store clerks that love movies a lot! The difference is that Tarantino can show his love of movies in every film he writes and shoots. Some of his movies can have their faults but I have never been dissapointed in any movie he has writen and directed. Like after seeing the depressing "Les Miserables" I was counting on watching Tarantino's latest "Django Unchained" after and having fun and not being dissapointed. Lo and behold it happened again, I had a fun time and loved Tarantino's joy in filmmaking coming through again.

In a year that saw the first half populated with lazy movies I forgot how my heart starts to beat faster when watching a Tarantino flick. Out of 3/4 of movies released this year no one can touch on Tarantio's creativity and energy. We are not watching movies on cable, we are watching them on a big screen and want to be carried away and Tarantino carries me away every time. Now his movies can be very gory and violent and "Django" might be his bloodiest. Though this is a Western and I think that blood and depravity can be accepted better in a Western. This is a gloriously funny and exciting Western and this is coming from someone who is not a huge Western fan.

Tarantino can breathe life into all his movies as he does here. I love him because like me he is in love with arguably the best period of filmaking, the 70's. I also love how he uses supporting actors who you have not seen in decades and gives them great roles. I can go on all day with my Tarantino love but let's get into this wonderfully shot and told movie. This is classic old school Western story telling with an energetic twist. The movie tells the story of Django who is a slave and who is rescued by a German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz. In that wonderful start Schultz takes Django under his wings as a free man to help him catch killers and dispose of them for money.

The movie takes place a few years before The Civil War and Django will joing King on an adventure that will change both of their lives. Django also wants to save his wife Broomhilda from the evil clutches of plantation owner Calvin Candie. There are a few great set pieces throughout the movie starting with a wonderful opening dealing with a small town Sheriff and a Marshall. After a few middling moments (the movie's only detriment)in the middle we get to the plantation owned by Candie. The movie then really gets fun with two beautifully written and funny, fascinating supporting characters. They are Candie and his house servant Stephen.

Both characters are funny and a joy to listen to and watch due to great performances by Leonardo DiCaprio as Candie and Samuel Jackson as Stephen. DiCaprio is deliciously evil and it is a controlled performance that is sly, wicked, flawlessly played and delightful. Samuel Jackson has the funniest character and the funniest lines in the movie and he plays them so well in a character that could have gone over the top. The scenes with Jackson made me laugh longer and harder than in almost any movie this year. I am having a hard time deciding who is better, DiCaprio or Jackson, because both are amazing! Also Christoph Waltz is back with his best role since "Inglorious Basterds" and he is delightful and fascinating also. His line delivery is smooth and he is becoming one of my new favorite character actors.

I also loved Jamie Foxx who gets better as the movie goes on. He is cool, effective and he becomes a hero we can root for. This is due to Foxx's assured delivery and by the end we realize this could be one of our best actors, we forget that sometimes I think. The movie has vintage Tarantino dialogue and like everyone of his movies the dialogue is alive. Sometimes I think movies forget to stand still for a while and entertain us with lively dialogue and writing. Most movies just want to jump around but Tarantino loves the spoken word. People complain about Tarantino having too much dialogue in his films. I don't get it, now we want dumbed down movies with all action and no story or character development? The writing here is alive and I was never bored escpecially in the exhilirating last hour.

Now the movie is not easy to watch if you are not into gore and some explicit violence. It didn't bother me here because like I said before this is a Western and that genre can allow a little leeway. Lets get this straight, by now you should know what to expect from Tarantino and if you don't like his movies don't see them and then attack his style of film making. If you love movies and Tarantino you will not be dissapointed. You have some hilarious dialogue and comedy, some beautifully shot action and shoot outs and a very fun time at the movies. I also like seeing Tarantino bringing back wonderful actors we don't see much like Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away) and James Remar (48 Hours, Warriors, Cotton Club). "Django Unchained" is not as great as Tarantino's last movie "Inglorious Basterds" but again Tarantino movies make me so happy and this one has the same effect.

P.S. There has been some criticism over Tarantino's use of the "N" word and yes I hate that word also. Though this movie is set during the Civil War era in the South. That word was used a lot and flew freely by racist white people during that time. I know, it is a shocker but probably true. Maybe Tarantino is using that word a lot for satire, who knows.