Movie: Django Unchained (2012)

Django Unchained (2012)
Action, Drama, Western

I was so excited when I saw this movie coming, I was even more excited to find out it came out a month earlier in America than it does here at home in Australia. I'm a massive fan of Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill) and so this was just an automatic must see for me. I showed my husband a preview (I have to say they don't really show you much or give you a good idea of what the movie is actually like) and read him an article and suddenly he wanted to see it as much as I did. Hurrah!

So New Years Day when we were severely hungover in New York, we walked to one of the theatres in Times Square and lined up to see Tarantino's latest blood 'n' guts film... and wow! I can't remember the last time a film made me think so much, made me laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. I've also never been to the movies with such an expressive audience; there were gasps, cheers and uncomfortably tense moments from the crowd and a round of applause at the end.

As always in a Tarantino flick the cast is amazing! Jamie Foxx (Ray, Law Abiding Citizen) is the lead as Django, a black slave freed from his captives by the German bounty hunter / dentist Dr. King Shultz played by Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Water For Elephants) who was absolutely amazing and just won a Golden Globe for this performance. Django and Shultz make a deal, Django helps Shultz to find his latest bounty and in return they go together to rescue Django's wife Broomhilda - played by Kerry Washington (Ray, Fantastic Four) - who has been sold to the powerful plantation owner, Calvin Candie, amazingly portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception, Blood Diamond).

You would think all those names would be enough but no, there's more! Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Avengers) brilliantly plays Candie's head of house Stephen. Cameos by James Remar (Dexter), Walton Goggins (The Shield), Jonah Hill (Superbad) and of course, Tarantino himself always makes an appearance, this time as an Aussie...with a terrible accent...

Being a Tarantino of course it's rife with violent blood splatter, shocking scenes of murder and disfigurement and foul language. It focuses a lot on the issue of black slavery but it does it so... normally. It felt like of course that's the way they should be treated and according to this article written on SmithsonianMag.com by African American History and Culture Director, Lonnie Bunch, it's pretty damn close to reality. Shame on us!

Absolutely brilliant movie! Everything I have come to expect and love about Tarantino. Will have to go buy this on DVD when it's out, am recommending it to everyone I know with the warning that some parts may just turn your stomach. Out in Australia on the 24th of this month, go see it!

5 out of 5 'N' Words...

[Bonus] 

Samuel L Jackson insists the reporter say the N word before he will answer the question. 

*snickers*

TV: Dexter SE7 EP1

Dexter
Crime, Drama, Mystery

What a great week for TV. Stay tuned for lots of TV reviews coming shortly, they might even overtake my movie reviews! *gasp* This is one of the shows I've been waiting for, in fact I'm always waiting for it to start back up again. Sign of a good show, right?

I've watched Dexter from the very beginning but I haven't read any of the books by Jeff Lindsay that the show is based on. I have since added them to my Goodreads list! I re-watched the first season recently and you know what? It's been a fantastic show from the start! If you don't already watch this show, start now!

Last season was one of my favourite... Well, that's a lie because I just cannot figure out which season is better... I still think the Ice Truck Killer is one of the best seasonal arcs I've ever seen, that's why I decided to watch season one again recently. I'm glad I did because this episode flashes back a bit on it and it was nice to have it fresh in my memory.

What a cliffhanger to leave last season on! Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) walking in on Dexter (Michael C. Hall) as he was killing Travis (Colin Hanks)! Other shows please take note; this is how you end a season! We've spent the last few months trying to figure out how Deb will react to this... anyone get it right? I know I didn't, I thought she would have dobbed him in already.

I don't know how Dex thought he could get away with it Deb not knowing... she's a detective dude! Come on! After he made up that bogus story she just watched him until she put it all together. Now we have another cliffy almost the same as the previous one...Deb has found Dex's murder kit and trophy box, he's admitted to her that he's a serial killer... now what?! I saw a bit of the preview for the next episode and apparently he explains that Harry (James Remar) taught him everything... like that's not going to shock Deb!

Not only do we have to worry about what Deb will do now, but LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) has the slide that Dexter took from Travis and she knows what it signifies... will she put all the pieces together? Or will Dex find yet another way to divert the attention to someone else? Will Deb come out when she realises what LaGuerta found? What I want to know is why LaGuerta stole the slide from Masuka's (C.S. Lee) lab? She's not the type of cop to cover things up and so she would have to know that Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) didn't do it... does she now suspect that Doakes wasn't the Bay Harbour Butcher?

So excited for what's happening this season! Bring it on!

4 out 5 blood spatters...

[Quote]

Debra: Did you kill all these people?

Dexter: I did.

Debra: Are you...Are you a serial killer?

Dexter: Yes.