Django Unchained Was Djust Jdandy

I maybe saw the new movie Django Unchained three times last week.

Don't judge.

Especially if you haven't seen it yet.

It took me a while to warm up to Quentin Tarantino films, but after Inglorious Basterds I was hooked.

So why did I like this movie enough to spend almost 9 hours of my life watching it?
I'm glad you asked.

1. Clever writing, especially for Christoph Waltz
     His calm demeanor and straight-forward explanation of what is happening come across great.
     Seeing him as a hero in this one is a nice contrast to his villain role in Basterds.

2. Absurdly bloody gun violence
     Yes, Tarantino makes sure to include plenty of fake blood explosions, as expected.

3. Humorous moments
     You wouldn't think a raid by white supremacists could be a funny thing, but this one is.
     Django's choice of costume for being a valet is hilarious.

4. Tender moments
     Primarily between Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx, as their bounty-hunting friendship develops.

5. Great variety of music choices, including:
     - the 50's-TV-sounding theme song (Django, by Luis Bacalov)
     - an original song, that I can't understand but I still really like (Ancora Qui, by Elisa Toffoli)
     - classic oldies song (I Got a Name, by Jim Croce)
     - some sweet rap action by Rick Ross

     -etc, etc

6. On a serious note, I cringed at the brutally honest portrayal of slavery and how people could be treated as animals and property. But I appreciated that it was honest and didn't sugar coat such a terrible thing.
     Apparently Tarantino's taken some flak for being a white director and making this story about slavery.
     Well, Spike Lee, maybe you should have done it first. Quit complaining if you didn't have the balls.

7. Fantastic acting
     I'm particularly referring to Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leo Decaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson.
     Each plays their part spectacularly, and I'm very glad Will Smith turned down the Django role.

Now, I must put a disclaimer on my review.

This movie is not for everyone.
It's not for people who can't handle violence.
It's not for people who are squeamish about how slaves were treated.
It's not for people who abhor swearing and can't stomach use of the n-word (which is used often, as would be historically accurate [right?]).
It's certainly not for children.

That being said, if you aren't in those groups, I'd recommend seeing Django Unchained.

And remember, "the D is silent, hillbilly."