Django Unchained (2012)

When I watch a film from one of my favorite directors of all time, in this case Quentin Tarantino, I’m always nervous. Normally I keep low expectations for any movie I see. But when it’s from a master like Tarantino, I can’t help but to expect something amazing. My nervousness stems from the fear of being disappointed.

Django will quickly remind you of his last project: Inglorious Basterds. Both are revenge stories for a disenfranchised and maligned people. Here, we’ve swapped out Jews for slaves. The movie is fantastic on many levels. You may have noticed most of my reviews are very brief. I normally don’t like to rehash plot points and pontificate on the cinematic attributes of a film. Others do it much better than I. In fact, I like going into films blind, so I have no idea what’s going to happen. Most reviews give away too much.

The truth is, I believe the perfect movie review to be a single letter: The rating a reviewer gives to a film. Letter grades A through F are the ideal system in my book. Of course, this is only the case if you can find a reviewer who has impeccable taste, in addition to taste that is largely in line with your own. If you are fortunate enough to find that person, you’ll be blessed with a continuous source of quality movie titles to see, without having to wade through the muck yourself. I’ve yet to find my movie reviewing soul mate, and I can only hope to be that special person to someone else through this blog. I won’t say anything more about Django Unchained other than to offer my grade below.

Rating: A-