Django Unchained (2012)

Well there's a big surprise right? There were NO hints or suggestions that this would be the next thing that I'd review. Nope, none whatsoever. I'm so cool. Anyway, you know what sucks? Having the flu around New Year's when you make a decision that you post on the internet about doing something with your life. Yeah I've had the flu. It's a pretty bad flu but hey, I survived. But anyway, you know what's worse than the flu?? Come on think about it. It's pretty damn bad.

Ok, you give up?? SLAVERY. Yeah what an excellent segue. Anyway Django Unchained!!

This movie is AWESOME!!! I want a scarf Like Django there.

I have to admit that when I first heard about this film, I was a bit nervous. I figured that Tarantino would get a lot of flak for making a movie dealing with slavery and that people would be throwing fits on the internet and calling it racist or something. Personally, I figured that since Quentin Tarantino was directing this that the movie would undoubtedly be entertaining and that there would be some bloody satisfaction. Fortunately, I was right. As a Tarantino fan, I'm blown away, and as a media junkie, I cannot wait to see it again!

So you must be wondering just what makes this movie so good. Well first off it isn't good, it's DAMN good. Quentin Tarantino has an excellent track record of being able to create insanely eclectic characters in a truly disturbed setting. Take a look at Inglorious Bastards, in particular Brad Pitt's character and you'll know what I mean. Getting back to my point, as a Tarantino fan I knew right off the bat what to expect. Although the film itself is named after Django, I found the character of King Schultz to be the most interesting character. When you watch it, you'll see why, so without spoiling too much let me just say that he has a carriage with a tooth on it, used to be a dentist (so he has the title of doctor), believes in equality and the enlightenment that all men are equal (therefore hates slavery which makes him awesome), and is a badass bounty hunter who can shoot ridiculously well. I also find his accent to quite charming and his beard is pretty badass to me, so yeah.

As for Django himself, I feel that the movie poster says it all. I'll give you like 3 seconds to scroll back up and look at it.....Ok you done? Good! Anyway The way Django is positioned tells you that the film more or less centers around him and while it does do that, I found that it was not so much his character that gets developed so much as his own skills. He goes from being a slave to a truly badass bounty hunter with some of the best lines in the film. He also does not really say much which is a slight shame since Jamie Foxx did such a great job of being Django. Now to be honest I don't really see this as a flaw so much as I see it as a form of assistance. It helps Django to be the badass that he deserves to be. Simply put you can fuck around a bit with Schultz but God help you if you fuck with Django. (*GASP* Phil said -er- TYPED a baaad word!)

I feel that I should mention Leonardo DiCaprio too. You know how in Kill Bill (which you all know I love) the antagonist Bill was in my opinion the best character. Now you have heard me gush about Schultz and describe how cool he is, but DiCaprio plays a real bastard  in this movie. You really grow to hate him and his acting just blew me away. Especially since he says some really racist and messed up things (Eskimo Joe anyone??). He plays a perfect antagonist and fits the setting perfectly. He just seems like one of those truly disgusting people who loved slavery and thrived on racism. Calvin Candy. What a douche and yet he is played by a great actor so kudos to you DiCaprio! Though he plays a real evil despicable person there is one person that I feel is even WORSE than Mr. Candy.

Ohhhh yeah. His character pissed me off. I liked his cane though. It was a cool cane

Yeah Samuel L Jackson is in this too. He plays a character who deeply disturbed me especially given the time. Simply put he's a kiss-ass slave named Stephen. He possesses no desire to be freed and actually suppresses all the other slaves and keeps them in line. Although in a slightly ironic sense he has no problem running his mouth to Calvin Candy about how he wants things to go. Without spoiling too much, let me just say that umm...he fucks shit up for Django and Schultz. You really have to see it to believe it. It's been about 3 weeks since I saw the film and I still get disturbed by his character. It's almost like he pierced his way into my soul and deeply disturbed me...hmm. Well since he affected me so much I have to say that Samuel L Jackson did a really good job with his acting for this role. It worked out perfectly and I really cannot imagine anyone else playing his role.

As for what you can expect from the film's style: well it's a western fused with a lot comedic elements. Now I'm not talking gag or slapstick or stand-up. No no. I'm talking about whole scenes dedicated to jackasses arguing about their white hoods or Django telling a hillbilly the proper way to say his name or a plantation owner figuring out how to tell a slave woman how he wants her to treat Django as his guest. The comedy does not come from anything that can be described as funny, so much as it stems from disrupting the flow of a movie and making fun of a truly messed up time in our country. Anyway the absolute best part of the film I would have to say is the last 45 minutes or so where Django really steps up and shows us how strong his resolve is. He displays such amazing acts of gun play and watching him attain his vengeance is what makes this film work. In many ways it reminds me of Kill Bill Volume 2 and for those same reasons, the film succeeds. So maybe now I got you curious or maybe you have already seen it and agree with me somewhat. Maybe you hated it and think I'm out of my mind. Regardless I urge you to watch this film. I can guarantee that it's a hell of a lot better than what's been released in recent weeks.

If you don't he will haunt you. He will look inside your souuuuuul

Garden State (2004)

It's been quite some time since I reviewed anything, let alone a movie. So what better way to get back into the swing of things then to discuss one of my personal favorites. Garden State, written, directed, and starring Zach Braff (that's pretty damn impressive in my opinion), is essentially a coming of age movie that centers around themes of identity, self discovery, love, friendship, family, the idea of home, loss, and destiny. The film has such strong feelings of humbleness and contains a heartfelt presence emanating. It feels like you're watching something that someone really put their heart into. I think that's what really makes this movie succeed. It doesn't try to be anything more than it is. It has comedic elements to and it has dramatic elements, but no matter what part of the movie you are watching you feel like you are a part of this carefully created world.

I really want a bike like that. Seriously.

The plot centers around Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returning home for a funeral. It is his first time being home in quite some time. During his stay there He meets a woman named Sam (played by Natalie Portman, yeah I was kind of shocked she was in this movie. I'm not quite sure why.) who ends up playing a massive part in this story. Along the way Andrew discovers what has changed about his friends, his hometown, and begins to make realizations about his family, specifically his father, and living life in general. The bulk of the movie comes in the form of the interactions between Sam and Andrew. The two of them are near opposite personality-wise and they make you, the audience, identify with them. Second to that would be the interactions between Andrew and his father. The tension between the two of them is intense. Throughout the movie I actually felt a bit awkward seeing the two of them speak. It made me feel like I was in the room with them.

That is where Garden State succeeds as a film. I know I keep talking about that it made me feel like I was in their world. Well I'll elaborate on that. The movie contains a bunch of other characters all of them being Andrew's old friends. While they do serve as important to the plot and enhancing the themes I listed before, they also help make the movie into something people can relate to. As I was watching I couldn't help but notice parallels between Andrew's friends and my own. I mean come one we all have that one friend who always puts us in odd situations. But when all is said and done they also give us fantastic stories to tell for years to come. Though I will admit this could be due to the fact that I identified with Andrew quite a bit, which was probably due to Zach Braff's acting as Andrew. Zach Braff does such an excellent job acting that I find myself identifying with quite a few of his roles. I think that can be credited to his charisma. He's just such a likable guy. I can't help BUT like him. Natalie Portman, however, outshines his acting in my opinion. She was spectacular as Sam. Trust me, when you see how quirky Sam is you sort of start to think Natalie herself is just as quirky.

There are reasons why this movie is one of my all-time favorites. The heartfelt presence emanating from it combined with the plot and the themes present in it left me thinking about life. As soon as the end credits started I found myself reexamining  my life and thinking about well everything. In my opinion, if a piece of media makes you think. Then it's a good piece of media and that is something that is somewhat rare in today's world. Most things lack passion and are only done for money. Luckily Garden State is just full of passion and that is what makes the movie stand out. It also has an amazing soundtrack. I read that Zach Braff picked the music. Well he did a damn good job! I get the feeling he and I would have some similar taste. Though I doubt he would like some of the bands I listen to...hmm.

BAM!! See I got him as he's eating

I think I made it clear how awesome this movie is. If I haven't made you want to see it maybe this odd and random piece of trivia will. Do you like Jim Parsons? If you do he has a very small part in this movie. I wont spoil what it is, but trust me its random as hell when you see him. If you don't believe me I have a picture of him just to prove it.

So that's my review of Garden State. Go watch it if you haven't already.  By the way, if you're wondering why this picture is so odd. It's because I have a weird gift for pausing movies at juuust the right time when someone is making a really weird face. Maybe one day I'll share some of the ones I have...hmm maybe. Alright that's all for now. Thank you for reading this and have a great day!

Kill Bill (My First Review)

    
     I figure my first review should be a movie that I know fairly well. I LOVE Kill Bill. It is in fact one of my favorite movies of all time. Now anyone that is even remotely familiar with the films will think "WAIT there are two movies, AREN'T THERE?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU"RE TALKING ABOUT!!" and to that I say that you'd be half right. There are two films with Kill Bill in the title, however, they are not sequels to each other. In fact, the Kill Bill movies are one story split into two distinct parts, or in this case "volumes", each with its own unique way of telling the story.

     I cannot think of anyone who hasn't at least heard of how crazy the first movie was. Whenever people hear the name Kill Bill, I'm almost positive that they think of the scene where Uma Thurman's character (The Bride) gets into an epic fight with a nearly limitless army of insane thugs inspired by Japanese Yakuza. They call themselves the Crazy 88....but if you ask me there has to be at least 100 of 'em. Anyway, what sticks with people about this particular scene, in this particular volume, would be the OUTRAGEOUS amount of blood that gets spilled throughout the course of this battle. To sum it up, you could create an entire ocean with that blood and it really give something for Moses to part. Ultimately, the whole scene is quite the bloody spectacle.
     Now, for those unfamiliar with why such heavy amounts of gore is fair game in this film, allow me to sum up the plot as revealed in the first volume. The Bride is on a quest for vengeance after nearly being shot to death at her wedding by a man named Bill and his squad of professional assassins. Needless to say, when The Bride recovers, she is hell bent on exacting revenge on every single person involved with her near-death experience. This is pretty much all anyone needs to know when watching Volume 1.  Plot is not something that comes in plentiful amounts, but the movie more than makes up for that with insane action scenes and kick ass confrontations. It's an action masterpiece and all the fight scenes are incredibly well done.
     I also have to give credit to the film's soundtrack. The music does a fantastic job of showing the audience what inspired Quentin Tarantino in making this movie. It borrows elements from a lot of old school martial arts movies. It even pays homage to plenty of those iconic Kung Fu movies from the '70's. Hell during the fight scene I described earlier, The Bride is wearing a costume identical to Bruce Lee's from "Game of Death".  All of these elements blend together beautifully and give the audience something unique, which can still be appreciated even eight years after it was made.

     Volume 2 borrows heavily from spaghetti westerns, and is my personal favorite of the two volumes. This time around there is not so much "movie" as there is a build up to the final confrontation between The Bride and Bill. The action takes a back seat to the plot and here the audience can really see the reasons behind everything and who these people really are. Bill in particular is quite the character. In fact, he remains my all time favorite character and is what makes Volume 2 stand out to me more than Volume 1. David Carradine was spectacular as Bill because of his charisma and talent. He makes Bill a fairly likable person, despite being a self-described "murdering bastard".
     Now I've talked with a few people about Volume 2 and I always hear them say that they prefer Volume 1. To me, that's like saying that you like half of one movie. Sure Kill Bill is separated into two volumes, two separate DVDs, but they are meant to be viewed together. I've always wanted a release where that's an actual option. Now I know that I could just as easily pop in one movie and then pop the next one in right after, but it just wouldn't give the feeling of viewing a double feature as in the older days of cinema.
     If you have not seen Kill Bill then I strongly urge you to watch it. You won't be disappointed.

     Anyway, thanks for reading my first review and have a great day!