1. Django Unchained
OK, now its time to address what I know youre thinking. I dont have anything against Quentin Tarantino. I love Quentin Tarantinos movies; hes one of my five favourite directors. For the majority of Django Unchained he showed exactly why. The dialogue was brilliant, and in a completely different way to his signature stuff from Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction etc. The casting was perfect with Christoph Waltz putting in another perfect performance as Dr King Schultz - and Jamie Foxx hasnt got the recognition that I feel he deserves. Django Unchained is one of the few movies I have watched where I genuinely laughed out loud pretty often and yet simultaneously deeply cared about the characters (Schultz in particular is a character that is up there with just about any Ive seen). I could easily have been reduced to some kind of asthmatic mess if they had been put in the right kind of peril.
What Got It The Number One Slot? Its more to do with how good it was early on than how bad it was later. It was never, actually, a bad movie. It was average at times, though and at the worst possible times. My problem stems pretty much from the fact that the first act of the movie lasted around one and a half hours, meaning that the second and final act had to be crammed into the last hour (thats fine for a ninety minute movie, but not for a movie clocking in at almost two and a half hours long). Calvin Candie could have been a great villain, and his potential was definitely shown (having Leonardo DiCaprio playing him was never exactly going to hurt, either). What, though, was the emotional climax involving Calvin Candie? What was the point just before he was finally stopped? He wanted Schultz to shake his hand. Sure, hes despicable the idea of shaking his hand would have made Schultz absolutely sick to his stomach. Still, though this is a guy who earlier in the movie had a slave ripped apart by dogs; talk about peaking to early. Then there was the rest of the movie after the main villain and Schultz, the second best character ever written by Quentin Tarantino (the best being Hans Landa - I see a Waltzy pattern developing) had left. My emotional investment was gone suddenly it was very predictable and just felt like a formality. There was some good comedy towards the end and if Django there were a load of Django sequels planned with Jamie Foxx starring as some kind of action hero the ending would have been the perfect setup but this is a standalone movie, and the ending is far too pedestrian when compared with the opening ninety minutes. What do you think of my choices? And, more importantly, are there any movies that have made you feel how these made me feel? Share your views in the comments section below.