Oscar Opinions: Django Unchained (2012)

DJANGO!

QUICK OPINION:
What fun. Django Unchained is a supreme entertainment, brought to you by QT. I had this as my favorite film of the year, until the 1-2 punch of Zero Dark Thirty and The Master. Still, the film is great. The first half is the best thing Tarantino has done, by far. It was always funny, always witty, and left a big goofy grin on my face right when the 70's Columbia logo popped on screen. The second half, despite Leo DicCaprio's supreme sly performance, was oddly paced and a bit choppy compared to the first half. It had the same tone, but was somehow... different. The film got back on its feet in the last 10 minutes, and I feel good knowing that Tarantino ended one of his best films. I did feel bad ranking this as my favorite of 2012 at first because I KNEW there was a better (shorter) film in there.

BEST PERFORMANCE:
Christoph Waltz was extremely awesome, and so likable as the dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz. Despite being like Hans Landa from his Oscar winning Inglourious Basterds, it was just SO ENTERTAINING!

BEST MOMENT:
The KKK scene with Jonah Hill brought tears to my eyes. I mean, that guy's wife spent hours making those bags, and they neglected her work! He went home in frustration!

Next I will (forcibly) talk about the miserable Les Miserables.

The best original screenplay race.

Some say Amour. At this point, I don't think it is a contender. Just because Amour got a Best Director nomination DOES NOT mean it gets an extra boost. That's like saying 'Beasts' is ahead of 'Argo' just because of a directing nomination. Fortunately the Adapted race is locked up for Chris Terrio.

So it's a two-horse race between Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained. The bad thing is that both films have their fair share of controversy. 'Zero Dark' won the WGA, 'Django' won the BAFTA, and is the expression of voter overlap. I say 'Zero Dark' has the advantage due to the fact it's ahead of Django in the Best Picture race.

If the Globes expressed voter overlap, I would say 'Django' would be leading, but I also have to give 'Zero Dark' a boost due to impulsive voting with the WGA.

PREDICTED WINNER
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

BAFTA Winners!

*BAM* JUSTICE *BAM*       BAFTA emitting too much intelligent voting. 

Django might now be the Original Screenplay frontrunner... unless one considers impulsive ballot filling for Zero Dark Thirty, since it is the only frontrunner contending for WGA. So happy for Christoph Waltz, I honestly hope he wins again.

BEST FILM: Argo

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM: Skyfall

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER: The Imposter

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: Amour

DOCUMENTARY: Searching For Sugar Man

ANIMATED FILM: Brave

DIRECTOR: Argo - Ben Affleck

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

LEADING ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

LEADING ACTRESS: Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables

ORIGINAL MUSIC: Skyfall - Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Life Of Pi - Claudio Miranda

EDITING: Argo - William Goldenberg

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Les Miserables - Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson

COSTUME DESIGN: Anna Karenina - Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR: Les Miserables - Lisa Westcott

SOUND: Les Miserables - Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS: Life of Pi - Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer

SHORT ANIMATION: The Making of Longbird - Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

SHORT FILM: Swimmer - Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public): Juno Temple

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA: Tessa Ross

THE BAFTA FELLOWSHIP: Alan Parker

Best Original Screenplay predictions (12/31/12)

Last time I did screenplay predictions, both Zero Dark Thirty and Django were sights unseen. Let's get to it.

1. Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
The second political thriller of the year has been widely praised and slightly controversial, but less so than another contender. The film has passionate supporters, but the only thing hurting Boal is that he won so recently.

2. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Tarantino is the epitome of the 21st century pop culture, and his latest is one of his best. It is funny, witty, entertaining, and a wonderful homage to Spaghetti Westerns. A cloud of controversy looms above this one, though.

3/4. Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom/Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Both directors are named Anderson, both are contenders, and both have wildly different screenplays that are both within passionate support. Both will be nominated, both won't win, but still.

5. Michael Haneke, Amour
The film is going to miss WGA, and it missed SAG. It's still in the conversation, and last year's A Separation got nominated in the Original slot. There's a free-for-all space, and this one's gonna get it.

Tarantino's Django Unchained has a trailer!

Tarantino's back!

The Weinstein Company invites you to view The Master, and Django Unchained!

Breaking news! Tomorrow night, Cannes and Weinstein Company is proud to present footage from The Master, Django Unchained, and The Silver Linings Playbook. All three films listed are from recent Academy-Award nominees PT Anderson, Tarantino, and David O'Russell.

Indepth at Cigs and Red Vines.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2003-2004), 4/4 Stars

It's amazing how films now are being split into two parts. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Breaking Dawn... but from what I know is that the only two-part masterpiece from the last decade is Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Vol. 1 (not part 1,) is an introduction to The Bride, played by Uma Thurman. She has woken up from a coma, been raped by dirty hospital workers, and her baby is missing. It's shocking, I imagine, but she picks up her ears and realizes the only person to gain vengeance from is Bill, the father of her missing baby.

Bill was the leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, which the Bride took part in. Not surprisingly, The Bride, code-name Black Mamba, left to raise her and Bill's baby and is soon to wed with a record store owner. Assuming this upsets Bill, he shoots The Bride, resulting in her 4-year coma.

Probably the best action scene in Vol. 1 (and the whole film together,) is when The Bride fights the Crazy 88 in Japan. It's a stylized fight, with Uma jumping off walls, Japanese men in Green Hornet like masks, and Lucy Liu watching from above. It's disappointing that Quentin had to split the two films, resulting with almost all action in the first film, and talking the second.

Vol. 2 is the masterpiece that binds the two together. There's flashback to the Bride, now referred to as Beatrix Kiddo, wedding rehearsal. It's a black-and-white segment that looks just fine. Throughout this part, Kiddo goes on to kill Bill, his brother, and his assistant.

There's a flashback with the Bride training with Pai Mei, a sterotypical Chinese kung-fu master. It's a funny performance, with him hollering unsubtitiled Chinese gibberish.

Disappointingly, the final fight with Bill is almost talking, and it's a little weak compared to the Crazy 88 finale in Vol. 1. The conclusion, however, is very heartfelt. It's amazing how two flawed films like Vol. 1 and Vol.2 stand together. I'm glad to say both together complete Quentin's original dream.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1- 3/4 Stars
Kill Bill, Vol. 2- 3.5/4 Stars
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (The two films put together,)- 4/4 Stars