The Curt Critic featured in the Wisconsin State Journal

The Curt Critic in the news: This recent Wisconsin State Journal article is validation that Liz Zélandais' quest to see all 53 Oscar-nominated films for 2013 is a fascinating enterprise worthy of public interest, rather than merely nuts.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Django Unchained - 2013 Oscar Nominee for Best 1) Picture, 2) Supporting Actor, 3) Original Screenplay, 4) Production Design, 5) Sound Editing

It's a Tarantino film, for heavens' sake—can we drop the political hand-wringing?


The fact that the n-word has been reported to occur 110 times in Django Unchained makes me sad for those who are not only offended by the movie but have the masochistic need to determine the exact dimensions of that offense.

The setting is 1858 when slave Django (Jamie Foxx) is purchased then freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in exchange for helping him track and collect on the wanted Brittle brothers. When Django shows aptitude for the trade ("Kill white folks, and they pay you for it? What's not to like?"), Schultz takes him  on as a partner. But Django's focus is always on finding his wife who was taken by slavers.

Any movie with Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson plus cameos by Jonas Hill, Don Johnson, and Quentin Tarantino (two words, Quentin:  Weight Watchers)—with the bonus endorsement of Spike Lee's condemnation—make it a must-see in my book. What about you—is it a "can't miss" or "must avoid"? The guarantee of Tarantino's usual fare of quirky humor, dark irony, and cartoonish violence catapulted from the screen with utter irreverence and non-stop homage to trashy B-movies should make it an easy decision.

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