Fanboy Flick Pick: Django Unchained Could Use A Bit More Restraint

(A new recurring feature, in which I review an upcoming or just-released genre movie of interest.)

Here’s a question: why is it assumed that Django Unchained is a foregone conclusion when it comes to awards nominations, and yet Grindhouse was not?

Okay, yeah, “Robert Rodriguez.” I get that. But let’s do a thought experiment and imagine Quentin Tarantino had directed the whole thing, because really, it’s not so far outside the realm of possibility, and frankly, it’s flattering him, since his section of Grindhouse was the least interesting, in all (Edgar Wright’s “Don’t” trailer, which nobody seems to talk about any more, was the best). Here’s my point: a juiced-up, loving-yet-semi-ironic, postmodern recreation of horror movies doesn’t cut it…and yet a juiced-up, loving-yet-semi-ironic, postmodern recreation of spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation somehow does.

Don’t read this as a total dis, now: make no mistake, as a fun-filled tribute to those older, cheesier genres, Django Unchained absolutely works, and aside from being overlong is a pleasure to view. But it isn’t more than that; any lasting resonance it has derives primarily from its ability to evoke other, more resonant movies.

Continue reading “Fanboy Flick Pick: Django Unchained Could Use A Bit More Restraint” >