Jango (D is silence) is just one of those movie you can watch every year and it never gets old.

It's also the origin of those Di Caprio memes you saw online, so you know is good.

Also Christoph Waltz stole the show here and made me discover all other his movies.

DJANGO UNCHAINED, Tarantino's spin on the spaghetti western genre, should rightly be called a southern rather than a western. It's an epic-length story about slavery and redemption in the southern states, featuring an ensemble cast and the kind of ultra-stylistic, ultra-violent gunplay that Tarantino has made a trademark all of his own. It's also one of Tarantino's most self-indulgent movies, coming third to the worst excesses of DEATH PROOF and KILL BILL: VOLUME 2.

Like INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS before it, the ace up Django's sleeve is Christoph Waltz, once again delivering a subtle, softly-spoken and multi-layered turn that's reminiscent of his best work as Colonel Hans Landa. Waltz walks away with the movie; every scene in which he doesn't appear is noticeably the poorer for it, and Tarantino gets the very best from his German star. That's good, because the rest of the movie thinks it's better than it really is; the opening and ending are both strong, but the middle is very saggy, lacking in action, incident or any form of suspense or intrigue.

It does pick up here and there with a couple of blistering action sequences in which Tarantino seems to have ploughed the grisly excesses of PLANET TERROR for inspiration, but even one of these is spoilt by Tarantino's insistence on including some jarring rap music on the soundtrack (a silly effort to pander to the young black male audience, and shameful considering the rest of the excellent, eclectic score). Then there's the lengthy dinner table scene that tries to outdo the one in BASTERDS but doesn't come close.

Even with these detractions, this is still an entertaining movie, which is mainly thanks to Tarantino's skill in direction; he brings all of the drama, bloodshed and humour you'd expect to the tale. I'm no fan of Jamie Foxx but this is probably his best performance given that he plays it taciturn for the most part; Samuel L. Jackson walks away with a great minor role, and DiCaprio makes for a wonderfully slimy bad guy; you'll wonder why casting him as a villain wasn't considered previously. Tarantino's skill at casting familiar faces in minor roles (the likes of Dennis Christopher, James Remar and Franco Nero, for instance) is as good as ever, but I'll have to watch this film a couple more times to decide whether it's truly great or merely quite good.

My biggest complaints about "Django Unchained" are ones that really won't matter to most people who see this film. After all, just about everyone knows that Quentin Tarantino's films are incredibly bloody, gross and self-indulgent. So, when you see a billion gallons of blood and bodies flying everywhere, you are not really surprised! This one does go a step further--there is some full-frontal male nudity and a few of the scenes were so gross and gratuitous that Tarantino has outdone himself. But still, you KNOW ahead of time that this is not a film to show your mother, Father Jenkins or your 6 year-old!! However, HOW far it goes will limit the film's appeal--you can be sure of that. Evan a large number of adults would be unable to stick with this one...it's THAT violent.

The film is, in some ways, like an Italian western. I loved that much of the music was done by Ennio Merricone--the same guy who did music for such classic spaghetti westerns as "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West". It was a major plus. I also liked seeing that one of the many wonderful cameos was by Franco Nero--the original Django. But, if you think that this is a modern Hollywood version of an Italian western, you are mistaken. PARTS of it are--most is not. In fact, despite the western clothing on so many of the characters (anachronistic, actually),the film is mostly set in the American South just before the Civil War. People just didn't dress that way at that time and in that place. The film is, at times, sort of like a blaxspoitation western in style as well.

What did I like about the film? Well, it was never, ever dull. The film never really gives you a chance--even though it clocks in at 2 hours and 45 minutes. Second, as I mentioned above, there were a lot of cool cameos--and some were real surprises, such as Tom Wopat and Bruce Dern! Third, although it was vile, the language was dead on--no politically corrected phraseology in this one! Nasty and blunt, that's for sure. Fourth, although it was really violent and gross, I will admit that there is something very satisfying in seeing all these racist jerks killed so violently. It appeals to the lowest instinct in us...but on a primal level is IS appealing. Finally, the acting was quite good.

What didn't I like? Well, even for a Tarantino film it was violent---very violent. Also, I definitely agree that the first hour or so of the film was MUCH better. It was better paced, less indulgent and more enjoyable. The film did become a bit of a free-for-all blood-fest near the end and the 'mandingo fighting scene' was unnecessarily nasty. Still, if you have the stomach for it, "Django Unchained" is a heck of an enjoyable film.

By the way, I did a little research and there appears to be no such thing as 'mandingo fighting'. This was made up for this film.