Last week I was lucky enough to see preview screenings of both Django Unchained and Lincoln. Both films deal with similar subject matters (slavery, racism, civil rights etc etc) and are set only 6ish years apart. Of course being that one is Tarantino and one is Spielberg they were always going to be vastly different films. I've always been a big Tarantino fan so I was excited for Django for months before seeing it. With Lincoln however I was definitely undecided and if I hadn't received free tickets I may not have paid to see it in the cinema. Surprisingly, while I very much enjoyed Django it was less than I'd hoped and despite my hesitation, Lincoln was more.
I'm probably more of an old school Tarantino fan, the pre Kill Bill stuff is my favourite. I enjoyed Inglorious Basterds, it had some absolutely divine moments but it wasn't Reservoir Dogs and it wasn't Pulp Fiction and Django is very much the same. Maybe I'm just being too hipster about the whole thing but I've begun to feel that Tarantino's film are about delivering an expected set of KPIs to a mainstream audience and, to me, that's not what Tarantino should be about.
People expect a lot of blood, so he gives them a lot of blood. People expect a relatively large amount of gratuitous violence, so he gives it to them. People expect some main characters will die, so he kills them. Don't get me wrong, its a highly enjoyable movie with some great moments (the KKK bit was one of my favourites but I won't spoil it) and it was easy to watch, funny, intelligent and filled with some great performances from the main cast and the extras. Jamie, Cristoph, Leo and Samuel were brilliant, although I'm uncomfortable with Leo being a bad guy and I kept waiting for Samuel to ask Jamie "what does Marsellus Wallace look like?!".
All in all Django Unchained is an enjoyable (if slightly long winded) film that keeps Tarantino's reputation and career alive and kicking. If you like Tarantino or any other films makers of his ilk then chances are you'll enjoy Django ("the D is silent you stupid redneck").
That brings us to Lincoln. I didn't know a lot about ol' Abe before I saw this movie, only the things popular culture and that Abe Lincoln / JFK coincidence email thing have taught me. I have to start by saying that Daniel Day Lewis was amazing, if I hadn't known it was him I would never have known it was him. Sally Field played Sally Field but she was still excellent and Joseph Gordon Levitt, who wasn't in it enough for my liking, was sexy... oops I mean... gave a great performance as always.
JGL's impassioned speech to Abe (his father in the film) about his need to fight in the war brought me to tears, not that it takes much. In fact I think I spent a good third of the movie in tears and i must offer apologies to my movie companion who was new to the experience and seemed a little concerned about my continual trembling chin, tears and sniffling.
The movie started out as it intended to carry on, portraying a weary, humble and quite unassuming Lincoln engaged in some very wordy dialogue with his soldiers, and carry on it did. Make sure you have your concentrating brain on if you intend to see this film, it is dialogue heavy and while not quite ye olde English their way of speaking is certainly not a modern one. A couple of times I got distracted by wiping my tears away and lost track of what was being said. Focus is important.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way they portrayed Lincoln and his Everyman kind of demeanour. Apart from DDL the two stand outs of the film for me were Tommy Lee Jones (my god his face needs ironing) and James Spader (his moustache alone deserves an Oscar nomination). The film is slow paced, but deliberate, void of violence but full of the horror of the war, and in the end, despite knowing what happens it manages to build some tension at the critical moment.
Two different but enjoyable movies that reminded me how absolutely horrific human beings can be to each other. It reminded me how far we've come and how very far we still have left to go. Two thought provoking films that will hopefully make a mark on their respective target audiences.
Go see them and let me know what you think
I'm probably more of an old school Tarantino fan, the pre Kill Bill stuff is my favourite. I enjoyed Inglorious Basterds, it had some absolutely divine moments but it wasn't Reservoir Dogs and it wasn't Pulp Fiction and Django is very much the same. Maybe I'm just being too hipster about the whole thing but I've begun to feel that Tarantino's film are about delivering an expected set of KPIs to a mainstream audience and, to me, that's not what Tarantino should be about.
People expect a lot of blood, so he gives them a lot of blood. People expect a relatively large amount of gratuitous violence, so he gives it to them. People expect some main characters will die, so he kills them. Don't get me wrong, its a highly enjoyable movie with some great moments (the KKK bit was one of my favourites but I won't spoil it) and it was easy to watch, funny, intelligent and filled with some great performances from the main cast and the extras. Jamie, Cristoph, Leo and Samuel were brilliant, although I'm uncomfortable with Leo being a bad guy and I kept waiting for Samuel to ask Jamie "what does Marsellus Wallace look like?!".
All in all Django Unchained is an enjoyable (if slightly long winded) film that keeps Tarantino's reputation and career alive and kicking. If you like Tarantino or any other films makers of his ilk then chances are you'll enjoy Django ("the D is silent you stupid redneck").
That brings us to Lincoln. I didn't know a lot about ol' Abe before I saw this movie, only the things popular culture and that Abe Lincoln / JFK coincidence email thing have taught me. I have to start by saying that Daniel Day Lewis was amazing, if I hadn't known it was him I would never have known it was him. Sally Field played Sally Field but she was still excellent and Joseph Gordon Levitt, who wasn't in it enough for my liking, was sexy... oops I mean... gave a great performance as always.
JGL's impassioned speech to Abe (his father in the film) about his need to fight in the war brought me to tears, not that it takes much. In fact I think I spent a good third of the movie in tears and i must offer apologies to my movie companion who was new to the experience and seemed a little concerned about my continual trembling chin, tears and sniffling.
The movie started out as it intended to carry on, portraying a weary, humble and quite unassuming Lincoln engaged in some very wordy dialogue with his soldiers, and carry on it did. Make sure you have your concentrating brain on if you intend to see this film, it is dialogue heavy and while not quite ye olde English their way of speaking is certainly not a modern one. A couple of times I got distracted by wiping my tears away and lost track of what was being said. Focus is important.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way they portrayed Lincoln and his Everyman kind of demeanour. Apart from DDL the two stand outs of the film for me were Tommy Lee Jones (my god his face needs ironing) and James Spader (his moustache alone deserves an Oscar nomination). The film is slow paced, but deliberate, void of violence but full of the horror of the war, and in the end, despite knowing what happens it manages to build some tension at the critical moment.
Two different but enjoyable movies that reminded me how absolutely horrific human beings can be to each other. It reminded me how far we've come and how very far we still have left to go. Two thought provoking films that will hopefully make a mark on their respective target audiences.
Go see them and let me know what you think
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