"Django Unchained" (2012)

Above, Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx.

Last night, I watched another awards screener DVD.

This one was Django Unchained (2012).

From Wikipedia:

Django Unchained is a 2012 American epic western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson and was released on December 25, 2012 in North America.

Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave (Foxx) who treks across the United States with a bounty hunter (Waltz) on a mission to rescue his wife (Washington) from a cruel and charismatic plantation owner (DiCaprio).

Django Unchained is a very violent (as one would expect from a Tarantino flick) movie, but it is done in a tongue-in-cheek style and is very entertaining.  The blood and gore being splattered around reminded me of Sam Peckinpah's movies, particularly The Wild Bunch.

The make-up work was top notch.  It was so good that I almost didn't recognize Samuel L. Jackson.  He looked like Uncle Ben (of steamed rice fame).

I can see why there was much controversy over the use of the "n-word" throughout the movie.  But, I also see why it was necessary, given the era the movie was set in.

My grade: A.