There and Back Again: In Memoriam

As far as I was concerned, December 11^th, 1992 was going to be just like any other Saturday.  Per my usual routine, I took in the sights at South Dekalb Mall.  I’d usually start out by perusing the rap section at Camelot Music.  If nothing caught my eye, I’d sometimes walk across the road to Turtles.  After that, I’d give the magazine section at the bookstore a once over.  Then it was off to Champs or Foot Locker to check out the newest athletic gear.  Around noontime, I’d meet up with my mom (and sometimes my grandmother) for lunch at the Piccadilly Cafeteria.  Since my mom was a good listener, our lunches often turned into therapy sessions.  That day, I was especially concerned about my friend Avery.  Little did I know, he’d had been killed the night before.

Scottscope Talk Radio 12/26/2012: Beware The Wrath of Django Freeman!

On this edition of Scottscope Talk Radio, the roundtable will be taking on Quentin Tarantino’s latest homage to the exploitation genre, Django Unchained!  We’ll be discussing all of its most controversial aspects.  Is it inappropriate and/or racist for Tarantino to use slavery as the backdrop for a violent spaghetti western?  Did he make this movie simply to justify excessive use of the dreaded N-word in yet another one of his films?  Is Tarantino’s realistic portrayal of slavery done in the spirit of historical accuracy, or is it merely a way to indulge in a bit of torture porn?  Did Jamie Foxx end up being a better fit for the lead role than Will Smith?  Does Leonardo DiCaprio make a good villain?  How does this film stand up to the spaghetti westerns of yore?  Is it in the same class as Sergio Corbucci’s original Django?  Where does it rank among Tarantino’s earlier films?  Is it among his very best, or his very worst?

Movie Review: Django Unchained

Two years before the start of the civil war, a mysterious drifter makes his way through the Deep South.  When he happens upon a convoy of slaves, he takes it upon himself to violently free one of them.  Though courageous and charitable, this act of liberation does not come without a price.  The drifter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), is a professional bounty hunter searching for a band of killers.  Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx) is a slave who has encountered the men Schultz seeks.  In exchange for his help, Django will be granted ultimate freedom.  He will also be united with his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who remains in captivity.  Thus begins a violent odyssey which ends at the doorstep of decadent plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).