I think after a long time I watched a Sholayisque 2.5 hour western melodrama that was more than mildly humorous as well as a classic Tarantino. With its depiction of slavery circa civil war period, the western touch was evident in the music and the horse riding gangsta with the fastest draw but the story meandered in the plantations of the deep south.
Christoph Waltz picked up his second Oscar for his supporting role, which in my opinion is a travesty since he seemed to have a more prominent role without having to mess with a lady love and therefore become the protagonist. As Dr. Schultz he pretends to be a German dentist traveling through the south when in fact he is looking to score by killing his next target as a bounty hunter.
Some of the funny touches include a spring loaded molar (with a cavity which we see later on in the film to store cash) that bobs on his horse drawn carriage. A fascination with the use of the proper English language which many of the thugs (he encounters) in the south treat as some foreign goobledegook, Waltz's character picks out Django from a slave train. Played by Jamie Foxx, Django (where the D is silent) joins forces with Waltz as he knows what his next bounty looks like.
Waltz and Foxx's partnership is better than other H'wood duos like the Mel Gibson - Danny Glover ones and delivers enough punch to keep you in your seat for the climax.
On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...
Apparently Franco Nero who appears in a bit role was in the original curry Western called Django.
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