Quentin Tarantino is a Genius

I'm way late coming to the party. I finally watched Tarantino's Django Unchained. You could say that I liked it a lot.

Quentin has his devoted fans and he has his detractors. Much like any filmmaker, or artistic creator of any kind. He tends to get stronger reactions from people than most.

One of the most common complaints about his work is that it is not original. Oh, really? No shit. I don't think he has ever tried to be an original filmmaker. As almost everyone knows, Quentin Tarantino was a video store employee, and he loved exploitation movies. What he has done is take that love, and create movies in his favorite genres. Others have tried that, and often have failed miserably. The difference is that QT has talent. As a writer, surely, and he also does well with his actors. He gets the best performances this side of Woody Allen in his productions.

Another complaint: His movies are too long and are boring. Well, the thing is, Tarantino uses a backdrop of exploitation, and he moves from there. There is the expected violence, of course. But there is also genuine wit and moments of drama. If his movies are indeed exploitation, then he has raised the bar for the genre higher than anyone has before.

Then there is the accusation that his movies are historically inaccurate. I dismiss this, too. He isn't trying to give his fans a factual history lesson. Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained are fables. Even farces, if you will.

Quentin Tarantino is very successful, and that brings out the critic in a lot of people. He can't be good if so many people like his movies, can he?

One thing I love the best about the work of Quentin Tarantino: It gives the PC crowd apoplectic seizures.

I was there from the beginning. I was hearing rumblings about this bold new movie that turned the crime heist story on its head. The movie was, of course, Reservoir Dogs. Seldom had viewers seen such gut-wrenching violence so deftly mixed with the blackest of humor. It was a dark grindhouse movie, but Reservoir Dogs was also kind of--arty. The story revealed itself in non-linear fashion, and the dialogue was razor sharp.

Then came Pulp Fiction, a movie that virtually defined 90's cinema. Rarely has a film changed the very landscape of the movies the way Pulp Fiction did. Nothing was quite the same after that. Pulp Fiction's story was a familiar one, but it felt completely fresh.

Tarantino has tackled the blaxsploitation film since then, the King Fu epic (with a hearty dose of rape/revenge tossed in the mix), a war movie. His latest is a sprawling ode to the spaghetti western, Django Unchained.

There was backlash from the start. Unsurprisingly, Spike Lee vociferously objected to the movie. I think he took his stand against Django Unchained without benefit of actually seeing it. We all know that Lee is extremely touchy about racial issues. But what of Jamie Fox and Samuel L. Jackson? They appear in Django Unchained and probably have clear consciences about it. Both of whom also give award-worthy performances in the movie.

The language is course, the violence ripe and plentiful, and there is a irreverent tone throughout the Django Unchained. Should the issue of slavery be---funny?

Another movie I liked a lot also dealt with racism: John Waters' Hairspray. Beneath the laughs and foot-tapping soundtrack, Hairspray was about the injustice of segregation. Waters was smart enough not to get preachy about it. I think humor, or even satire, can be much more effective than beating viewers over their heads with a message. Which is a mistake that the Hairspray musical-remake made.

Django Unchained is a glorious (or should I say, inglourious?), sprawling, magnificent story of a man rising above his oppressors and regaining his dignity. Tarantino uses the elements from his beloved exploitation classics to fuel his frenzied tale. I already mentioned the work of Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Fox. Leonardo DiCaprio is also wonderful, but Christoph Waltz steals the show just as he did in Inglourious Basterds.

Smaller roles were filled out with the very welcome presence of actors like Don Johnson, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Franco Nero, James Russo, Russ Tamblyn, Bruce Dern, and Jonah Hill. Much to the chagrin of many, Quentin appears in Django Unchained. A lot of people hate it when he acts, but I always like seeing him in his movies. I won't go so far as to claim that he is a good actor, but he is fun to watch, and usually is good for some comic relief.

The stunning cinematography was done by Tarantino regular, Robert Richardson, who has also worked extensively with Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone. I also loved most of the music. The title song was especially enjoyable. I could have lived without rap in a period western, but you can't win 'em all.

Quentin Tarantino continues to challenge himself and Django Unchained is one of his finest movies. You'll either love it or hate it, but then most of you have already seen it by now

What will Quentin bring his fans next? There are rumors of another Kill Bill movie, and while I would surely see it if that is what he decides to do, I hope he chooses a different project. Like a full-blown horror movie. Maybe A cross country chase story. The Giallo that he has hinted about for years. Nunsploitation perhaps?