Indeed, the genre is more alive than it has been for decades. Whoever thinks that the Western is long dead, is terribly wrong. Well, it’s not too hard to imagine what great things Tarantino can create with these ingredients. King Schultz, which is another magnificent (and Academy Award winning role) by Christopher Waltz. He’s helped by a peculiar bounty hunter named Dr.
Django is a former slave determined to revenge his former owners and to free his enslaved girlfriend. (Remember Inglorious Basterds’ brilliant opening scene?) The story is simple. Django Unchained is his first proper Western, although many of his earlier films borrowed a fair amount of the genres’ features.
But that doesn’t say it’s only a gimmick. Known as a cinephile extraordinaire, he pays homage to dozens of genres, films and directors within his work. The word ‘pastiche’ almost seems to be invented for Quentin Tarantino’s films.
Read moreĭjango Unchained DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino CAST: Jamie Foxx Tommy Lee Jones established himself as one of Hollywood’s most interesting directors with this outstanding feature film. The Homesman is stunningly shot and succeeds wonderfully at shifting between hilarious, dark comedy and truly gripping drama. Jones himself plays an opportunistic claim jumper who accompanies Marry Bee after a weird twist of faith. Hillary Swank, in an impressive lead, is Mary Bee Cuddy, a somewhat quaint young unmarried woman who takes the task of escorting three mentally ill women through the vast and dangerous plains to the nearest asylum. The genre suits Jones, so to say, as The Homesman is one of the most interesting films of 2014, and the definitely the best western of 2014 I’ve seen so far. In 2005 actor-turned-director Tommy Lee Jones surprised friend and foe with the surprisingly strong neo-Western The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.
It’s an all-star lineup, and they’ve got something similar planned for the sequel.The Homesman DIRECTOR: Tommy Lee Jones CAST: Tommy Lee Jones And just as a final flex, the casting director secured Pennywise’s favorite victim, Jaeden Martell, and the legendary Christopher Plummer, may he rest in peace. LaKeith Stanfield is here without his straw hat from Get Out, and so is 13 Reasons Why’s ghostly Katherine Langford. Lime enthusiast Dakota Johnson’s dad, Don, is here, and so is perhaps the greatest living actor, Toni Collette. Halloween badass/ yogurt guru Jamie Lee Curtis is a suspect, as is two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon. America’s ass Chris Evans is there in a beautiful cable-knit sweater. We’ve got James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and his future Bond girl/Ben Affleck’s former coffee-walks partner, Ana de Armas. I know that listing actors is boring, but just go with me here. Rian Johnson’s mystery (so well written, its screenplay landed an Oscar nom) focuses on the death of Harlan Thrombey, a famous novelist, and the family desperate to scoop up his inheritance. You’ve got to love a classic whodunit, especially with an ensemble cast that's the caliber of this one. Honestly, I have no idea how this fever dream of a film got made, but I’ve watched it several times, and I will watch it again. And yet SOMEHOW, Sandler convinced Al Pacino to play himself in this film as the third-billed actor, AND convinced him to fall in love with Jill! Insane.
It’s stuffed to bursting with product placement (Dunkin' Donuts, anyone?), Sandler is bouncing off the walls as Jill, and the writing often borders on nonsensical. Send this film to the 2019 Met Gala! Adam Sandler (whose recent Hubie Halloween is also a winner) plays both Jack and Jill, fraternal twins, in this truly bonkers affair. But those reviewers were not watching this as the masterpiece of camp that it is. Did it win every single Razzie the year it came out? Yes. Does it have a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes? Yes. I will not be reading the comments for this article, because I KNOW you all are going to rake me over the coals for this one, but this is actually an incredible film.