Battleship (2012)

Directed by: Peter Berg

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgaard

Overall Rating: 48.6

There's a few words that come to mind after viewing Battleship, but one stands out: terrifying.  It's terrifying to know that there were as many people involved in the production of this film as there were, not one of whom able to recognize just how horrible it was.  When a script that involved a naval battleship power-sliding across the ocean using nothing but its anchor, nobody thought to say "Hey, that's completely retarded".  When casting agents said "You know who would make a bad-ass naval officer?  Rihanna", nobody thought to second guess that.  And when a movie executive was given the cast, script, director, and even premise of the film, they not only green-lit the project, but gave it 220 million dollars to make.  Again, terrifying.

Let's start with the story: a down on his luck 26 year old (Kitsch) living in Hawaii gets in trouble one too many times, so his Navy career-minded brother (Skarsgaard) tells him to join up so he can keep an eye on the miscreant and hopefully turn his life around.  Cut to just a few short years later, and not only does our hero have a new haircut (which means he's reformed now!!), but he's worked his way up to a Lieutenant title, despite still always being late and not responsible at all.

Well wouldn't you know it, on the day a multinational war-games exercise is about to take place, our hero gets in trouble for the last time and is set to be kicked out of the Navy.  Darn the luck!  But since he's already on one of the boats, we'll let him stay for now (because why not let an officer in charge of enough munitions to destroy a small country stay in charge of said weapons even after you've told him he's about to get fired?).  As the exercises commence, a swarm of alien machines crash into the ocean set on destroying the earth and blah blah blah.  The hero rises to the challenge, earth is saved, we've heard this song a hundred times before.

What makes Battleship stand out as a truly remarkable piece of crap, is just how hard it tries to be the ultimate popcorn movie.  Hunky leading man?  Check.  Respected actor (Neeson) we can put in the credits without giving more than 10 minutes of screen time?  Check.  Pop star?  Check.  Ridiculously out of place, big breasted supermodel?  Check.  'Splosions? Check.

The whole movie essentially plays out like a terribly done propaganda movie for the US Navy (which it likely was).  Swooping shots of carriers, grizzled seamen from the era of diesel destroyers, spiffy white uniforms all get they're time to shine bright on screen.

You also get the feeling that whoever was in charge of the soundtrack was given at least $5 million of that $220 million budget.  Admittedly, there are some great rock songs that play throughout the movie.  The suckiness comes from the fact that they use one of these songs for EVERY scene change.  It feels like in a 5 minute span of the film, there could be 4 scenes, and 4 different rock anthems playing in between each. 

Then there's the acting.  Oh lordy, the acting.  There's really not a bright spot in the entire film, except maybe the CGI actors in charge of the aliens.  They got off the best, because nobody was able to identify who they are and that they were associated with this steamer.  As mentioned, the film was likely a propaganda piece for the US Navy, and unfortunately that meant the producers sought after real-life military heroes to play roles, including Col. Gregory Gadson.  Gadson is an above-the-knee amputee and real life hero and motivational speaker.  But an actor, the good Colonel is not.  Despite this, he still gets line after cliched line to regurgitate and it just makes the entire process unpleasant.  All of his scenes are with Brooklyn Decker, and she comes across looking like Meryl Streep next to him. 

The lone bright spot comes from the special effects.  The audio team does a stellar job of conveying the boom of a shell being fired from a battleship, as well as with the alien technology.  The visuals do nothing to add to the story or overall tone of the film, but also aren't cringe-worthy either.

In short, there's very little to recommend with Battleship.  In a lot of cases with big budget popcorn flicks, I can see the draw for certain types of film-goers.  But even fans of films like Transformers or anything starring Jason Statham would undoubtedly finish a viewing of this film with a horrific taste in their mouth, and that's saying something.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 4
Dialogue: 3
Acting: 2
Direction: 3
Audio/Visual: 6

Killing Them Softly (2012)

Directed by: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Richard Jenkins

Overall Rating: 77.2

"This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business. Now fuckin' pay me."

I'm sure it's not normal to quote the last lines of a film as the first lines of a review, but I feel it's these lines that so eloquently describe Killing Them Softly.  Being a film that was so critically praised, but scorned by movie-goers, I knew there was going to be a "love it or hate it" mentality associated, but all in all, the film achieves what it sent out to do: It tells a story within a story.

The film takes us into the underground of the 21st century of the mobster-mentality.  A mentality so strongly rooted in its past, but still always looking for innovation and advancement.  When a card game is robbed, the top of the mob food chain has to take action to prevent future crimes from happening, so they send in an enforcer to clean up.  This enforcer named Jackie Cogan, played with unassuming strength by Brad Pitt, harkens the audience back to a day of the Godfather or Goodfellas.  He's a no-nonsense guy who is going to do what he's told, but if he doesn't like what is being told to him, he's also going to make sure you know it.

The brilliance of the movie is the ongoing parallel between the mob and the financial collapse of 2008.  When the card game is robbed, the criminal economy crashes.  Nobody is sure of the security of any other games.  In order to get the money flowing again, the criminal world must be "bailed out", by Cogan and the bosses wiping the slate clean.  Innocent?  It doesn't matter.  If you're implicated, you're guilty.  And if you're guilty, you're going to have to pay so that others can prosper.

Cogan embodies the average American.  When discussing orders with his go-between (Jenkins) and hearing that the decision makers can't make decisions and the whole process of the "mob" has become like a corporation, he broods frustration.  He's willing to do the dirty work to make things right, but is prevented by people above his pay grade.

Scoot McNairy (Argo) shines and gets the majority of screen time.  Frankie is good for a number of laughs, but is also the morality of both sides.  He understands what his role in everything is, but is unwilling to accept it.  Whether working with his dirty partner to knock off the card game, or working with Cogan to save his own ass, McNairy shows both the arrogance of a schlub who was able to rob something that shouldn't have been able to have been robbed, as well as the cowering fear associated with said robbery.

It's easy to see why so many critics gave the film high praise, while the consensus among the audience was negative (a 48% by viewers on Rotten Tomatoes).  While the story may not explode off the screen, the subtlety that director Andrew Dominik displays makes the overall visuals of the film very pleasant.  Whether it's a slow motion car crash or execution, or a camera placed on a car door being opened and closed, we get a slew of unique shots that showcase the talent of the director.  Yes the pacing is slow, but coming from the man who made a Western about Jesse James with all of 3 minutes of action, you should have tempered your expectations going in.

It's not The Sopranos or Goodfellas, but Killing Them Softly does take the audience into the junked up world of the new age of the mob.  It's not glitz and glamor like Scorsese told us, but a dirty, drag-em-out game that very few get to win.  And we come full circle back to the capitalism parallel...

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 6
Dialogue: 7
Acting: 7
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 9

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken

Overall Rating: 89.9

In his second feature film, director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), reaffirms himself as a dialogue driven, dry humor style of filmmaker.  The one factor that McDonagh seems to be struggling with is his marketing team.  With "In Bruges", the film was tag-lined as a hilarious romp, which it in no way was.  For "Psychopaths", the main trailers were focused on the story of a group of bumbling idiot dog-nappers, which it is not.

Instead, "Psychopaths" takes the tongue-in-cheek approach to film-making, where we as the audience are watching the leading character writing the story in front of our eyes.  Similar to films like "Adaptation", the leading character Marty (Farrell) is a Hollywood screenwriter with an idea for a new movie called "Seven Psychopaths".  As he struggles to find his creative voice, his friend Billy (Rockwell) attempts to help him along, pitching ideas for different psychopaths for his movie.  Over the course of the film, we learn that the ideas for the psychopaths end up being real characters (in the movie at least) and directly influence the writing of the screenplay we're watching on screen.

While yes, the story kicks off with Billy inadvertantly kidnapping a crime boss's (Harrelson) dog, the story that follows after is anything but predictable.  Each character is introduced in a very one dimensional way, but as the film progresses, each character just gets layers and layers added to them until each has their own unique voice and personality.

"Seven Psychopaths" is one of those films that makes you wish you were an actor, as you can just tell how much fun everyone had making the film.  With a smart dialogue, each actor gets their chance to just let loose and enjoy the scenes they are in, rather than spewing out forced words.  The charismatic Rockwell and Walken each bring their signature styles to their performances, and Farrell even surprises with a bit of "everyman" portrayal of his screenwriter.

The supporting cast all steal their scenes, whether through Gaborey Sidibe as the dog-walker who loses boss's dog, Harry Dean Stanton as the ghost-like Quaker, or the flat out amazing performance by Tom Waits as a classifieds-answering, self-proclaimed psycho, each dominate the screen during their time on it.

"Psychopaths" is an unconventional comedy, but still a comedy.  With McDonagh's smart Brit wit and the great comedic performances by the likes of Rockwell, Walken, and Harrelson, the film takes you through a myriad of environments and timelines, but entertains you every step of the way.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor:9
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 9
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 8

Taken 2 (2012)

Directed by: Olivier Megaton

Starring: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace

Overall Rating: 58.4

"Taken 2" seems to find the lowest common denominators from the original film and regurgitate them for the sequel.  It's got most of the same players, the same "don't mess with Liam Neeson" vibe, but is missing one key element that made the first film so memorable: a story.

"Taken 2" picks up shortly after the events of the first film, where Bryan Mills (Neeson) has safely recovered and returned his daughter (Grace) home from sex slave kidnappers.  However, in getting his daughter back Mills left a trail of dead bad guys along the way, and the family members of those baddies want revenge.  While on a job in Istanbul, Mills and his family encounter this new batch of baddies and another all out revenge-war takes place.

Mills uses his standard black-ops bag of tricks to evade, pursue, and defeat the poor schlub who happens to be standing in his way.  While in the first film, we learn just how deadly Mills can be and are regularly surprised by just how innovative he is, already knowing all of that makes the second film less exciting and more predictable.  The joy of the first film was seeing just how far a man could push himself to protect his family.  The main road block for a character in the sequel seems to be the daughter learning to drive (and seriously, how old is Kim supposed to be, 18?  Maggie Grace's actual age of 29? So many questions). 

Another part of the film that flops miserably is the dialogue and delivery from the actors.  Even bending reality to the point where Mills has a chance to call his daughter to deliver another "bad ass I kill people for a living" speech while 6 armed men point guns at him and don't bother to interrupt him at any point (what?), the effort put into the words spoken and the way they play out just feels forced and contrived. 

Despite seemingly having nowhere to go after the first film, I still feel that there was somehow plenty left on the table for "Taken 2".  It shills itself out as a film shamelessly cashing a few checks from the success of its predecessor, and ends up a pile of rubbish.

 
Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 5
Dialogue: 4
Acting: 5
Direction: 6
Audio/Visual: 6

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton

Overall Rating: 94.6

"Zero Dark Thirty", Kathryn Bigelow's drama detailing the world-wide manhunt for Osama bin Laden, jumps out at you from the very beginning and leaves you as one of the most intense, edge of your seat movie experiences of this generation.

To call this film an emotional ride is an understatement.  From the second the theater goes black, you hear 911 calls from the World Trade Center on 9/11, reminding you just what this manhunt that led to the ultimate finale was really all about.  From there, you're immediately thrown into the torture chamber....literally.  A lot has been made in the news about the torture scenes in the film, but as a viewer, they were a necessary uncomfortableness.  As the lead investigator Dan in the detainment camps, Jason Clarke comes across as one of the most memorable characters of the film.  His no nonsense, brutal honesty in relating to terror suspects is exactly what you would expect out of a CIA agent less than 2 years after 9/11.

Then there's Maya (Chastain).  When we first meet Maya, this beautiful, smooth skinned redhead, we expect her to be the conscience of the film, but her motives are the same and her lust for vengeance only grows as the movie goes along.  Chastain's performance is nothing short of powerful.  The pure emotion pours out when needed, and stoic emotionless expressions overcome her when appropriate.

The score to a movie like this can be essential to setting the mood, and Alexandre Desplat shines through beautifully.  It's his modesty in crafting the perfect sound for each scene that makes his score stand out.  At moments where you expect a grand percussion to take your heart away, there is silence.  His ability to stand back and let the action unfold without any accompaniment helps keep the illusion that what you are watching is a documentary, not a Hollywood blockbuster.

Admittedly, there are times where the bureaucratic scenes can slow the pace, but there's always an end-game in play.  Being historically accurate (as much as one can imagine), everyone in the theater knows how the film is going to end.  Despite that, Bigelow manages to create 30 of the most gripping, heart-racing moments ever put to film.  From the moment the announcement was made about the death of bin Laden and details of the raid began to come out, every human that heard those stories began playing them back in their head, trying to imagine what that scene may have looked like.  Through Bigelow's eyes, it was a team of highly trained professionals executing a mission, in the most complex situation with the most complex objective.  And as that is played out on film, don't be surprised to find yourself holding your breath for a very, very long time.

After 2008's "The Hurt Locker", Kathryn Bigelow announced she was back with a vengeance.  Teaming up again with writer/producer Mark Boal for "Zero Dark Thirty", she's proven that she is one of the premiere film makers of our time.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 9
Acting: 9
Direction: 10
Audio/Visual: 10

Arbitrage (2012)

Directed by: Nicholas Jarecki

Starring: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth

Overall Rating: 78.8

In "Arbitrage", director Nicholas Jarecki takes you through the world of a "top of the food chain" hedge fund capitalist, Robert Miller (Gere).  After a string of bad luck, Miller is rushing to sell off his company when an unfortunate accident causes him to push even harder for the sale after the notion of jail time looms overhead. 

As Miller, Gere plays the role he plays best: a confident millionaire whose own personal demons are his biggest enemy.  His supporting cast helps take the audience into the world of high-finance, with Susan Sarandon playing his loyal wife, milking up the indulgent lifestyle and Brit Marling excellently cast as the do-good, ready to take the reigns daughter. 

Wanting to keep his troubles a secret from his family, Miller is surrounded by a cast of million dollar advisers and lawyers, but when he turns to an old friend outside of the circle, the issue soon becomes a moral dilemma.  Miller is constantly faced with a notion of falling on his own sword, or protecting an acquaintance he swore to protect.

It's this drama that is at the heart of "Arbitrage".  You keep expecting Miller to betray anyone and everyone in order to save his fortunes, but he masterfully tip-toes the line between shady and well-meaning.  Anytime the pace seems to slow, the inclusion of Tim Roth as the detective with tunnel vision for taking down the white collar criminals of wall street helps to ramp up the suspense and action.

In the end, Arbitrage is a solid financial thriller.  But don't get lost in the high-finance world, as it's the decisions the characters make that help unfold the drama set forth.  Gere is the star of the show in the tuxedo filled world, but Jarecki's supporting cast do enough to make it an overall successful film.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 7
Dialogue: 8
Acting: 8
Direction: 8
Audio/Visual: 7

Lawless (2012)

Directed by: John Hillcoat
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce

Overall Rating: 76.7

"Lawless" is the story of 3 moonshiner brothers in Kentucky during Prohibition.  Following the story of "The Wettest County in the World", the brothers run a simple outfit in a county with an understanding with the local law to look the other way.  When a new special deputy (Pearce) comes to town to get a cut of the action, most of the moonshiners play ball, except for the Bondurant brothers.

Led by eldest brother, Forrest Bondurant (Hardy), the boys use the tactic of fear to ensure their safety.  As the runt of the pack, Jack (LaBeouf) continues to try to push himself to live up to the legend of his older brothers.  This chemistry pushes the film through the slow beginnings and ultimately to the climax, which actually ends up satisfying.

The 3 brothers are all played very well, but it's Hardy who comes off the screen as the impossible-to-kill leader.  His brawn and deep Kentucky accent make you feel at home in the 1930's.  Gary Oldman, who plays outlaw Floyd Banner also steals every scene he's in.

With classic 30's Fords aplenty, the set design is quite realistic.  Each character's progression in clothing also is well crafted.  As the brothers increase in wealth, you see their clothes go from backwoods-ratty, to dapper.  Surprisingly, the least realistic aspect of the film comes from arguably the best actress in Jessica Chastain.  Her role as a Chicago dancer, turned Kentucky barkeeper just seemed out of place. 

The one downfall of the film comes in the slow build.  At a 2 hour run time, it takes a solid 45 minutes until I felt involved.  The final hour all comes quickly and at a relentless pace, but building the characters and setting the stage in the backwoods just dragged on a bit too long.

All in all, "Lawless" does a decent job in putting out an entertaining film.  If you want to compare it to TV, think "Justified" meets "Boardwalk Empire". 

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 7
Dialogue: 7
Acting: 8
Direction: 8
Audio/Visual: 7

Ted (2012)

Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane

Overall Rating: 83.2

"Ted" is Seth MacFarlane's first foray as a feature film actor.  In it, he tells the story of what happen when that magical teddy bear you wished came alive actually did, and grew up 25 years later.  It's got the typical Seth MacFarlane humor, but in a non-Family Guy ripoff kind of way.  It's fast paced with plenty of pop-culture references that his generational audience can enjoy.

Sure, there are plenty of timely jokes that fall flat, but all-in-all, "Ted" does a good job of keeping things going throughout the course of the movie.

The acting is all passable.  Walhberg's jokes come across as sincere and MacFarlane continues to be one of the best comedic voice actors today.  While Kunis plays essentially the same role she's played in every movie other than "Black Swan", when she had her spots to make the audience laugh, she did a decent job.

I always try to give movies credit when they try to do something original, and with "Ted", you definitely get original.  One of the better comedies in recent years.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 9
Dialogue: 8
Acting: 7
Direction: 7
Audio/Visual: 7

Looper (2012)

Directed by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt

Overall Rating: 95.7

Going in to "Looper", I had read enough reviews that had called it the greatest time-travel movie ever made.  When I left the theater, I had agreed.  By the time I re-watched the blu-ray, I realized it wasn't just one of my favorite time-travel movies, but one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time.  Rian Johnson creates not just a smart look at a future world, but an incredibly entertaining film to accompany it. 

The movie takes place in 2044, where a group of hitmen called "loopers" are hired by gangsters 30 years in the future to assassinate targets sent back in time. When the gangsters are ready to move on, they send the hitmen (now 30 years older) back in time to be killed by their younger selves, thus "closing the loop".  When Joe (Gordon-Levitt) fails to kill his older self (Willis), Joe is forced to run from his modern day syndicate, while trying to stop his older self from altering the upcoming future.

What makes Looper stand out is the way that Johnson thinks out every move that each character makes.  What younger Joe does has a direct impact on his future self, despite the fact that older Joe has already led his own life.  This constant struggle of understanding that each of Gordon-Levitt's and Willis' characters have different lives and intentions, despite being the same person force the audience to almost take sides, when there's really only one side to take.

Many people will comment about the prosthetics used to transform Gordon Levitt physically into a younger looking Willis, but to me the mannerisms Gordon-Levitt used to "act" like Willis is what made me believe they were playing the same person at different ages.  The sly smirks, the short-breathed chuckles, even the walk all scream "Bruce Willis".

Visually, Johnson's futuristic Kansas landscape is beautiful.  There's enough "futuristic" nuances to make you believe it's a realistic 2044, but it's still Kansas.  There's still cornfields, farmhouses, and pickup trucks.  The sound effects also scream off the screen.  Whether the blast of the blunderbuss (the weapon of choice of the loopers) or the hustle and bustle of the futuristic city, Looper's sound design is superb.

Being a truly original movie is enough to stand out in today's film world, but Looper isn't just an original movie.  It's an intelligent, beautifully crafted, fun-filled ride.  One that will make you think, but also entertain you from start to finish.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 9
Acting: 9
Direction: 10
Audio/Visual: 10

Jack Reacher (2012)

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins

Overall Rating: 68.0

With "Jack Reacher", director Christopher McQuarrie takes Lee Child's series of novels about a military investigator and turns it in to an unfortunately predictable crime saga.

After a  former military sniper is arrested for the random shooting of 5 innocent civilians, Reacher (Cruise) is called in to try to make sense of everything.  What unfolds next plays out like a bad season of "24", with clues and conspiracy theories abound. 

 Tom Cruise shows his guns as one of the premiere action stars, even after turning 50.  He maintains a charismatic intensity we've seen from him recently that made it almost seem like he carried over his character from "Knight and Day".  The supporting cast does a decent job playing along, including the lovely Rosamund Pike, but the story never feels like it's taking you anywhere, and the supposed "twists" are all fairly ill-conceived.

The one shining light with "Reacher" is what has made McQuarrie one of my personal favorites: his ability to craft a realistic gunfight.  McQuarrie's brother is a Navy SEAL, who has previously worked with him as a technical adviser and helped make the action scenes feel real and intense.  Add in Cruise performing his own driving stunts, and the action sequences do live up to par.

Going in, I had hoped for a military drama showing off McQuarrie's quick witted writing and Cruise's action acting, but unfortunately what I was left with was a dumbed down, predictable crime drama.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 7
Dialogue: 5
Acting: 6
Direction: 7
Audio/Visual: 6

Hemingway and Gellhorn (2012)

Directed by: Philip Kaufman
Starring: Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, David Straithairn

Overall Rating: 64.8

"Hemingway and Gellhorn" is a TV Movie by HBO Films, centering around the lives of Ernest Hemingway and his muse-turned-wife Martha Gellhorn.  The story picks up during WWI as the two writers meet and fall in love, and continues through WWII and Hemingway's completion of "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Nicole Kidman (Gellhorn) and Clive Owen (Hemingway) each play their larger than life characters to a certain standard, but it's Kidman who steals the show as the strong-willed Gellhorn.

Visually, the movie cuts in and out of actual war footage, with simulated 30's-40's era camera stunts, or just superposes current actors into old war footage using a green screen.  When this first occurs as Tony Shaloub is superimposed into old WWI footage, it looks just awful and you hope that's the last of it, but Director Philip Kaufman continues to implement the same strategy and everytime I cringe.

Overall, as someone who previously wasn't aware of the couple's personal lives, the film did provide some insight in to the lives of the writers.  However, it's just not enough to warrant a higher rating.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 6
Dialogue: 8
Acting: 7
Direction: 7
Audio/Visual: 5

Django Unchained (2012)

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio

Overall Rating: 86.2

"Django Unchained" is the newest installment from Quentin Tarantino, who has always been on of my favorite filmmakers of all-time.  While my initial anticipation for Django may not have been up there with the likes of "Inglorious Basterds" or "Kill Bill", I'm always excited for a new QT.

This time, Tarantino takes us to the deep south in the pre-Civil War era, where slavery is still the cornerstone of life.  We meet a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx), who has been split from his wife and sold.  Django encounters a German bounty hunter named Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz), and together they team up to hunt bounties and attempt to get back Django's wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from the villainous Calvin Candi (DiCaprio).

Along the way, the audience is invited (subjected?) to witness as many uncomfortable moments that Tarantino can muster up to try to remind viewers what the 19th century was like:  Whippings, dog hunts, mandingo fighting (slaves fighting to the death), torture as punishments, and as many references to the n-word as possible.

As is customary with Tarantino, the film starts heavy on quick-witted, often funny dialogue, and ends with enough blood to fill a swimming pool. Foxx does an excellent job conveying initial fear of being a slave, followed by the confident sternness as a ruthless bounty hunter.  It's a swagger we've come to expect from Willy Beamon.

The supporting cast all does their role as well.  Waltz is magnificent, DiCaprio is frighteningly creepy, and Kerry Washington shows her chops by handling her endless barrage of brutal scenes with pain and compassion.  And it wouldn't be a movie released in 2012 without an appearance from Walton Groggins (seriously, this guy has been everywhere recently).

With a soundtrack mix of custom songs meant to take you back to the era of 70's spaghetti westerns, mixed in with new hip hop tracks, it's very pleasing from an audio standpoint.  While it doesn't have the sure-fire hits as previous Tarantino installments, the balance makes it worthwhile.

While the movie has its absolutely brutal moments that make you feel ill, it wouldn't be a Tarantino film without a completely satisfying ending.  Tarantino continues to jump from genre to genre, essentially making updates of his favorite films of the 70's, he also continues to add his own flavor, creating instant classics for the newer generations of movie-goers.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 9
Dialogue: 9
Acting: 9
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 9