Django Unchained

Director Quentin Tarantino’s tribute to the spaghetti Western stars two intriguing characters: Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz).

The actors,who also include Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson, are in fine form and having fun in this ironically exploitative film. Tarantino has created some great scenes, but as a whole, this hit-or-miss movie just isn’t that clever. And it most definitely isn’t 2 hours and 45 minutes clever.

A liberal-hearted revenge Western is a fun concept, but you get the feeling that Tarantino just wants to shock you at every moment while he has you trapped in the theater. That’s only fun for the first hour — then I just felt ripped off.

Simply put: More unhinged than unchained. I'll give it a silent D.

Award potential: Nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting and Best Original Screenplay.

The ten buck review: Not worth ten bucks. Go enjoy the scenes in the film trailer instead.