Oscars 2013: "It's me baby"- If you haven't heard, Django is unchained...

...and he is not dragging around a coffin this year.

*WARNING: THIS FILM IS VIOLENT. IT IS A MEAN, CRUDE, GUT WRENCHING, TOMATO KETCHUP SPILLING, FIST FIGHTING, ALL GUNS BLAZING, WESTERN. NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED.

I knew I would like this film. I mentioned it as one of the films I was most excited to watch in 2013, and discussed the origins of the original 'Django' here. Tarantino, for me, can really do no wrong. He essentially draws his influences from forgotten, lets face it, shit films of the 70s, predominantly from Italian cinema and passes them off as new masterpieces. He is an artist, with Django being one of his best yet most controversial pieces to date.

'Django Unchained' focuses on a  subject that has become almost a taboo to discuss in England, Racism, more specifically racism against blacks. If anyone comes out with the N word, the response is usually 'oh no you can't say that it's racist!' Well Tarantino does say it, he lays the word on so thick and fast throughout the film that it almost becomes acceptable to use it, and if it makes one feel uncomfortable they will just have to evacuate the cinema. The film deals with the tricky issue of the slave trade from many different angles and in ways that people (black or white) may not want to face in present day but the film should definitely not be taken as a true historical portrayal of the trade.

If the viewer is concerned about the 'racism' in the film they must remember that Westerns have never been the most PC of films anyway; think of the original Django with Mexicans being exploited and treated like bait used in a game as they ran away from a shotgun or having their ears cut off and being made to eat them. So expect Tarantino's Django to be explicit. As I previously said, Tarantino uses different ways to exploit the slave trade- one way is through the use of comedy, where the viewer is forced to laugh at a scene which really is PC at all for example the scene with the KKK trying to fix their hoods. The other is fear. No one expresses the fear quite as well as Samuel L Jackson does in his character. He hit the nail on the head when he stated in a recent interview that predominantly "slavery was perpetuated through fear and intimidation"- Tarantino certainly uses 'fear and intimidation' to ensure that none of his characters are ever safe from getting their insides splatted across a wall or eaten by a vicious dog. Before going to see it I was discussing with a friend just how violent Tarantino would go- we referred to "Inglorious Bastards" and the carving on the Nazi swastika on the scalps- but Django does not even compare. Even I, myself found one scene particularly difficult to watch, as it seemed to be a never ending fist fight with sound effects and extreme close ups, making the scene so uncomfortable. Although it might of been distressing to watch, this scene does well in illustrating the exceptional cinematography used throughout the film.

A lot of critics are focusing on the film as a Blaxploitation film. I don't believe it is. It is first and foremost a sort of Western, with side elements of comedy and romance. I describe it as a sort of Western because it does not technically adhere to the most fundamental requirement of the Western genre. The cowboy always has to be a figure who walks alone. Having lost his one true love he may find women along the duration of the film but the closing shot is usually of him riding of into the distance solo- he cannot be tied down. Tarantino's Django is a free man, free slave as they say, but he is most certainly tied down. He gets his revenge, but he is married and rides of with his wife at the end of the film- so independent lone cowboy he is not. Thus the film is more of a crossover of various genres rather than just one.

With the film being one of Trantino's best box office films to date and two Golden globes under his belt, time will only tell whether Django will receive any of those Oscar's. The film is up for:

• Best picture;
• Best supporting actor, Christopher Waltz;
• Best cinematography, Robert Richardson;
• Best sound editing, Wylie Stateman;
• and Best original screenplay, Tarantino.

Weinstein has already stated that his lack of publicity for Django may have lost Tarantino a Best director nomination, but regardless of this, Django is sure to pull at least one award. Best original screenplay for one and maybe best picture/ or best cinematography since Christopher Waltz already won Best supporting actor at the Golden Globes this year. Then again even if Tarantino doesn't win any more awards one thing is for sure, Django Unchained has definitely caught some attention.

Five films that I'm excited about

The British summer as good as it's ever going to be, the Olympics are in full swing, and I am amongst many other graduates who are thousands of pounds in debt. Life definitely has its ups and downs but right now my life seems to have stopped with nothing exciting happening at all. But there is a silver lining- or there will be over the next few months/ entering 2013- and here are the five reasons/ or rather five films that I'm hoping will lift my spirits in the future:

1) The new Tarantino movie, "Django Unchained" (2013):

I've already blogged about the legend of the Django character and it all he represents- and this combined with the quirky directing of Tarantino= exciting.

2) I discovered that Anne Hathaway can actually sing and so it is perfectly okay for her to star in Tom Hooper's adaptation of my favourite musical "Les miserables" (2012):

When I first watched this trailer I became dubious about how the musical was going to be adapted on film as the stage production is so amazing (i've seen it twice and would definitely see it again). Seeing Anne Hathaway in the part of Fantine, singing 'I dreamed a dream', came as a bit of a surprise but after some research into Anne Hathaway's singing abilities I'm confident she'll do a great job of portraying such a broken character. Also, for those worried about the other cast members singing capabilities, keep calm and click here.

3) Leo DiCaprio is not only starring in the upcoming "Django Unchained" but he's also portraying F. Scott Fritzgerald's famous Jay Gatsby character in Baz Luhrmann adaptation of the famous novel, "The Great Gatsby" (2012) alongside Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher:

DiCaprio has indeed been a busy bee. But there is a downside to this film, mainly due to Tobey Maguire just being in the film. Apart from that blip the trailer looks promising and Luhrmann seems to have captured the roaring twenties decadence in his own style and looking nothing like the previous release of the story in 1974 with Mia Farrow and Robert Redford.

4) There is the prospect of Keira Knightley winning an Oscar this year with Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" (2012):

Although I find Kinghtley's constant pouting in her films terribly annoying, and that added onto the fact that she has starred in a film this year with the unfunny Steve Carrell in "Seeking a friend for the end of the world" 2012 (which I haven't seen yet but it has received mixed reviews) means that my admiration for Knightley wavers. However the trailer for "Anna Karenina" (2012) intrigues me and although I haven't read Tolstoy's novel, yet I believe it is going to be an exceptional adaptation from the speculation around this film. Moreover critics have stated that this is going to be one of Knightly's less stiff performances so lets hope its done with a little less pouting.

5) Finally, the last reason I'm continue to look forward to the future of film and probably the most bizarre reason, is going to see James Franco becoming the Wizard of Oz. Seriously, he portrays the wonderful, maybe not so magical, Wizard and tells the tale about how the wizard came to reside in the emerald city in Sam Raimi's "Oz: The great and powerful" (2013):

Word of warning: the trailer may not appeal to everyone and some people will be doubting the directing ability of Sam Raimi (mainly after "Spiderman 3" (2007) and that awkward dance scene... let's not discuss it again). Moving on, "Oz: The great and Powerful"(2013) is considered to be the prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) and the film has some great cast members; with the brilliant James Franco who always does a great job in any role he is cast in; Michelle Williams;  Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz. What lets the film down is its concept and that could spell disaster for Frank L. Baum's classic tale of Dorothy and her sparkly red shoes, but the broadway musical "Wicked" has been faring pretty well, so let's just hope that Franco can pull off the story of the Wizard.

So there you have it, the release of these five films in the near future are pushing me to continue to power through the post-university blues. Funnily enough, it is ironic that on a blog post where I am looking forward to the future, all the five films that i've mentioned are costume/ period dramas that are set in the past or a fantasy land. In addition 4 out of the 5 films are adaptations of a famous novels with "Django Unchained" taking inspiration from old Spaghetti westerns- thus the influence of classic literature and old film is going to be hard to miss in the upcoming film industry and so, if I haven't already mentioned, I'm bloody excited.