Gunsnhalen said:

artist76 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Also i take issue with this

"American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western.It Was A Holocaust."

What is Spike talking about here? Westerns as a genre deal with the most tragic moment in American history - the settlement and colonization of the frontier at the expense of Native Americans. Is he really saying that its OK to make the usual Western produced in the backdrop of an the actual American genocide but not one dealing with American slavery? Seems like a ridiculous double standard for him to have.

Not particularly a Tarantino fan (too violent, not funny for me), but I gotta "defend" him here too. He's done a Holocaust film (Inglourious Basterds), he's done the horror film, he's done a blaxploitation film, he's done the martial arts revenge film - he's obviously a fan of those 70s B-movie genres, and a huge film fan in general. I think he does these films because he admires them, because he grew up with them and was inspired by them. He has every right to make a film depicting slaves and slavery - it's fallacious to compare it to "Birth of a Nation." It's a tiring argument that non-blacks cannot create anything that's of or about the black culture or history. We all absorb what's around us, and what's around us is not just "black and white," it's a lot of things, all mixed up, and it's our shared history too. Funny, there was so much criticism from people like Tavis Smiley about "The Help," now criticism about "Django" - the films depict blacks very very differently, yet neither are "acceptable." They are both art, and though I haven't seen Django, I think both are valid points of view of our common history and are respectful of the black experience (as "respectful" as a Tarantino film can be, that is).

I can understand him cause i myself love Blaxploitation flicks(And a decent fan of westerns) He may throw a little political content in the film.. but for the most part it's stylized all the way.

Spike i love cause his movies have great political/social commentary. Especially his work in the 90s...

Quentin i love for the stylized look & stories that pay tribute to cinema.

So Spike trying to turn this into the politics of color & what can be shown in film is just

If he feels this strongly why doesn't he do his own movie about this time period?, when he was pissed of at Clint Eastwood for doing Flags of Our Fathers without any African Americans he did Miracle At St. Anna in response...

It was a passionate but misguided film sadly.

Spike takes himself too seriously, while Quentin doesn't....bottom line.

Ok,

First of all, when people are enslaved against their will, murdered, beaten, maimed, raped, separated from loved ones, denigrated, belittled, treated as cattle, viewed as 60 percent of a man, denied any human rights whatsoever for over four centuries, it's damn near impossible to disrespect them anymore. Let alone in a two-and-a-half hour time duration. Spike just doesn't like Tarantino; what if Lee or another Black director had made this movie? It doesn't change the fact that the backdrop was slavery--and it was far from pretty--about as far as the sun from Pluto!

Spike just needs to hang out at Knicks games and quit making films like "She Hate Me". Truthfully, I hated IT! And quit talking trash about Tyler, too. Just don't go see Madea if you don't like it.

shorttrini said:

Spike takes himself too seriously, while Quentin doesn't....bottom line.

Spike does.. and while he has made some great serious movies...

He also did cheesy like She Hate Me & Girl 6

I always wonder what he was thinkign with those 2.

Gunsnhalen said:

shorttrini said:

Spike takes himself too seriously, while Quentin doesn't....bottom line.

Spike does.. and while he has made some great serious movies...

He also did cheesy like She Hate Me & Girl 6

I always wonder what he was thinkign with those 2.

Girl 6, wasn't so bad. The soundtrack, wasn't bad either.

shorttrini said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Spike does.. and while he has made some great serious movies...

He also did cheesy like She Hate Me & Girl 6

I always wonder what he was thinkign with those 2.

Girl 6, wasn't so bad. The soundtrack, wasn't bad either.

Soundtrack was all i really liked about it

But he came out with Get On the Bus after that.. so he was forgiven.

shorttrini said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Spike does.. and while he has made some great serious movies...

He also did cheesy like She Hate Me & Girl 6

I always wonder what he was thinkign with those 2.

Girl 6, wasn't so bad. The soundtrack, wasn't bad either.

Girl 6 went on 45 minutes way to long. The soundtrack is great.

"Could A Black Director Have Made DJango?"

http://www.salon.com/2012...de_django/

Tarantino: " Find The Criticism Ridiculous!"

http://www.salon.com/2012..._gates_jr/

shorttrini said:

Gunsnhalen said:

Spike does.. and while he has made some great serious movies...

He also did cheesy like She Hate Me & Girl 6

I always wonder what he was thinkign with those 2.

Girl 6, wasn't so bad. The soundtrack, wasn't bad either.

It.was.terrible.

I just got back and Django was really, really, good. I haven't cheered after a movie in a long time.

CynicKill said:

"Could A Black Director Have Made DJango?"

http://www.salon.com/2012...de_django/

Of course not, but a white comedian couldn't tell his own version of "kill white people and get paid for it lines" like a black one could, either.

context and history is everything.

On a side note.

I used to think Spike was kind of cute back in the day I'm talking Do The Right Thing/She Gotaa Have It days.

imago said:

CynicKill said:

"Could A Black Director Have Made DJango?"

http://www.salon.com/2012...de_django/

Of course not, but a white comedian couldn't tell his own version of "kill white people and get paid for it lines" like a black one could, either.

context and history is everything.

Oh I disagree. I believe a black director could ave made this movie. Hell, even one of the producred is Reginald Hudlin.

I know I totally missed it, but how is the movie supposedly disrespectful?

Stymie said:

imago said:

Of course not, but a white comedian couldn't tell his own version of "kill white people and get paid for it lines" like a black one could, either.

context and history is everything.

Oh I disagree. I believe a black director could ave made this movie. Hell, even one of the producred is Reginald Hudlin.

I know I totally missed it, but how is the movie supposedly disrespectful?

Yeah I could see him doing what Quentin did with this film. I guess in Spike's mind if it's Quentin Tarantino it's disrespectful.

Stymie said:

imago said:

Of course not, but a white comedian couldn't tell his own version of "kill white people and get paid for it lines" like a black one could, either.

context and history is everything.

Oh I disagree. I believe a black director could ave made this movie. Hell, even one of the producred is Reginald Hudlin.

I know I totally missed it, but how is the movie supposedly disrespectful?

I'm assuming it is supposed to be disrespectful to Spike in the same way it is disrespectful to Katt Williams. The reason is twofold:

1. Certain strong black male personalities expressly forbid the use of the N word by anyone but black folk

2. Certain strong black male personalities are jealous of the success this will bring Jamie Foxx (who is sometimes considered a bit of a lightweight)

Django was an exceptional movie. Not only was the cinematography and editing spot-on, but the story was interesting and compelling. Of course, it's a Tarantino film so the ending is never straightforward and can sometimes be a little too editorial, but overall this is absolutely my favorite Tarantino work behind Kill Bill 1 & 2 (with Reservoir Dogs coming in after Django).

The movie is acted superbly well. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance deserves an Oscar, quite frankly. He is vicious, cruel, disarming, charming, and covered in Mississippi swampjuice. He fits the role impeccably. Jamie Foxx's performance is subtle and virile; he captures the essence of his character effortlessly and is, thankfully, paired up with a brilliant cohort. Christoph Waltz's performance is the standout here. His character is intriguing, amusing, and gripping and, in the end, you really don't suffer from too much character development. It's brisk, but it feels right. While I think Christoph's performance is the standout, you walk away from the movie knowing much more about who Django is and what motivates him than any other character. Score.

Tarantino happens to be my favorite living director (behind the late Kubrick). X was the only movie I ever even dug by Spike.

Spike Lee is a joke. A played out has-been, longing for the days of New Jack Swing and rat-tails. Bye, bitch, bye.

[Edited 12/29/12 2:56am]

Spinlight said:

Django was an exceptional movie. Not only was the cinematography and editing spot-on, but the story was interesting and compelling. Of course, it's a Tarantino film so the ending is never straightforward and can sometimes be a little too editorial, but overall this is absolutely my favorite Tarantino work behind Kill Bill 1 & 2 (with Reservoir Dogs coming in after Django).

The movie is acted superbly well. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance deserves an Oscar, quite frankly. He is vicious, cruel, disarming, charming, and covered in Mississippi swampjuice. He fits the role impeccably. Jamie Foxx's performance is subtle and virile; he captures the essence of his character effortlessly and is, thankfully, paired up with a brilliant cohort. Christoph Waltz's performance is the standout here. His character is intriguing, amusing, and gripping and, in the end, you really don't suffer from too much character development. It's brisk, but it feels right. While I think Christoph's performance is the standout, you walk away from the movie knowing much more about who Django is and what motivates him than any other character. Score.

Tarantino happens to be my favorite living director (behind the late Kubrick). X was the only movie I ever even dug by Spike.

Spike Lee is a joke. A played out has-been, longing for the days of New Jack Swing and rat-tails. Bye, bitch, bye.

[Edited 12/29/12 2:56am]

I have to say so myself. But Leonardo is an exceptional actor anyway and has been for many years now. He's one (along with Johnny Depp) that has been long overdue for an Oscar.

I also have to say that Samuel L. Jackson's performance as the "uncle Tom" house servant was a great performance as well. I say that because (even though he made you hate his guts), we have heard about the difference between the "house negroes vs. field negroes" discussion...there really hasn't been an accurate depiction of how calculating and manipulative the house servants were back in those times and how deceptive they were to their own people....until now. As Malcolm X said "the house negro loved his master more than himself"...I immediately thought of this line when Sam's character ran to Leo's side after he was shot and killed.

Anyway, I like the movie very much and it's something that I don't mind seeing over and over again. There were a few scenes that were comical, but not in a way that I feel "disrespected the history of my ancestors". I didn't walk away feeling funny about anything and the way it was depicted.

Spinlight said:

Spike Lee is a joke. A played out has-been, longing for the days of New Jack Swing and rat-tails. Bye, bitch, bye.

[Edited 12/29/12 2:56am]

Omg

As for Katt Williams apperently taking heat with the project.

Katt is a joke... and with the shit he's been doing recently. The last thing his chiwawa ass needs to worry about is a damn movie.

missfee said:

I Love Brotha Spike and I respect his Industry Game but he needs to shut the Fuck up when he hasnt even seen the Damn movie. First go see it then give your opinion. Watching YouTube Clips and reading the Movie Bio ain't enough to judge the Film....So Spike need to shut the hell up before I step on his Glasses...

Anyways.....I watch & listen to MANY of our well known Black Media Commentators and the Majority of them went into the Movie thinking one thing and came out liking it...

Django is Quentin at his Best...You can see the Growth..

^ Wow, so most black media folks are like " " at Spike too? That's just funny... it's one thing if it was Tyler Perry (and I personally think Spike was jealous because Tyler was getting paid and Spike, well, isn't) but people know about his rivalry with Quentin Tarantino. It's like "dude SHADDUP!"

I come from a long line of dentists turned bounty hunters.
And I won't watch this flick simply because the history of dentistry-based bounty hunting is not a spaghetti western.

The name of Spike Lee's production company is 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks. He has an agenda, always has. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. I don't fault him for that, nor do I have a problem with it. Hell, more power to him if that's the road he wants to travel. But in my opinion, he's on the side that continues to poor salt and lemon into the already obviously gaping wounds, instead of looking for solutions, or ways to heal them. Spike WANTS to make people uncomfortable and he does a very fine job of it.

shorttrini said:

NDRU said:

That said, I kind of agree with Spike in that QT is not the right guy to handle serious topics. I didn't like Inglorious Basterds for that reason. His movies are just too fantastic and too silly for a topic so serious as the holocaust & Hitler.

It had some great scenes, but I just don't take them seriously. With QT I always think "this is a great piece of acting/writing" it doesn't move me emotionally.

[Edited 12/25/12 22:29pm]

Well if he wasn't the "right guy", Sheldon should have gotten off his ass, and done something about it. Spike is the father of "Missed Opportunity". If he wants to tell our story, then tell it...(again, I said, he should have been the one to direct, "Red Tails"). What's with this "passive aggressive" shit...He's always flapping his gums about, "Nobody knows our story and plight, better than us and we should be the one's to tell it"; Then when the opportunity comes along for him to do so, not only is he is too lazy to get his azz out of his courtside seat to direct it, he's the first one to complain when somebody else takes advantage of telling a story that HE should have been the one to tell!! Spike has become too complacent because of a few gems, and should sit his, "Jimoney Cricket" ass, down.... As my mother always say, "You can't be, wrong and strong, at the same time"

You ain right, Trini!

Shyra said:

shorttrini said:

Well if he wasn't the "right guy", Sheldon should have gotten off his ass, and done something about it. Spike is the father of "Missed Opportunity". If he wants to tell our story, then tell it...(again, I said, he should have been the one to direct, "Red Tails"). What's with this "passive aggressive" shit...He's always flapping his gums about, "Nobody knows our story and plight, better than us and we should be the one's to tell it"; Then when the opportunity comes along for him to do so, not only is he is too lazy to get his azz out of his courtside seat to direct it, he's the first one to complain when somebody else takes advantage of telling a story that HE should have been the one to tell!! Spike has become too complacent because of a few gems, and should sit his, "Jimoney Cricket" ass, down.... As my mother always say, "You can't be, wrong and strong, at the same time"

You ain right, Trini!

Am I lying?

Finally saw "Django Unchained"... it's hot. Too much fun. And it's certainly not trying to be realistic. But it is trying to show a childlike b-film perspective on the b-movie version of a slave underdog finally getting the b-movie version of glory, complete with horse tricks.

There was one part of the movie that actually felt just like a Spike Lee movie, the way it used a song and was cutting back and forth between two events happening simultaneously.

I've been missing a lot of Spike Lee's movies... but I'm curious to see his last one. It hasn't opened has it?