Django Unchained (First Trailer)

There are four things that I anticipate more than anything else; a book by my one of my favorite authors, an album by a favorite band, the start of the NFL season, and a new film from one of my favorite directors. Quentin Tarantino has probably moved ahead of David Lynch as my favorite director, with a number of others close behind.

I'm not a big fan of Westerns, but that doesn't matter because Tarantino never disappoints. I'm not a fan of war movies, but Inglourious Basterds is one of my favorite releases in recent years. Tarantino is often accused of stealing ideas, but I think he has invented a genre. The mix of dialogue, perfectly-matched music, and intelligent humor, has not yet been duplicated by any other director.

I often avoid trailers because I want to see a movie for the first time without knowing anything about the plot. This time I decided to take a look because there are few things that I look forward to more than a new Tarantino film. I now know what I'm doing on Christmas Day.

First thoughts are that the film looks promising. I would have liked to have seen what Will Smith would have done in the title role, but I know that Jamie Foxx will do a great job. It's good to see Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Di Caprio involved, and I think we'll have another fine addition to Tarantino's body of work. He's always been a fan of Sergio Leone and I'm sure that he'll fill the film with all kinds of references to his favorite Westerns.

It's gratifying to see other Tarantino regulars in the cast such as Zoe Bell and Samuel L. Jackson. I wonder how he'll use Don Johnson? I'm also interested to see James Remar, who played Ajax in The Warriors.

What are you hoping to see from Tarantino's latest?