Film Junk Podcast Episode #399: Django Unchained and Best of 2012

Posted by on January 1st, 2013   Filed under: Featured, Film Junk Podcast

0:00 – Intro
8:50 – Review: Django Unchained
49:55 – Top 10 Movies of 2012
1:39:15 – Worst Movies of 2012
1:42:00 – Top 10 Documentaries of 2012
1:50:55 – Film Junk Reader’s Choice Award Winners
1:58:50 – Other Stuff We Watched: Les Miserables, This is 40, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rookie of the Year, You Don’t Know Bo, Killer Karaoke, The Dark Knight Rises, Headhunters, Klown, Following, The Comedy, Last Days Here, Head Games, The Invisible War, Sleepwalk with Me, Searching for Sugar Man, It’s a Wonderful Life, Take This Waltz
3:10:00 – This Week on DVD and Blu-ray
3:10:35 – Outro

Film Junk Podcast Episode #399: Django Unchained and Best of 2012 by Filmjunk on Mixcloud

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  • James

    1. The Dark Knight Rises
    2. The Master
    3. Beasts of the Southern Wild

    Disappointments: Holy Motors, Killing Them Softly, Lawless, Prometheus.

    Not seen Django, Zero Dark or Lincoln.

  • James

    Another disappointment is Skyfall

  • kyri

    Black pudding from those fast-food breakfast places is not really a very good representative jay. The blood is not fresh enough.

    I also replace my beans with mushrooms..

  • Essie

    Amour is my favorite film of the year, and even if you think the ending is too “hollywood”(this seems way off base), the feeling it creates is like nothing else i’ve seen in a long time. Only Haneke could make something so crushing.

    Seems like Haneke, who is easilry the best filmmaker working today, can’t seem to win with Jay though. I believe his main criticism for the White Ribbon was that if coasted along like a typical art film, and never gave the audience anything. Or at least this was a common complain. So Amour has a moment that feels like a “movie” and it’s suddenly ruined. that moment completely ties in all the themes and hits so hard, at least for me.

    How about the ending of There Will Be Blood? Does that not feel like a movie moment in an otherwise straight and true character study?

    Anyway, I enjoyed the lists outside of the group love for Django. Great year guys,, thanks!

  • scott

    A New Year’s Treat! Thanks for what you do, Guys. You’ve definitely kept me sane this year as I struggle to get my writing career up and running. Also, thanks for reminding me I need to watch ROCKY IV and V! Today, I’m off to watch BREAKING BAD SEASON 1 and maybe FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHT with my pop. Cheers!

    Scott
    http://www.weddinglovestories.blogspot.com

  • http://www.MosserCasting.com/PlanBFromOuterSpace PlanBFromOuterSpace

    I may not have noticed it if I hadn’t just re-watched the whole series, but the combination of Samuel L. Jackson’s physical performance in “Django” and the slight fakeness of the make-up that you mentioned reminded me very much of Roddy McDowell’s performance in the “Planet of the Apes” series. I think it was the hunched-over, shifty look he had.

  • Jay C.

    Regarding Amour, I never said I felt the ending was too Hollywood. I believe that came from Sean, who misunderstood me by suggesting that I thought the ending was too Hollywood. I simply thought Haneke should’ve resisted the urge to add what I thought was some unnecessary drama to a story that was working perfectly fine as a portrait of real people experiencing real life. I was enjoying (for lack fo a better word) the idea of upper class people going through the indignity of death in a rather banal fashion. The film still made my top 20 of the year. I just wasn’t happy with the final act.

    I fail to see your comparison to There Will Be Blood. That movie never feels like it’s rooted in the same sort of reality as Amour. It’s fairly stylized, especially in comparison to Amour.

  • http://www.MosserCasting.com/PlanBFromOuterSpace PlanBFromOuterSpace

    Speaking of the names that made it on the poster or not, I hope that no one went to see “Django” because they were a big James Remar fan. That was the guy you couldn’t figure out, and he and Michael Parks (who was one of the Australians) are 7th and 8th billed on the poster right before Don Johnson. I think one thing that made the film seem longer to me was the unique structure of the film, like I thought that finding the first three guys would be most of the movie, but it was the first half hour. Later on, what I thought would be the end of the film was really just the end of the second act. I didn’t have any problems with it, and I guess it just made me happy that I really didn’t know a whole lot about the film (besides having seen the trailers) before seeing it.

  • ED

    HOPE SOME MOVIE GUYS SEE ALL THESE POSTS AND MAYBE TAKE SOME OF THE IDEAS ON BOARD. PREFERABLY MINE JOKE KIND OF HA HA.

  • patrik

    I think Michael Haneke extracted his idea for Amour from Frank. You’ve been mindraped. You should train your mind like in Inception.

    Credit to Greg for the Hobbit. Totally agree.

  • patrik

    You guys should definitely watch Rust and Bone when you get the chance. Just saw it today and it was awesome.

  • rjdelight

    UM: Looper, Ted, Safety Not Guaranteed, Argo, Haywire, Silver Linings Playbook, Cloud Atlas

    10. The Dark Knight Rises
    9. The Master
    8. The Grey
    7. The Cabin in the Woods
    6. Killing Them Softly
    5. Killer Joe
    4. Moonrise Kingdom
    3. 21 Jump Street
    2. The Imposter
    1. Django Unchained

  • Benjamin

    “Continental” breakfast traditionally is a cold breakfast which includes no meat. All that sausage means it was a “traditional” breakfast.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast#Continental_breakfast

  • Essie

    My reference to TWBB was just to say that’s another movie that takes thing into a heightened area in its final act, and you all seem to love that one. Obviously they are different in many ways I just feel like Film Junk often approaches art house films, or foreign films in a really negative way. It seems like there is a need to really deconstruct these movies due to their praise within a cetain community, or something.

    Of course, it was nice to hear praise for Tabu and i’m not at all saying any of you outright dismiss art films, only that you seem to be allergic to many of the tropes and aesthetics found in these films, and any time a minor issue crops up it is suddenly like “what the fuck i don’t see the genius”. Wheras with a film like Django you’ll roll with the annoyances a lot more. I guess this also speaks to the issue Sean touched on about approaching films for year end lists.

  • Dan Morgan

    Anyone care to post their best and worst movies of 2012? Here’s mine:

    Top Ten:
    10. The Imposter
    9. Lawless
    8. Killer Joe
    7. Chronicle
    6. Untouchable
    5. Berberian Sound Studio
    4. Martha Marcy May Marlene
    3. Samsara
    2. Marvel’s Avengers Assemble
    1. Beasts of the Southern Wild

    Honourable mentions: Argo, The Cabin in the Woods, Dredd 3D, Ill Manors, In Darkness, Life of Pi, Moonrise Kingdom, Ping Pong, A Royal Affair, Searching for Sugar Man

    Bottom Ten:
    10. The Sitter
    9. The Watch
    8. Cosmopolis
    7. Total Recall
    6. Goon
    5. The Sweeney
    4. A Fantastic Fear of Everything
    3. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
    2. Intruders
    1. All in Good Time

    Please note that I’m from the UK where Django Unchained is yet to be released and The Avengers was given the above annoying name so people didn’t go in expecting the old British TV show.

  • http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com Jay C.

    I gave Amour 4.5/5 and it is in my top 20 of the year. Do I have to love every single inch of the film?

    Speaking for myself, i’m not “allergic” to art house films. I watch and appreciate a wide variety of movies including art house films, old and new. I would think this need to deconstruct is a natural side effect when recording a podcast in which the whole point is the discussion of films. And if you think this critical deconstruction is specific to art house films, you’ll have to listen to our premium shows in which we pick apart multiple blockbuster franchises.

    I still don’t see how TWBB is evidence of anything other than a completely different movie that for one reason or another, I enjoyed more than Amour.

  • Lori C

    Guys, it’s a whole new year… 400 episodes and life is good… so, why not post a new photo – jeez, you don’t even have Frank and when’s the last time Reed was on?! Get with the century.

  • Essie

    Fair enough. Your point about deconstruction being a result of being on a movie podcast is rather apt, and I will admit my comments regarding that were somewhat silly. I suppose my perception of your guys’ feelings towards art films is a bit warped due to the fact that negative reviews stick out more than positive ones(dogtooth, enter the void).

  • http://www.screengeeks.co.uk Jack

    Good lists, mine goes

    10. Pitch Perfect
    9. Young Adult
    8. The Master
    7. Silver Linings Playbook
    6. Skyfall
    5. Argo
    4. The Cabin in the Woods
    3. Take This Waltz
    2. Moonrise Kingdom
    1. The Dark Knight Rises

    Frank sounded so shocked over Sean’s distaste for Dark Shadows, he shouldn’t be. It’s a terrible, terrible little movie that should be spat upon. Awful!

  • http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com Jay C.

    I wasn’t on the Dogtooth show and actually liked the film quite a bit.

  • Dan Morgan

    Just saw Dogtooth last month in a double bill with Alps and loved it.

    Actually enjoyed Alps more than most of the reviews I’ve read but Dogtooth is easily the superior film.

    What about Holy Motors? There’s no doubt that’s an out there foreign art film and I believe both Jay and Sean really enjoyed it.

    Also, Tabu I liked but Rust and Bone I found a bit disappointing.

  • http://letterboxd.com/batemanbegins/ Zac

    My Top 10 goes:

    10. The Avengers
    9. The Grey
    8. Lincoln
    7. Skyfall
    6. Django Unchained
    5. The Master
    4. Seven Psychopaths
    3. Cloud Atlas
    2. Silver Linings Playbook
    1. Beasts of the Southern Wild

    Honorable mentions go to The Hobbit, The Cabin in the Woods, Bernie, and End of Watch.

    I still have yet to see Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, Magic Mike, and Amour.

  • Henrik

    I think Haneke’s films need to be watched twice to be properly digested (at least I’ve found it helps alot), and Jay has only seen these films once… Remember, he gave There Will Be Blood a 2.5 or 3 on first viewing too.

  • Henrik

    Oh the danish focus was a nice twist! :D I loved Klovn, saw it at a press screening, roaring laughter from all the reviewers. It was praised across the board here, and went on to sell record-breaking amounts of tickets. So yeah, it’s probably a pretty good representation of a danish thing.

  • Bob

    I think ED (#9) may be onto something. Not sure what exactly, but it seems like something. I can feel it.

    I love these best of the year podcasts and lists. Everyone has their favorites and (inevitably) some feel the need to justify why their top flick of the year deserved more love from the hosts/writers. Happens every time.

    One thing I’d be interested in knowing, especially from Jay (but all the guys really), is how their list would look if they included documentaries with everything else. If the list grew to 20 or 25 and included docs, how would the list change? Would Jay’s top 10 be mostly docs? How about Sean, Greg, and Frank?

    I appreciate seeing docs separate because it gives them some love they desperately need. But, on the other hand, it kind of makes them feel a little less than the others because they’re segregated.

  • Kasper

    Klovn: The Movie (or Klown) is amazing. But some of it probably gets lost in translation, as a lot of the humor gets elevated due to the fact that these are famous people playing alternate versions of themselves.

  • Kasper

    Oh and I agree with the previous guy – we need a new staff picture! The one with all you guys sitting in the sofa is classic. We need something akin to that but with Reed being changed out for the King of Comedy.

  • patrik

    #23 I might be wrong but I’m pretty sure it was Sean who gave There Will Be Blood a 2,5. Not Jay. Just saying..

  • Henrik

    Well maybe he gave it a 3? I definitely remember him saying it would not have been a factor on his best of 2007 list, had he seen it in 2007, except maybe near the bottom along with something like Eastern Promises (lol).

  • http://symparanekronemoi.blogspot.com Flo Lieb

    On the original podcast Jay and Greg gave THERE WILL BE BLOOD a 3.5 and Sean gave it a 3.

  • MrHorse

    i’m not gonna be able to watch amour any time soon, even though haneke is one of my favorites. (obvious) personal reasons. i know it’s just a movie – but that works both ways. anyway,

    looking forward to hearing this one, thank yawww!

  • http://rowthree.com Andrew James

    You guys are fucked. Headhunters is great! Easily in my top ten of the year.

  • RDR

    What nut were you guys talking about that sounds like the n-word???

  • http://rowthree.com Andrew James

    So I’m watching “TAKE THIS WALTZ” right now – don’t tell the boss. I just got to the pool aerobics scene and I gotta say I’m with Frank on this (so far). This is pretentious douchery. It’s a familiar subject portrayed in such a h-word fashion. I don’t outright hate it, it’s just kind of boring, annoying and disappointing considering Polley’s previous work.

  • http://rowthree.com Andrew James

    Ok Whoa! I can’t believe no one mentioned the shower scene. It’s obviously like a deliberate directing choice – I can hear Sarah Polley now: “OK Shirley, when I call ‘action’, I want you to start scrubbing your vagina.” Everyone else just stand there and watch her while you wash your armpits.”

    Seriously wft. This is retarded.

  • Kulu

    Dredd. Number one with a bullet … thru a perp’s skull.

  • sansho1

    Just saw Django today — I thought it was Inglorious Basterds with five times the brutality and half the script. Expertly made, of course. And I enjoyed most of the performances and the music. But I found it strangely flat underneath the violence and bombast — a by-the-numbers plot, nothing much for the women to do (WHAT was that painted-on smile on Leo’s sis?)…and after all that struggle to reunite Django and Hildy, did she want to watch him do horse tricks, or maybe, I dunno, give him a hug and a kiss, for chrissakes?

  • sansho1

    Top 10:

    10. We Need To Talk About Kevin
    9. The Bourne Legacy
    8. Bernie
    7. The Color Wheel
    6. The Dark Knight Rises
    5. Jeff, Who Lives At Home
    4. Cosmopolis
    3. The Master
    2. Moonrise Kingdom
    1. Beasts of the Southern Wild

    TDKR had some good zeitgeist moments, but I think Cosmopolis will end up being the go-to movie to describe the current economic and political climate in the U.S. Some of the business discussions in the limo sound otherworldy, but are in fact real — there has been a sort of private space race to gain an edge in stock trading speed that is being measured in nanoseconds or less.

  • Tum Tum Tyranus

    Hey bros, Zero Dark Thirty just hit the web

  • ProfessionalCynic

    Late to the party but my pennies worth. Continental Breakfast is a French, you had a Traditional ENGLISH Breakfast. And get ya bloody facts right, South American it is not in Searching For Sugar Man, it’s South Africa. And Laughing at a guy who is a pretty damn great addition to the planet when ya downloading his music for fuck all, how sad and I thought you was an alright kinda guy. Get some sleep Jay.

  • Tum Tum Tyranus

    Karenina just hit the web

  • KeithTalent

    Just wanted to highlight Frank’s Wild Wild South joke. It did not get the due it deserved. I laughed my ass off.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/mljcollegeblog/featured Monique

    I watched Django Unchained and I loved it. For me, it was exciting on a movie-going and cultural level.

  • bugsyoz

    Just caught Django Unchained, 1st day of release in Oz.

    Didn’t care for it at all. Probably 1.5 to 2 stars on the Junk scale.

  • kyri

    Finally got around to watch it as well 5 months detached from everything.

    I am not the hugest fan of QT but this is one great film folks.

  • Alex Krajci

    1994′s Pulp Fiction Is My Seventh Favorite Film Of All Time.

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