R is for rotten, while the D is silent

Rico says today's movie reviews are of two seemingly similar (both rated V for Violent) movies, that couldn't be more different.

The first is The Raid: Redemption, which Rico cannot remember why he thought it was going to be good when he ordered it through Netflix. The description is "When an elite SWAT team goes after a drug lord holed up in Jakarta's most notorious tenement building, they find themselves trapped and forced to fight their way out through brutal gangsters loyal to the kingpin they were trying to assassinate", but the reality is that it stars every Malaysian actor you never heard of, playing good cops trying to take down the ridiculous ten-story apartment house taken over by a local drug gang. The reviews (which Rico obviously didn't read completely)  were misleading ("Saw this at the 2012 Sundance film festival. Amazing. Non-stop action. the crowd did like twenty oooohs and ahhhhs during the film. Would see it again in a heartbeat!" and "I've never seen a movie this violent and my god it is refreshing how brutal and focused this movie is on sending the audience on a chaotic thrill ride that never lets up. From the intensely rhythmic opening montage, this film lays down a pace where every scene increases in scope, ambition, and brutality. I really do mean brutality too! The craftsmanship behind the Foley work shines thru a collage of snapping bones, slitting wrists, and shattering windows. Seriously though, if you're sick of the flood of watered down, CG heavy, and base level incompetency PG-13 action films coming out, then this is a perfect remedy. Be wary though, this is not a film for the weak of stomach!" and "Dance movies got nothing on The Raid: Redemption. The choreography in this non-stop fighting film is absolutely breath-taking, and it's like watching a live performance of Stomp mixed with West Side Story mixed with Ong-Bak. Sound pretty freaking cool? It is. The plot is juvenile, and in the rare moments someone isn't having a bone broken or a foot smashed through their skull, the talking points tend to be no-brainers. But when the fight gets going, there's no letting up. Featuring a superb electro/trip-hop style soundtrack (think Daft Punks Tron soundtrack slowed down), these fights get the adrenaline pumping and the jaws dropping. Fans of the genre will be head over heels with this artistic success that might as well be kung fu eye candy."), in that they made it sound far more interesting than it turned out to be. Rico almost never turns off a movie half-watched, but he gladly did so with The Raid: Redemption... Unless you are a fan of unrelenting violence, do not watch this POS.

The second is the long-awaited Django Unchained, which Rico saw with his friend Damon (who is black, which seemed appropriate). The description is brief: "With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner." The reality is much longer and far more brutal.
Jamie Foxx (photo, at right), playing against his usual comic role, is unbelievably good as Django.
Christoph Waltz (photo, at left) excellently played Dr. King Schultz, a German national who, hating slavery, recruits Django as a fellow bounty hunter.
Django's slave wife, Broomhilda (yes, there is a reason she has a German name) from whom he's brutally parted and who forms the reason for their journey, is played by the beautiful Kerry Washington.
While Quentin Tarantino, the director, plays his obligatory Hitchcock mini-role (as a LeQuint Dickey Mining Company Employee), his appearance brought out one of the few laughs of the movie from the audience.While Rico does loathe Leonardo DiCaprio, he did play Calvin Candie well. The surprise character was Stephen, a black man working at Candieland (no, really), played by Samuel L. Jackson; he was hardly recognizable in the role. Other 'invisible' actors: Bruce Dern, Don Johnson (yes, of Miami Vice fame), Franco Nero, Tom Wopat, Russ and Amber Tamblyn, and Robert Carradine.
Rico says, as Joe Bob Briggs would have said: "Check it out".