Django Unchained - 4/5

A good movie partially ruined by Tarantino's apparent obligation to throw in extremities in the way of blood, body count and general over-the-top stuff. I loved the little random dialogue pieces scattered throughout the story, both for the purpose of comedy and otherwise, but Tarantino manages to marr an otherwise enjoyable film by constantly reminding me that I'm watching a movie. The guy is worse than Michael Bay at this kind of thing, and that's saying something. Still, I did enjoy the characters, the acting was good for the most part (shame on you, Samuel L. Jackson), there was fantastic humour, and the movie was overall enjoyable.

So, overall, a really good movie but you have to keep in mind that the film will regularly remind you that you're watching a film, and for me that sucks as I love to just get caught up in the movies I watch. I like Tarantino as a writer, I'm just not sold on his style of directing.

Full Metal Jacket - 4/5

A very interesting movie, and not what I thought it would be. Without question, the first 45 minutes is the standout part and matched what I thought it would be - I just wasn't aware it would actually carry on through to the Vietnam War, which was a pleasant surprise. I actually would have been happy just watching those 45 minutes and I can't believe that part was that short as it felt like a full movie! The characters and the acting were fantastic, I was never bored, I enjoyed the dialogue throughout... it's not one of my favourite movies (or even my favourite Vietnam War movie, hi Apocalypse Now). The film never really blew me away at any point, but I could probably have watched a movie twice as long and maybe more due to the general quality of everything.