Quentin Tarantino's fantasia on America's original sin of slavery has plenty of draggy parts (and not much of the edge-of-seat tension found in 'Inglorious Basterds') but when the pieces come together it really pops. The violence is shocking enough to point complacent audiences to the brutality of our history and Christoph Waltz as Dr. King (get it) Schultz takes generations' worth of liberal white guilt and channels them into a dazzling performance. Jaime Foxx's final emergence as the face of vengeance is quite remarkable, too.

Read the ScreenCrush.com review of 'Django Unchained'

Best part:
Watch Christoph Waltz' hand gestures when he's talking his way out of trouble. Outstanding.

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