I had the opposite reaction. I found myself cringing way more than laughing. I was always a QT apologist when people accused him of being an undercover racist, but ummm....I think he's an undercover racist. I never read the script, but if he really toned down the use of the N-word, it's crazy, because there were at least 100 instances of the word being used in the flick. I also thought he made a lot of easy choices in regard to slave/black behavior. I get that it's Tarantino and he has his off-brand of humor, but it didn't even work for me in a stylistic kind of way. It just felt like, 'Everybody laugh at how stupid them coloreds used to be'.

Also, I didn't find the journey especially engaging. For a 3-hour epic, it did move incredibly well, but after it was over, I just had an empty feeling. Believe it or not, I feel like this is a direct result of him not having Sally Menke this go-round. She was excellent at digging out subtle character moments. Also, I think he missed her sense of pacing.

After the screening I went to, there was a Q&A with QT and the moderator was praising him for his use of contemporary music, but I found it highly distracting. Rick Ross, Tupac, John Legend, James Brown, etc. kept pulling me out of the movie. To me, it called way too muh attention to itself.

The performances were amazing across the board. Django had to be Jamie....not Will, not Idris, not Tyrese....Jamie! He owned it. Christophe was brilliant as ever, Leo is a superb villain, and Kerry Washington brought a lot of weight to a character who didn't receive a lot of screen time. That motherfucker Sam Jackson though....he played the most vile, ignorant, coonish, loud, and despicable human being to ever be filmed -- but damn if he didn't commit.

I hated Tarantino's cameo...worst acting ever...probably the worst sequence of the film.

Bob Richardson's cinematography was beautiful. Wonderful lighting, sweeping landscapes, effective use of slow-motion, quick zooms to accentuate points, etc.

All in all, the cast was great and Richardson's cinematography was magnificent, but that stil wasn't enough to completely elevate the material and subject matter. I think Quentin got in his own way with this one. Aside from 'Death Proof', this is the first time I haven't had a burning desire to see one of his flicks again.