7. Django Unchained

Given Tarantino’s cavalier history with race, including having himself unnecessarily say the N-word in a Pulp Fiction cameo, a movie about a slave enacting revenge on a plantation owner should’ve been oozing with cringe. While Django Unchained has moments of skip-worthy awkwardness, like a bit in which wannabe Klu Klux Klan members are painted as funny idiots for arguing over the quality of their masks, this movie still delivers a stirring story of perseverance and family. Jamie Foxx as Django gives one of the most charismatic performances ever in a Tarantino film, nimbly balancing the stoicism necessary to watch a slave be mauled to death in front of him with the emotional vulnerability to convey the internal struggle of watching that moment without helping. At 165 minutes, Django Unchained is the second longest Tarantino film, and the questionable race commentary makes it a difficult watch at times, but it’s still a fine movie to watch multiple times if you’re in the mood to see slaveowners get their comeuppance.