Dec 2015 *
I figured I'd share my thoughts on it because like ol' Jack Burton always says...what the hell? Nothing super in-depth because I don't want to spoil anything, but it's another quality film from Tarantino, one of his best films to date even.
Quentin Tarantino delivers once again with The Hateful Eight, his feature length follow up to Django Unchained. As with Django Unchained, it’s another western, and it surpasses Django Unchained on terms of humor, story, and pacing. It’s a film that has all of Tarantino’s signature style and elements with a cleverly engaging story that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat until the end credits roll.
The film is split into six different chapters and follows eight strangers in post-Civil War Wyoming who are stranded by a blizzard and forced to hole up at a stagecoach lodge. One of the men, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) is escorting a fugitive, Daisy Dormergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to be hanged in the nearby town of Red Rock, Wyoming. The other strangers include: Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a fellow bounty hunter who’s looking to claim a reward of his own, Bob (Demián Bichir), a Mexican who works at the stagecoach lodge, Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), a man who claims to be the hangman of Red Rock, Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), a cowboy on his way to see his mother, and Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern), a former Confederate general, and Chris Mannax (Walton Goggins), a former militiaman sympathetic to the Confederacy who claims to be the new sheriff for the town of Red Rock. No one is to be trusted or believed as the film progresses.
What The Hateful Eight does right first of all is that it features everything audiences have come to love about Tarantino. This includes over the top violence, fleshed out and memorable characters, clever dialogue that moves the story along, and the darkest of humor. All of the actors are phenomenal in their respective roles and Tarantino proves once again he knows how to pick them, not to mention direct them. Jennifer Jason Leigh especially shines in her role. She’s funny, nasty and a lot of the violence in the film is directed at her, and Tarantino manages to make it work in a darkly humorous way.
In addition to the Tarantino elements audiences have come to love, the story also plays out in a tense and captivating way. The murder mystery approach is executed flawlessly and the second half of the film is especially eventful and chaotic. The gradual reveal of what brought all of the strangers together is so well done thanks to Tarantino and the use of his signature nonlinear storytelling. Pacing wise, the film isn’t dull for a second and doesn’t feel overlong at its runtime of 187 minutes. On technical terms, the film looks absolutely stunning in Panavision. While a good portion of the film takes place in the interior of the stagecoach lodge, the exterior scenes are phenomenal and capture the real beauty of the Colorado landscape. The film also benefits from another first-rate score from composer Ennio Morricone, truly one of the best at his craft.
Overall, The Hateful Eight is another fine film from Tarantino and definitely one of his best films to date. Audiences almost didn’t get it due to the film’s script being leaked much to Tarantino’s disliking, and what a shame it would’ve been because it’s one of the best films of 2015 and one of the best contemporary westerns. Tarantino’s love for story and characters is as apparent as ever and so is his love for film in general.
I figured I'd share my thoughts on it because like ol' Jack Burton always says...what the hell? Nothing super in-depth because I don't want to spoil anything, but it's another quality film from Tarantino, one of his best films to date even.
Quentin Tarantino delivers once again with The Hateful Eight, his feature length follow up to Django Unchained. As with Django Unchained, it’s another western, and it surpasses Django Unchained on terms of humor, story, and pacing. It’s a film that has all of Tarantino’s signature style and elements with a cleverly engaging story that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat until the end credits roll.
The film is split into six different chapters and follows eight strangers in post-Civil War Wyoming who are stranded by a blizzard and forced to hole up at a stagecoach lodge. One of the men, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) is escorting a fugitive, Daisy Dormergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to be hanged in the nearby town of Red Rock, Wyoming. The other strangers include: Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a fellow bounty hunter who’s looking to claim a reward of his own, Bob (Demián Bichir), a Mexican who works at the stagecoach lodge, Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), a man who claims to be the hangman of Red Rock, Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), a cowboy on his way to see his mother, and Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern), a former Confederate general, and Chris Mannax (Walton Goggins), a former militiaman sympathetic to the Confederacy who claims to be the new sheriff for the town of Red Rock. No one is to be trusted or believed as the film progresses.
What The Hateful Eight does right first of all is that it features everything audiences have come to love about Tarantino. This includes over the top violence, fleshed out and memorable characters, clever dialogue that moves the story along, and the darkest of humor. All of the actors are phenomenal in their respective roles and Tarantino proves once again he knows how to pick them, not to mention direct them. Jennifer Jason Leigh especially shines in her role. She’s funny, nasty and a lot of the violence in the film is directed at her, and Tarantino manages to make it work in a darkly humorous way.
In addition to the Tarantino elements audiences have come to love, the story also plays out in a tense and captivating way. The murder mystery approach is executed flawlessly and the second half of the film is especially eventful and chaotic. The gradual reveal of what brought all of the strangers together is so well done thanks to Tarantino and the use of his signature nonlinear storytelling. Pacing wise, the film isn’t dull for a second and doesn’t feel overlong at its runtime of 187 minutes. On technical terms, the film looks absolutely stunning in Panavision. While a good portion of the film takes place in the interior of the stagecoach lodge, the exterior scenes are phenomenal and capture the real beauty of the Colorado landscape. The film also benefits from another first-rate score from composer Ennio Morricone, truly one of the best at his craft.
Overall, The Hateful Eight is another fine film from Tarantino and definitely one of his best films to date. Audiences almost didn’t get it due to the film’s script being leaked much to Tarantino’s disliking, and what a shame it would’ve been because it’s one of the best films of 2015 and one of the best contemporary westerns. Tarantino’s love for story and characters is as apparent as ever and so is his love for film in general.
