Thursday, January 7, 2016

Quick Reviews: The Hateful Eight

As long as it exists online, it is fair game, right?  

Let's see if the 8th time is (still) the charm...
A lawman (Kurt Russell) delivering a woman to justice meets a man (Samuel L. Jackson) along the way...
Oh, and pretentious Title Cards also found their way on the journey. 

 Hurray?
The group- along with a new Sheriff- end up staying at a Cabin during a Blizzard.  

Russell is super-suspicious, but is he right to be?
With a group of disparate strangers (all with some shared past) in one space, what is going to happen next?
If you guessed 'lots of Monologues,' you'd be right.

Sadly, you'd be right.
Also murder.

To find out what happens, watch the Film.  

The End.
Lots of talking and a little bit of Plot.  
One person has described the Film as 'A series of Monologues in search of a Plot.'  I wouldn't necessarily go that negative, but I see their point.  

The Film really feels like a Play that was turned into a Movie.  Of course, it was actually a Screenplay that was nearly turned into a Novel and then *back* into a Screenplay...which is confusing enough in its own right.  

Tarantino has said that the two inspirations for the Film were Reservoir Dogs and The Thing (the good version).  I'm not a Film Historian, but do most Directors base their new Films on their old ones?  It seems strange to more than just me, right? 

 Another thing to note is just how gory the Film is.  Don't get me wrong- I'm not bothered by the stuff, but I can certainly see how many people out there might be.  

I guess that is what happens when you hire Greg Nicotero for your Western.  

Here's the other thing: everyone is kind of an asshole here.  Admittedly, some of them are actual Criminals, so that is to be expected.  Even the people we are supposed to at least respect are not exactly likable.  

It sure was nice of Russell to stand up for Jackson when he's called the N-word...but then he calls him that like six more times in the Film.  Logic!  
I like having complex Characters, but I just wish that the people were not all assholes, that's all.  

As Tarantino's longest official Film (not counting Kill Bill originally as one Film), it could use alot of cuts, but I think that there is enough overall content to make it worthwhile.  It is a conditional recommendation, in spite of this awesome Credit...
Long, bloody Film full of generally unpleasant people.  An interesting Film exercise if nothing else.

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