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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The Hateful Eight

Rated R / 3 hr 7 min / Comedy - Drama - Mystery

What is it about?

John Ruth (Kurt Russell), also known as "The Hangman" because he likes to play the word game Hangman, has captured Daisy Domergue who has a bounty on her head for 10,000 gummy bears. They are his favorite. Unfortunately there is a blizzard following him that he can't outrun, but it's not as fierce as Godzilla so he plans to wait it out. On the way to the nearest inn he encounters Django Fett (Samuel L. Jackson) and an ex-Confederate who says he is taking over as sheriff for Yosemite Sam. When they reach the inn the owners aren't there which is suspicious. John is convinced that someone there is trying to free Daisy and possibly collect on his 10,000 gummy bears.

You will like it if...

You like long and drawn out western/murder mystery mash ups. When I see a Quentin Tarantino film the first thing that pops into my head is the dialogue. Every character has their chance to shine in a conversation or monologue. In The Hateful Eight Samuel L. Jackson completely steals the show. Kurt Russell has his moments, but the first half of the film revolves around him being paranoid and saying the same things over and over. By the time it gets interesting you're ready for the movie to just end. Thankfully the last half of the film picks up even if it still progresses at a snail's pace. I almost cheered when Jackson shot a character because they were taking too long. The parts of the film where Tarantino is able to recapture the magic he had in past films are the scenes where Samuel L. Jackson takes over. The script also has some large plot holes that never make any sense if you think about them, but are somewhat easy to ignore while first watching the film. The film also sort of just ends without a fully satisfying conclusion. I felt that The Hateful Eight was Tarantino's second worst film with Death Proof being the only one that beats it out for worst. Still it is at its heart a Tarantino film, so it does have its fair share of entertaining moments. The pacing is so slow getting there that it is hard to enjoy the ride. For anyone other than the most die hard Tarantino fans I would suggest waiting for this one to come out on Redbox or Netflix.

Next Week

The Forest or whichever film you vote for. Vote early, vote often, vote in the comments or Godzilla will pick the movie! As always the movie selection is subject to change based on what is showing here in theaters.

Upcoming to DVD on December 29

  • Sicario
  • The Visit
  • The Walk - Quick Review: Worth a watch if the preview looks interesting, otherwise skip it.

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