New Film Review: The Hateful Eight In 70MM

THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Samuel L Jackson; Kurt Russell; Jennifer Jason Leigh; Walton Coggins; Demian Bicher; Tim Roth; Michael Madsen; and Bruce Dern



In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of interesting characters.

Welcome to Minnie's Haberdashery.

3 hours...that included the 13 minute intermission. so...2 hours 45 minutes of tension.
Is it Tarantino's best? No. But I really liked it.
First it is beautiful to just look at. Every scene is gorgeous. Even little details inside the cabin...like you notice in the back of the cabin snow is falling inside, with a little bit of light it almost seems oddly peaceful within the tension of the room.
The screenplay may be one of his best. It could easily be put on stage in NY, 3/4 of the film takes place inside one room. It is an old school/western showdown (no spoilers here).

As for the acting. Again no spoilers. Leigh, in the year of women in movies is getting a lot of well deserved love for her part here as Daisy. She is Dirty/vulgar/funny all rolled up into one ball of fire. So, yes she is getting the well deserved love but I want to note a couple more standouts. Sometimes I think Jackson is such a good actor he makes it seem so easy that he can be overlooked. Jackson is fantastic here, he is the center here, he commands your attention. Also, Tim Roth as Oswaldo, gives a great performance, sometimes scary also a bit hilarious by almost giving play by play in the room.

Negatives? Well 3 hours is long, so yes it could have been edited a bit. Also, it has to be addressed, the N word. It is used so often here it becomes cringe worthy at times. Yes, I understand it was a different time and place, however the word being used every 5 minutes it seems like Tarantino is just using it as shock value.

So, many critics are saying Tarantino's ego got in the way here and the film is him being over indulgent. But what do you expect when going to see a Tarantino film?
A good script. He delivers (still a bit long)
Violence. Oh yes, you get over the top bloody violence.
Humor. Yes you get humor. "Close the door!!!"
So I disagree with most of the critics.
4 stars out of 5 for The Hateful Eight. He delivered a good film that looks wonderful on the big screen.

From  the shadows as always thanks for your time.