One of them fellas is not what he says he is...

The Hateful Eight (2015)

8.0/10 on IMDb
75% on Rotten Tomatoes

Chloe's thoughts: Signed, sealed and recommended by Chloe; I'm buying the DVD
Watch it if you: Love Tarantino; want to be thoroughly entertained with witty dialogue, humorous acting, and a really great premise

Tarantino's eighth film takes place several years after the Civil War, as bounty hunter John Ruth "The Hangman" is determined to transport his murdering fugitive, Daisy Domergue, to the town of Red Rock to hang. However, a blizzard and a stopover at a local haberdashery may mean they might not get to Red Rock at all.

Now I went into this film not knowing too much about it (I had seen the trailer, but that was ages ago and I kind of forgot everything in it), except the fact that this was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and if that's not enough to get your butt in the cinema seat, then I don't know what is.

I really don't want to ruin anything, because I think the surprise of it all is simply amazing. Halfway through the film though, it turns into a sort of mystery where you're trying to figure out what just happened, and I really love that theme in movies.

As a Tarantino film though, it is a looong film, with a runtime of nearly 3 hours in a standard session that excludes the overture and intermission. Fortunately, you don't really feel the length of the film and if you do, you don't even really care because it's all too enjoyable. I'm not exaggerating when I say that at every single point where I was started to feel like the scene was just a little bit long, something new and exciting would happen.

The soundtrack was also amazing. Right from the first second of the film starting, the music is enough to capture your attention even if nothing is happening on screen. The music was quirky, creepy and eerie, and yet I loved every second of it.

As the film focuses on the hateful octet, we've only got a main cast of about eight (plus or minus one or two), and the casting was really well done. Every single actor did a fantastic job at portraying their characters, with Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell as the two leads, and Jennifer Jason Leigh providing a fantastic performance as the somewhat maniacal Daisy Domergue. I really loved Tim Roth's whimsical Oswaldo Mobray (my favourite character), but I think the best performance came from Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix. Having said all that though, every single person did a great job and I'm really happy with the casting.

Also another common feature of Tarantino films, this film has a lot of amazing dialogue. The entire film is comprised of either just quick witted racial quips, or hilarious banter. I like the fact that it's sort of just playing with the idea of "If I get a bunch of people who hate each other, what would that look like? What would it sound like?" The end result is some amazing quotes and monologues.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch it in 70mm, but the standard screening of the film is still so worth the watch in theatres. The cinematography is stunning, the acting phenomenal, the entire premise amazing, and if all that fails to please you, there will still be that unsettling-yet-satisfying soundtrack.


A few side notes:

All of Oswaldo's lines were great simply because of his accent, which just made him sound like Nigel Thornberry

How different would this film be if it was called The Grateful Eight