What makes Tarantino great

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2018)

Tarantino is perhaps the most important director of our generation. And when he makes a film you have to go see it.
Most QT fans including me have been often at a loss of words to explain that what is so great about his movies. His films are about shallow people doing shallow things, highly stylized and lack any real social/political messages or even insights into human behavior. They are well....pulp fiction.
Much in the same vein is his eighth film - The Hateful Eight(THE). It has all the elements of vintage Tarantino - stylized violence, bad language, Excessive use of the n word, expressive dialogues, Mexican stand offs, 'cue cool music', red apple cigarettes (this time tobacco) and yes...Samuel L Jackson.
While watching THE I finally realized what is it that makes QT great or the legend that he is. Let me explain with a scene. Sam Jackson's character hands a letter from Abe Lincoln to Kurt Russell. As Kurt reads from the letter the glow from the letter lights up his face. This is not actual glow but the sheer yellow tinge that the letter throws up on his face. This is old school film making done exceptionally well.
It's as if someone saw all possible forms of cinema ever shot in this world and decided to take the best parts and then make their movie. The result has to be gold.
And The Hateful Eight very much is.
The plot is simple - a bounty hunter called as the Hangman is taking a notorious gangster (Jennifer Jason Leigh in an Oscar worthy performance) to hang in the town of Red Rock. On his way he meets another familiar bounty hunter who is stranded and a mysterious guy who claims to be the next sheriff of Red Rock. The 4 of them then head to a haberdashery only to meet 4 other strangers who all don't seem to be who they claim to be.
So the eight + the stagecoach driver are now stuck together in this house while a blizzard unleashes outside. One by one as expected things begin to go wrong.
The film has not much of a political message as some critics have enthused it to have. Nor does it have any social messages. It is plain old pulp fiction told so entertainingly that you will not realise it has a 3 hour + running time.
QT fans dont miss it. QT haters never too late to convert.
Catch it on the big screen in 70 MM Panavision :)