This movie was too entertaining to be hated on. It was awesome!

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2016)

Largely set inside in a Wyoming outpost dubbed Minnie's Haberdashery, this American Western movie directed and written by Quentin Tarantino finds eight strangers snowed in together during a blizzard, some of whom harbor dark secrets and violent intent. Can bounty hunter, John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) survive a few nights with these people or will his bounty & prisoner, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), find a way to escape? Watch the movie to find out! Without spoiling the movie, too much; I do like how the movie moves like a stage play, by having one main location, where most of the characters are able to develop relationship, spit out exposition and very interesting dialogue. By doing that, it does helps create an interesting film astrosphere that fit the film. However, on a technical level, Robert Richardson's cinematography and the use of 70mm was somewhat disappointing, due to the fact, that it's only one location. Still, you can really tell, by the way, the location looks, that there are tons of stories waiting to be told. Stories like, how the door got broken & who made the tea are just as important, as the characters that make up the film. You really get the layout of the place, by the end of the film, after hearing tons of dialogue, about the fireplace represented the bitten, yet heated South, and how the bar represented the drunk power of the North. Combining that with all the gifted actors that played the characters made for a healthy dose of entertainment. By far, the best actors in the film for me, were Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), a former Confederate raider who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock & Samuel L Jackson as the exile black union major turn bounty hunter -- Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson). They have the most depth of all the characters, while, most of the others can be considered one-note and cartoony like Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray, who introduces himself as the Red Rock hangman & Kurt Russell as John 'Hangman' Ruth. Still, supporting actors like Jennifer Jason Leigh did pretty well with her limited role. I like how the filmmakers really did, ugly her up, by showcasing her rude personality, but also giving her, enough make up scars to tell the audience, that this is one b*tch, not to mess with. She's most likely to get nominations, come awards season. However, the movie wouldn't get an award for pacing. This film is not well paced. The film clocks in, for a 187 minutes for the Roadshow version which includes an overture and intermission, and 167 minutes for the General version. In my opinion, both versions don't work, for a mystery plot that could had quickly dissolved, within 30 minutes of the film time. After all, there are tons of moments throughout the film where characters illogically wait, when they clearly could had act, faster and more aggressive. Like, I said before, the film could had ended in 30 minutes, if only some of the mysterious figures had the balls to kill Ruth when he was entering in the Haberdashery, by himself. Anyways, the first couple of chapters are somewhat dry, with not much of anything really going on. It would easily, have cut a few more scenes from that. Second off, the narration that comes in the middle was a bit jarring and come across as poorly utilized. It really comes out of nowhere, and never truly explained. Did we really need that important spoon feed!? It would had been better, not to know, the twist with the coffee. It would make a greater punch, than it was delivered here. Another thing, that wasn't needed, was the flashbacks to earlier events toward the end of the film. Yes, I know, of 'show, not tell' but, Quentin already loves to fill his movies with dialogue, so it couldn't hurt the film, too bad, just to do that. After all, it was a bit anticlimax to see a deadly gun fight where nearly everybody dies; only to cut back, to see how the enemies got there in the first place. I really don't care, how they got there; I want to know, if the characters survive, Quentin! The messy ending also kinda ruin the whole mystery of the film. However, I was glad, this movie was even made. After all, after the script leaked online in January 2014, Tarantino considered publishing the story as a novel instead. Sometime in early 2015, after some rewrites, he changed his mind, when he got the actors, he wanted for the film. I'm pretty glad, he did, because legendary spaghetti western composer Ennio Morricone also join the project. His music in this film is tense and very haunting score. A very good job from him. Overall: The tone of the film is armed with vicious yet offensive racist humor, sexual assault and an intense violent, and gory action piece that some people might not like; but for me, Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight is as brutal in its insights into race relations and human nature as it cans. After all, it's depicting an era of the mindless violence in the aftermath of the American Civil War where racism/sexism/ and justice was indeed a very complex issue. That's why Hateful Eight is outstanding. It's must-watch for any Western fan.