Another Case of Tarantino Bloat

Rating: 3/10 (22 January 2016)

Just as with "Inglorious Basterds" I can't help but be frustrated by "The Hateful Eight". It's like I can almost see a good 90 minute film in here, struggling to get out. Unfortunately, it's buried under a 3 hour bloatfest.
The story, of a bounty hunter trapped in a cabin with his $10,000 dollar captive (brilliantly played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) has some promise. Despite some claims, it is not really a whodunnit in the sense that there is no way of figuring out who's doing what. It's more of a character piece, allowing the actors to explore attitudes in America following the cataclysm of the Civil War.
And it's here where the movie shines as Tarantino rips the scab off the problem with race relations in the US from slavery to Black Lives Matter and makes us look at it. However, it's not exactly succinct - or even coherent. It's just grim, mean-spirited rhetoric that goes on and on and on long past the time when the point was made.
The actors are good, the direction is excellent but oh dear god that script needs a pair of shears taking to it. Why brevity continues to elude Tarantino is a mystery to me as his first, best movie came in at a brisk 100 minutes. He really needs to work on a low budget again.