Solid film through and through

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2016)

In all honesty, I wasn't expecting too much from this new Tarantino film. I was kind of expecting a sort of continuation in the same style and flavors that the film Django Unchained had offered. With Tarantino, I like to be surprised in the direction and tones he brings to each and every one of his films, so I thought that this one I might not be different or unique enough to stand with the rest of his films. Needless to say, I was very wrong. The Hateful Eight is one of the gruesome and most screwed up films Tarantino has made to date. The violence is over the top and, like Django, doesn't hold back. But like other Tarantino films, the violence is still warranted and needed for the core of the plot. It's never really thrown in there for effect. The performances were fantastic. Everyone did a really great job at portraying their character. The only gripe I have is that some of the characters felt more like caricatures and less like realistic characters. However, that's just me being overly critical. Another criticism I have for the film is that it's strangely similar to Tarantino's first film, Reservoir Dogs. I won't go into that detail, but both the plot and setting for Hateful Eight seems to borrow heavily from that film. Music was also fantastic. It seems Tarantino decided to break away from original songs and decided to have a score be created for the film itself, which went over really well. Tarantino once again did it. He once again created a film that's ultra violent, funny, well-casted, and meticulously directed. It's a film that I truly cannot wait to see again.