A rather static "sitdram" elevated by strong performances and peculiar solutions

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2016)

A new Tarantino's movie is always an event to be waited for or feared by millions, as his approaches, choice of actors and selected topic set a certain example. Many regard Tarantino as a lover of exaggerated violence and rough communication, but it is often forgotten that he can be "mild" rather than "wild" - in Jackie Brown.
Here, in The Hateful Eight, the volume with shootings or blood is quite limited as well, the main focus is on characters, dialogs and some beautiful winter landscapes - particularly familiar now when there is snow in many countries in the Northern hemisphere... True, the first half or so could have been abridged (as well as the total length) and not all characters are evenly elaborated (Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Walton Goggins spend most time on screen and have more versatile characters to play), but still - the result is distinct, with references to more distant U.S. history and mishmash of time-frame typical to Tarantino.
This movie has definitely its style, although it might attract less audience than many other Tarantino's creations - for Tarantino fans, it is tardy and pensive with dialogs causing no giggling, for non-fans it is too violent and twisted anyway. But SLJ and JJL provide distinctive performances, the latter was nominated for Golden Globe for her role.