Very Tarantino

Rating: 5/10 (21 December 2015)

As a fan of Quentin Tarantino's, I'm genuinely disappointed with his latest film, THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Not that it's not well-made, not that it's not well-written, we all know that nobody writes like Tarantino does, but this is a complete rehash of everything he's ever done. If you've seen Tarantino's previous movies, you've pretty much seen THE HATEFUL EIGHT.
About the 70mm experience, unfortunately the press screening I attended had the screen out of focus and I doubt that what we the press were watching that day was exactly what Quentin Tarantino had wanted for us when he shot this with Ultra Panavision. I'm not an expert on cameras, but it was obvious that it didn't come close because I remember some of the critics were furious during the intermission, rightfully so because the 70mm is supposed to be the film's biggest selling point. Come to think of it, the 70mm is now the film's ONLY selling point to me because it could've been shot in IMAX or 3D or ultra panavision, I personally care more about the story and the characters and THE HATEFUL EIGHT doesn't really offer anything new. That said, I did admire some of the shots that the great cinematographer Robert Richardson took for this film. They make you feel like you're out in the open wide and excruciatingly cold spaces. Much of it also reminds me of Roger Deakins' work on The Coen Bros' western remake, "True Grit," not too long ago.
Starring a few of Tarantino's usual suspects like Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell, plus newbies in the gang like Channing Tatum and Demian Bichir, THE HATEFUL EIGHT is set in post-civil war, a stagecoach is struggling through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers are bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner/fugitive Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh). They pick up an African American Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and a self-proclaimed town sheriff, Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) along the way. They seek refuge at a stagecoach stopover called Minnie's Haderbashery where they are greeted by unfamiliar faces. There's something fishy about them, Ruth suspects that one of them may be working with Domergue to help her escape.
Look, I'm not saying that this is an entirely bad movie, I was still entertained by it for the very same reasons why Tarantino movies in general entertain me. THE HATEFUL EIGHT has sharp and long speeches/dialogues that just roll off the actors' tongues proudly. I think every actor would feel blessed for the opportunity to say the lines that Tarantino had written. But as I implied earlier, THE HATEFUL EIGHT has the whodunit mystery ala "Reservoir Dogs," the non-linear timeline ala "Pulp Fiction," the excessive use of N-word ala "Django Unchained," and of course, it also has Tarantino's over the top brutal violence. And it's not really designed or meant to attract new fans either. So if this were to get nominated for best screenplay category, I would very much be surprised by that because we're still fresh from "Django Unchained" which did give Tarantino his 2nd Oscar win.
But in any case, just like most of Tarantino's movies, this is also a great opportunity for his actors to really own it and for this one, that goes to Jennifer Jason Leigh and Walton Goggins, both of whom I think excel the most out of the entire cast. Leigh in particular, despite not having much to say until probably the last couple of hours or so, manages to captivate me. Covered in blood, devilishly angry, there's a commanding force about Leigh so much so that even if you're not on her character's side, you can't help but be in awe.
THE HATEFUL EIGHT is 168 minutes long, it has intermission like back in the old days. If you're planning to watch it via the upcoming roadshow, I highly recommend it, although I'm not sure if the theaters agreeing to this would ultimately get their investment's worth. After all, 70mm film-watching experience hasn't been around since the 60s. Filmmakers everywhere will always try to find the next big thing when it comes to making their films seem more immersive for their audience. The choice is theirs. But if it were up to me, if I was the filmmaker, I'd just hire cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki ("Gravity," "Birdman," "The Revenant") every single time, he'll get it immersive for ya!