A Whole Lot of Fun!

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2016)

This movie showcases some of the best of Tarantino: the beautiful cinematography and epic feel of Inglourious Basterds combined with the sheer fun of Pulp Fiction.
One prisoner (played to perfection by Jennifer Jason Leigh), one bounty hunter who has captured her (Kurt Russell in one of his best roles), one man with a plan (Sam Jackson, more on him in a minute) and one haberdashery they need to stop at due to inclement weather, filled with a host of characters who all have their secrets. A growing number of dead bodies and not a whole lot of time to figure out who is behind the murders.
This has the feel of a western, but really, it's all about Agatha Christie. We all know Tarantino loves his homages/rip-offs and this one is where he goes all And Then There Were None on us. And when he does, Sam Jackson chews all the damned scenery. Walter Goggins keeps up with him nicely, providing great foil, but Jackson is the star of this show. He positively shines.
There is, of course the violence, swearing and general offensiveness you'd expect from a Tarantino movie. If you dislike Tarantino for making a joke out of grotesque violence, lifting heavily from other films (in this case more a book) or his use of a certain word - you know the one I mean - then this film will do nothing to endear you to him. But if you enjoy that stuff, then it's all here in abundance.
Why 8 stars instead of 10? Well, as beautiful as this film looks and as much as I enjoyed the loving shots of snow covered woods and appreciated the cinematography in general, I'm not entirely convinced it was in keeping with the tone of the movie. In IG it worked because that was by far a more serious movie, filled with moments of genuine suspense. Whereas H8, although suspenseful in places, is much more light-hearted in tone, making the switch from sheer fun to loooooong shots of snow feel a little jarring.
But all in all, a great movie and highly entertaining.