Movie Review- The Hateful Eight

Last weekend Dan and I headed to the Arclight Hollywood for a sold-out screening of Quentin Tarantino's latest film, The Hateful Eight. 

PLOT-  Set shortly after the Civil War in Wyoming, a bounty hunter (Kurt Russell) is transporting a murderer (Jennifer Jason Leigh), when their journey is delayed due to a blizzard. They take shelter in Minnie's Haberdashery, where they find Minnie missing and a suspicious group of strangers in her place. 

LIKE- The Hateful Eight is a typical Quentin Tarantino film; hyper-violent, snappy dialogue, and rich characters. It's often hilarious and completely entertaining. Appealing to my love of theatre, the film feels very much like a stage play. Most of the story takes place in two locations; Minnie's Haberdashery, and a stage coach. Dialogue and character development are king, with action kept to a minimal. I enjoyed the film, but I could equally see this making an awesome live show. I hope that someday someone takes up the challenge. Flying fake blood and guts, ponchos for those sitting in the front row...it would rock!

Also echoing a theatre experience, The Hateful Eight has a twelve-minute intermission for the 70mm screenings. The audience was overwhelmingly male and all of us women in the audience were laughing during the break. In an unusual reversal, the women had no line for the bathroom, while the line for the men reached the concessions. They panicked as the twelve minutes rushed by!

Tarantino has assembled an excellent cast to bring to life his characters, including many Tarantino regulars, like Samuel L. Jackson and Tim Roth. Jennifer Jason Leigh steals the show. She's feisty and raw. Plus, start to finish, she definitely got the most beat-up. I don't think that there is a moment where she doesn't sport a bloody lip. 

DISLIKE- We saw the movie in 70mm. Meh. Totally unnecessary.

Also, me being picky asks- why did all of the characters have such nice teeth? This seemed like an oversight with all of the grimy costumes and make-up going on. The Hateful Eight is a story with no clean, pretty characters and it's set in an era where dental hygiene is virtually non-existent. Pearly whites? I don't think so. It was one of those things that I noticed and it became a distraction that took me out of the world of the story.

RECOMMEND- Yes, if you're a Tarantino fan. His films are definitely not for everyone, but if you like his stuff, you'll enjoy The Hateful Eight. Great storytelling and a fun ride. 

Movie Review - Black Sea

There are some films that are worth seeing late on opening night, when you have to wake up early for work the next day...Black Sea isn't one of those movies. However, that didn't stop us from seeing the 9pm Thursday night showing at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood.

On a totally unrelated side-note, after having an amazing meal at the Arclight Cafe in Studio City, we were looking forward to a pre-movie meal at the Hollywood location. The menu was completely different in Hollywood, more expensive and not half as good. 

PLOT - Recently laid-off from his job as a submarine captain, Captain Robinson ( Jude Law) and his other unemployed former coworkers, meet with a mysterious backer who will pay to have them salvage gold from a sunken nazi submarine. The lure of a big pay-day and the idea of beating their former company to the wreckage, prompt the men to risk their lives during this dangerous mission. The ship is in Russian waters, so their crew is comprised of half English and half Russian men, creating a lot of tension, especially when they all learn that they will get an equal cut of the money. Will the men be able to work together and safely recover the gold?

LIKE - Black Sea is primarily an action movie. I liked the intensity, especially how they captured the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped underwater in an old submarine. The danger is visceral and I felt squirmy in my seat. The actors are all solid, especially Jude Law as Captain Robinson. It's been a long time since I've seen Law in a film and although he was the lead, he is no longer cast as a sex symbol. It's a good transition. The men on the sub are not pretty, actor looking types. This grittiness in the casting made the ensemble seem believable. I was entertained throughout the entire film and there were even a few plot twists that I didn't anticipate.

DISLIKE - I left the theatre feeling like I saw an okay movie. However, Dan did not like Black Sea. He said that it was filled with a ton of technical errors and he put it to me this way, "Karen, it's as if you decided that you wanted to write a story set on a submarine and then you didn't bother doing any research to see if it was plausible". Yep, my knowledge of submarines is zilch. Admittedly, there was a lot in this film that seemed implausible, but since it was more of an action movie than a serious drama, I didn't let myself get bogged down with specifics. 

RECOMMEND - Meh. Don't rush out and see it in the theaters, but if it comes on cable, give it a shot. If you're a fan of action movies, you might find that Black Sea is a fun ride. 

Movie Review- Star Trek Into Darkness

View fullsize

We had just finished eating dinner last night, when Dan had an intense desire to see a movie. It happens to me all of the time. I always want to go to a movie and it takes zero convincing, but Dan is usually not as eager, especially on a work night. I decided to take his desire to go to a movie and run with it. 

He sat at our dining room table, using a movie app on his Iphone and suddenly he became overwhelmingly excited. Dan just won his movie lottery when he discovered that the Arclight in Hollywood had a special 9pm sneak peek showing of Star Trek Into Darkness and with less than two hours before show time, we could still get seats. 

We threw the dishes into the sink and hopped over the hill into Hollywood. Although our tickets were bought and seats reserved, we thought that we should get there early. We arrived to discover that our showing was to take place in the Historic Cinerama Dome. 

View fullsize

This created a bit of panic, as the seats that we had secured where in the second row from the front, on the very end of the middle section. I had not been to the Cinerama Dome in many years, not since the Arclight remodel, so I had no clue what we were getting ourselves into. We tossed around the idea of asking for a refund and going to another movie, but the lure of seeing the very first showing of Star Trek Into Darkness, was too great. We killed time at Amoeba Records. 

Our seats turned out to be great. Maybe a tad too close, but not in an uncomfortable way. The showing was definitely full, but not completely sold out. There were a few huge Star Trek fans, showing up in costumes, but overall, the tone was much more subdued than I had anticipated. I thought that there would be a greater level of excitement and maybe even some sort of promotion or special tie in. Nope, nothing.  

I hate to admit it, but the 3-D was pretty spectacular. I still don't think that 3-D is necessary for any film and in most cases does not add significantly to my enjoyment of the movie, especially for the up-charge in ticket prices. However, this is one to see in 3-D. It was beautifully done, without being overly gimmicky. One of my favorite shots was at the very end, a long shot through the corridors of the Enterprise. It's simple, but just looked great in 3-D, without needing a gimmick.  

This is solid summer blockbuster type of movie. It's pure entertainment and although it isn't likely to be a big contender for award season (except for technical honors), it is definitely a cut above average for the genre. 

That being said, the first one was better. Into Darkness ran a tad long and had way too many action sequences. At times, I felt like I was on a simulator ride at a theme park because the action sequences were happening in such close proximity that I didn't have time to recover or soak it in. In this case, the old adage, "Less is more" would have been apt.

When not in the middle of intense action, the tone shifted to comedy. There are many great bits of comedic dialogue and memorable one-liners, but after awhile, the jokes were the same. They were making the same sentiments and observations, just rephrasing it. It grew old in the last half of the movie.

The best thing about J.J. Abrams reboot is the casting. This franchise really has the best actors in each role and this adds a great deal to the entertainment value. In particular, I loved the addition of Benedict Cumberbatch. 

Star Trek Into Darkness is good early start to the summer blockbuster season. It made for a fun spontaneous mid-week date night!