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- Jack Reacher

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Jack Reacher begins with the point of view of a sniper as he takes out five people on a river front promenade in Pennsylvania. It's tense and the tension doesn't stop through this action packed thriller.

Admittedly, there are moments where the plot feels like a movie of the week on Court TV and despite the riveting opening sequence, it took a bit to get going. However, once it drew me in, I was sold.

Tom Cruise is great as Jack Reacher, a former military police officer, wiz crime solver and current drifter. He is a man who enforces the law, by floating above it.  I loved Robert Duvall as a the range owner. Duvall stole every scene that he was in. The casting director did a great job with finding guys who looked most like stereotypical Russian thugs to play the part. The movie revolves around broad character archetypes and works. It's plot movie, not a character driven drama.

The action sequences in Reacher are some of the best that I have ever seen. I caught myself holding my breath, because they were so exciting. I really appreciated that they were not overdone. They managed to pull off an extremely exciting car chase without explosions, cars catching air time or flipping over. It was just a good, old fashioned car chase. The fight sequences were the same way. They were incredibly brutal, but they never crossed over to being absurd. The guys got winded and the fights ended fairly quickly. All of the action was rooted in realism, making it far more entertaining and unpredictable.

This movie is violent, very violent. Almost violent in a Quentin Tarantino way, just shy of that brutal. I can handle violence and gore, but I cringed a lot during the movie. Much of the violence is implied and I have a very vivid imagination!

Paramount Pictures really missed the mark with the release date. Yes, it's very unfortunate that this movie came out the same time as Sandy Hook, but that's not why it underperformed at the box office. This is not a Christmas movie. This is not an Oscar contender and it just can't compete with onslaught of movie choices that come out this time of year.

Jack Reacher is more of a summer movie. If it had been released appropriately, it surely would have been first at the box office and bigger money maker. The movie is really well done and highly entertaining, it has the unfortunate fate of being swamped by heavy competition.