The Hateful Eight — Page 2

In terms of film making and narrative I have to agree that the first half was far superior, the second half may have had more action but it felt like it became just another violent Tarantino affair that actually felt counter productive to the genre he was taking on.

I think his over reliance on the N word in his films now is also becoming hugely dull, it's not shocking, it's not even time specific (the amount of times it was used in one sentence in this film felt so in natural like he was trying to shock for the sake of shocking). He needs to trust in his material and narrative rather than resort to the usual bag of tricks, it looked like this film was going to do that for the first half. His over use of monologues that really set very little up was also problematic in this film as it meant tension dripped away which was the counter opposite of what he was trying to achieve. Also the film is beautifully shot but the lingering outdoor shots were so long that again it broke any tension.

Jenifer Jason Leigh is the standout here, a wonderfully insane performance (she has to get an Oscar Nomination). Sam Jackson was fine but continued his trend of playing the same character again, same for Tim Roth (put him in a bell hop outfit and it was a very similar performance to what he did in Four Rooms). Channing barely registered (scripts fault) and Kurt Russel worked his role perfectly.

This could have been a great 2 hour film but his insistence on overwriting and over directing killed it for me, shame as it had many moments that were great.

As fun as you have been in this thread, Tarantino basically says whatever he wants whenever he wants. He does say that if he does stop making films he wants to do a play in New York, which might be fun to see 3,000 gallons of fake blood spilled 8 times a week live onstage.

I finally got to see this movie today. I was so bored with the first half and it was so slow moving that I almost left the theatre. The second half of the movie redeemed itself for me and was much better. I do agree that both the excessive violence and use of the N word was so overdone that it became expected and no longer used for shock value.

the excessive violence and use of the N word

What else has he got?

I guess I'm in the minority on a couple things. I preferred the first act, even found it more entertaining than the second act, which seemed to drag in the last chapter. The violence was entertaining and satisfying, but I fear Seven Psychopaths has spoiled exploding-heads for me forever. The imagined showdown scene in that film is a riot, I immediately thought of it when [REDACTED]s head got blown off.

On the contrary, his overuse of the N-word has never felt more appropriate than it has here and in Django.

And to those who say he hasn't made a good film recently, did the MIB neuralyze Inglourious Basterds from your minds?

I'm with you all on Leigh's brilliant performance, though. People call out Tarantino for being misogynistic, but as early as the stagecoach scenes he clearly wants you to empathize with Daisy, especially as a woman caught in a man's world. This girl watches slaves (once seen as subhuman) gain freedom, rights, and respect while she and the rest of the female population continue to suffer in silence. That long shot of her staring out the window after taking a punch said it all.

I also agree that Russell was a highlight, but SLJ is getting all the praise for playing the standard SLJ-in-a-Tarantino-film role when Stephen in Django was the clear Oscar-nom-worthy character those two have created. Goggins was a delight too. I can't wait to watch this again and study how and exactly where The Sheriff shifts from annoying caricature to endearing character.

Updated On: 1/5/16 at 06:33 PM

Count me in the camp that thought the first half was the superior half. I loved the first half, and seeing it in 70mm was wonderful. The second just didn't quite live up to the first for me, unfortunately.

The first half was a great set up for an "And Then There Were None" type second half, but then that mystery doesn't last long enough in the second half, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if the second half was more of figuring it out and less of the going back and showing it all to us.

Updated On: 1/5/16 at 08:53 PM

She is really good in it.

^

Why is Tarantino still considered to be a serious filmmaker? I left after the first half; really, all he does is buckets of blood and the using of "nooger" over and over. I'm definitely done.

It's no surprise that lil'qt wants to bring this schlock to the stage. It's bombing at the box office. He sees what you can rake in charging $400 a seat even for lousy plays on Broadway. He just needs to find a brilliant make up artist for all the blood.

The argument for violence imitating life vs art imitating violence can surely use this as an example. Stop spending your money on this hack. Send QT back to Lip Sync Battle where he can do relatively little harm, that is until he figures out how to cover everyone with blood and then call LL Cool J the N word.

Updated On: 1/9/16 at 01:42 AM

To me he's a great filmmaker because he's not programmatic. He gives us fascinating characters who are involved in relationships with other fascinating characters. People with strong and extraordinarily specific ways of expressing themselves, political and cultural ideas very much their own, vivid personas and unique masks.

Consider for example Bruce Willis and Maria de Medeiros in Pulp Fiction, the words they use with each other, their physical relationship, their individual beliefs about the world they live in, the way they enjoy each others' very specific qualities, the limits of that enjoyment, their sacred boundaries with each other and their fears when they know they have transgressed them, the way they make love, their love for each other.

They are not your typical Hollywood boxer on the lam and his girlfriend. Not by a long stretch. Nor are Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer your typical Hollywood couple on a hold-up or Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta your predictable Hollywood gangster hit men. And similarly unique individuals populate almost all Tarantino movies, The Hateful Eight included.

This makes for very rich and rare and greatly pleasurable stuff at the movies. Even second rate Tarantino, and The Hateful Eight is imho second rate Tarantino, is exciting filmmaking.

Updated On: 1/10/16 at 12:16 PM