Movie Review: "Hateful 8" is the Full Stew from Quentin Tarantino

With a fierce blizzard nipping at their heels, and a fulsome bounty awaiting them in the next town, bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell, in a definite return to form) and stagecoach drive OB (James Perks) whip through the Wyoming country, Ruth cahined to convicted murderess Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh, more on her later).

The chance to encounter a Black Union officer (Samuel L Jackson), himself now occupied as a bounty hunter but favouring his paycheques on the "Dead" variant of the old "Wanted: Dead or Alive" rubric, and a die-hard Confederate (Walton Goggins ) also claiming to be th new sheriff of the town where Daisy is to be presented for justice.

They agree to a pit stop at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a local watering hole, known to both bounty hunters,  where Ruth, known as "The Hangman"  intends to wait-out the storm. However, Minnie is nowhere to be found; instead, the Haberdashery is inhabited by four polite strangers: Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), Bob “The Mexican” (Demián Bichir), Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern). 

Suspicious of his acquaintances, both new and old alike, The Hangman digs in and prepares for a two-day stay surrounded by dangerous men with unknown intentions.
The inventive, swaggering dialogue is what drives it onward: quintessentially American. 

Instant mistrust, rampant racism (reinforced with a barrage of N-words) and conflicting loyalties — mostly to one's self — play out amid delicious tension as cabin fever grips the group.

Juggling this many players is a mighty task. Tarantino's winding script establishes their roles in fits and starts, never putting too much pressure on any one scene or piece of dialogue. Jackson and Jason Leigh dominate every frame they're in, but everyone gets a chance to shine.

But it is Leigh, not seen in a mainstream production of this magnitude for some time, who shines brightest. Her Daisy, by turns feral, sardonic and sweet (listen to her sing and play guitar), has to rank as one of the THE performances of the year, regardless of who is considering such things.

The Hateful Eight is a quality production full of unforgettable performances, cheeky banter, and a gripping storyline packed full of fun twists and shrewd drama – limited only by violence and profanity that won’t be of taste for easily offended filmgoers. 

Nigga - Pleeez!: Django Unchained

So, it probably wouldn't surprise you if we said that Quentin tarantino is something of a pyromaniac -in fact its a spoiler alert (hint: its similar to what he did to the Nazis in "Inglorious Basterds") . But for some 2 1/2 hours before that Django Unchained signals a return to form for Tarantino, at least a return to the form of Kil Bill and "Basterds" as opposed to say, Man with The Iron Fists.

Jamie Foxx is Django, a black slave in the Deep South two years before the Civil War (according to the film; our informations says the conflict began in 1861, whiuloe the film's opening scene says 1858, but we wont nitpick)  and Waltz taking on the role of Dr King (get it?) Schultz, the sharp-shooting ‘dentist’ who so unexpectedly frees him from his chains and offers him a deal.

If Django will help him track down the Brittle brothers, notoriously brutal plantation overseers and now wanted men, he will give him his freedom. As these are the same Brittle brothers who branded and humiliated Django and whipped and then sold his beautiful slave wife, he doesn’t take long to say ‘yes’.

Act Two begins with Schultz and Django setting off to find Django’s wife, the gloriously named Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington). 

This change of gear proved close to disastrous in Inglourious Basterds but works a lot better here, thanks to  DiCaprio’s captivating turn as the charismatic plantation-owner Calvin Candie, who likes to be called Big Daddy by his slaves but Monsieur Candie by his white peers.

A lot of speechifying by fine southern gentlemen and the growing suspicion that the actors might be having more fun than we are will be a test for some, but the verbal pyrotechnics are a Tarantino trademark, DiCaprio has never been better and, best of all, there is, of course, some serious shooting to come.

This is a film about revenge, and when the bad guys get what’s coming,  as they do ever more frequently, they certainly deserve it.

Tarantino’s screenplay, which has already secured him an Oscar nomination and won him a Golden Globe, is as terrific as his direction in the first half, filled with all the clever dialogue one would expect such an unusual situation (an ex-slave as a bounty hunter) to conjure up. 

A scene in which a Ku Klux Klan lynch-mob have to rethink their murderous plans because they can’t see out of the eye-holes cut in their hoods is straight out of Blazin Saddles in ternms of the madcap ultimately deprecating humour. Samuel L Jackson, virtually on contract to Tarantino since Pulp Fiction, is also a standout as the house "nigga" all teeth bared and slyly malevolent smiles. 

Of course, some will be u[ in arms over the use of thr so-called "n-word" but its obvious that's what Balcks were universally referred to in that period so this writer, admittedly geographically removed from that complex, doesn't see the fuss.

What I do see is a very enjoyable revenge fantasy (the type Tarantino seems to do best). Violent, yes, almost vulgar in that regard, but also quirky smart and hip - he's even got Franco Nero in there. Look that one up.