The Hateful Eight [DVD]

Awesome movie.

this movie is only one of the many of Samuel L Jackson’s movies that are great

Interesting plot, but depressing movie.

I liked a lot about The Hateful Eight. Nobody is innocent in this film. The way it plays out kept me absorbed to the characters, and each actor does a great job in bringing their part to life. Overall, it's a pretty good film, but we are going to have to talk about the problems too.It's excessively gory at times, even beyond realism. I guess it's all just in the nature of the film, but there are things I probably would not have done. The haberdashery stuff just seems pretty mean all told, but it was rough country at times.There is absolutely no reason for Tarantino to inject himself into the film to narrate a couple parts further along, and I don't understand the need to break the 4th wall here. He didn't do it for well over an hour, so why do it for a whole 30 seconds in two parts?Honestly, I wanted to be immersed in the setting and the characters, not necessarily described scenes that could have been easily shown to the viewer without breaking the wall. Sure, for some films it works, but for this one I felt like it was an unneeded distraction. Not a huge deal of course, just something to note. I also felt a little of the dialog was a bit too modern for my tastes. People will differ in how they approach that.While the setup was pretty good, overall the whole haberdashery plot was a bit far-fetched. I'll play along for the story, and while it was seemingly fairly realistic to start with, it really does kind of get more comical than real toward the end, and I guess I still value realism more. And being Tarantino I think the comical stuff is sometimes a bit too much in his films after Jackie Brown for my personal preference. I get the irony, but sometimes it's a little crazy just to be crazy these days. But the sardonic way it is presented is usually for the better.There is a manic glee to the violence that keeps trying to nudge us into the realization of irony, but at times it's almost like beating a dead horse. Overall, the themes running through this film are relevant, they just need to be searched for in a more keen way. Context is everything in a film like this, which is why I wish it was just a bit more realistic and less over the top. At least it is toned down from Django levels of absurdity. Sam Jackson does a great job here too, and his character really brings home a few of the scenes making them intensely dramatic. In fact, ALL of these actors do a tremendous job in making this film feel authentic.Quentin does a little slow mo here and there and a couple of optical tricks that seem a little overdone in places, but it is altogether very well shot and framed. The settings, details, and everything else are spot on.So here we are with another Tarantino film, and much like Basterds or really anything after Jackie Brown, there is a weird fantastical element to all of these films that I don't quite love but still respect. Four starts for a pretty good time though. QT is a talented filmmaker, and this was an interesting take. I think it falls apart a tiny bit near the end, but a lot of cinema lovers should enjoy this one.

For the physical product itself, totally awesome. The case is well made and the slip-cover is textured and such. Really cool. Even opens up to some art of the eight and the cabin. For the movie itself, also awesome! Don't get me wrong, it's slow as all hell. I mean.. really slow. It's 3 hours of conversations peppered with some blood, gore, and violence. I'd say 95% of the movie is probably just people talking but that's exactly why I love it. Each character has a past that they talk about which helps them feel more fleshed out. They didn't just show up and exist for the sake of the movie. They have histories that were brought into play and the acting accompanying these histories is just beautiful. It's like a game of Clue except everyone playing in a racist, foul-mouthed a**hat that's lived a messed up life and wants to take it out on everyone else.As far as I'm concerned, all of the 1-star reviews are coming from folks with short attention spans that need explosions, 2 minutes of dialogue and then more explosions. Some are upset about the avid use of the N word throughout the film but considering this movie is about a bunch of civil war vets, uneducated gang members and other mountain folk in the late 1800's, I don't see why they would censor anything they have to say and you bet your a** a good deal of them had a lot of hatred to spew in every which way. I think the dialogue, acting and overall plot are totally time-appropriate and make the entire movie a lot of fun. The story isn't about some grand adventure to save the world or kill Hitler. It's the story of some folks who end up in a cabin together and madness ensues. If you love Tarantino's dialogue throughout his previous films and the way the characters talk to one another, you'll love this film. If you can't pay attention to people telling a story for a few hours and you'd rather see explosions for 3 hours or loads of other eye-candy, go watch Transformers. I hear there's another mind-numbing installment of that in the works.

This is an excellent movie, though it is also definitely shocking. Of course, with Director Quentin Tarantino who was also the writer for this tale, that is all to be expected. Tarantino literally pulls no punches in his film making, and this movie certainly continues in that trend. Persons familiar with some of Tarantino's earlier works (especially Reservoir Dogs (15th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray], or Kill Bill Vol. 1 [Blu-ray Steelbook + Digital HD]) would of course just note that violence and shock are par for the course in any Tarantino movie. Personally, I have no problem with that, though, uh, I must admit that in the beginning of this flick I was most definitely shocked at the violence. By the end of the film though, the violence wasn't just expected, and wasn't just shocking, it was cheered on. To say more would give too much away, and I really don't want to do that. This film deserves to be viewed and experienced, so I'll spare the plot points and major details and simply say it is an experience and is worth it.To me this is a 5 star film. The award winning sound track was perfectly paired with the film and definitely moving. The story was, if at times predictable, also enjoyable and one that I wanted to keep seeing the next scenes unfold from. Full of stars, many of which we've seen previously in other Tarantino films, all of whom delivered quality performances even as they used dialogue that might not be so easy to get through. Looking sharp on Blu-ray and worth the purchase price to add to my collection. I'd encourage others to add it to theirs as well.