The Hateful Eight

A self-indulgent massage of the creative ego, which has grown to manic proportions in the use of epic cinematic toys (Ennio, 70 mm, Nicoreto), all whilst covering itself for three hours with a banal story that commits obscure suicide in the form of the chapter "Earlier that morning," destroying the last vestiges of credibility. The much-maligned first hour is in no way useless, and the snow rascals couldn't have gotten better casting (all of them amazing, but Goggins' Mannix undergoes the most interesting evolution of audience sympathy). Thus, even if common sense starts to politely resist it after all the grand circles, Tarantino proves again how cheap of a whore the audience can be at times and gets hooked by banalities we'd long ago boo others for. If, in the end, you accept the fact that the absence of Quentin's traditional absurdist humor is actually a good thing, you're going to like the film. 4 ½. (13/01/2016)

Tarantino's Ten Little Blacks... I mean, bad guys in a nearly three-hour intimate snowy movie in a western style. If his plan is still valid, that after ten films he ends up with cinematography and starts with the theater. If so, we have many reasons to feel excited about that. In a same way that the staging department will be since the will be supposed to clean the stage from tons of blood after every performance. And although I have some fundamental reservations about the way it is built in the Eighth (and that it is almost a repetition of the fourth chapter of the Inglourious Basterds) and the tension between the characters should have been even bigger, but on the other hand, brilliant dialogs and cast were flawless. And as a fan of Goggins, I appreciate how he seized the opportunity when someone finally gave him adequate space in the film. (09/01/2016)

Usually when you go to the cinema to see a film, it's because of the actors or the story, but Tarantino's films are about the director, and that's what makes Tarantino special. Although I was apprehensive at first, along with Inglorious Basterds, The Hateful Eight is his second best work for me. It's slower paced, but still disturbing, and the quality of the performances make it constantly something to watch. Samuel L. Jackson is amazing here, and his story about sucking black cock is already iconic. He is ably seconded by the excellent Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is downright devilish and properly scheming (usually actresses are praised only for their looks and sex appeal, but few can give a great performance like Jason Leigh). Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins and Tim Roth were also good, but still, I find myself missing Christoph Waltz, who outdoes all the actors in the conversation line, I wouldn't mind Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal mode, he could also add some grit. Of course, the excellent detailed gore effects are worth praising as well, and are properly juicy. I also praise the snowy landscape, the tense atmosphere and especially the logically dosed twists that fit like a puzzle at the end. Surprisingly I wasn't bored at all, I give it a full score and I want to see it again! 95% (14/01/2016)

With such perfect cinematography and the wonderful old-fashioned Ennio Morricone soundtrack, this simply can't go completely wrong; but I was still expecting something more. Quentin Tarantino's repeated love for the Wild West promised to rid itself of all the small flaws that afflicted the otherwise wonderful Django Unchained, but this is a step backwards. The never-ending dialogues about nothing surprisingly often remain never-ending dialogues about nothing, and it is only when the reveals start coming in the second half that the film finally succeeds. The pace never drops, every shot has fatal consequences, and the resolution of the last plot twists even manages to nail you to your seat despite its bloody black humor, proving that this ride was worth it. Still, I would be happy if Quentin moved on from Western-themed stories (or, in this case, half-bred cowgirls) and went somewhere else. Because in the stagecoach chapters, his previously commonplace sins against the audience have started to creep back in, and instead of a symbiosis of the creator and the viewer, his fetish for reference and drawing things out are appearing again after all these years. (07/01/2016)

The Hateful Eight get off to a weaker and quite long start, but then becomes a hardcore Tarantino movie par excellence. A clever theatre play with audience expectations and reminiscent of both Reservoir Dogs and Carpenter’s The Thing in western guise (the movie adopted three distinctive soundtrack pieces, an isolated frosty winter environment, the scene of finding the culprit in the characters’ own ranks…). Also, thanks to the sinister music by Morricone, this is the darkest, most hateful Tarantino movie, more hateful than the hateful Reservoir Dogs. Samuel L. Jackson, who revives some of the traits of his most iconic character, Jules Winnfield, is probably the coolest actor of today. His black dick story is just topnotch. Quentin knows he can do whatever he wants and we will always fall for it! (08/01/2016)