Movie Review - Quentin's latest flick

I’m often conflicted on Quentin Tarantino movies. Some can be so good (Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Bastards) and some can stink (Hateful Eight).  Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is a winner. Whew! Quentin captures the 1968 and 1969 vibe with the look, the music, and so many nuances. Leonardo DiCaprio plays an actor on the downhill slide, and Brad Pitt is his stunt double with some issues. Both are excellent. Trust me, there’s a scene with Brad facing off against an actor playing Bruce Lee – it’s priceless.  

Margo Robbie plays Sharon Tate. She’s not in it a lot really, but she does shine and, obviously the Tate figure with the whole Manson ordeal plays a big part of Tarantino’s rewritten history. It’s good to know the backdrop from that time period and understand the references. A younger guy at my workplace thought the flick was boring…but he didn’t “get” it. With Tarantino, you do have to think  a bit (in a good way).

My husband thought it was a tad long and would have edited it down. I can understand his point, but I was okay with the whole flow and mood of the movie. Plenty of laughs and good acting. And I was curious where some of the twists would take us. All in all, I give credit to Quentin for his efforts as a very creative director. He’s unique. Yes, there’s a blast of violence at the end and it works. Plus stay through the credits – some funny touches there with Leo. Plenty of famous faces show up with bit parts – Al Pacino is funny. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood totally entertained me on a rainy Saturday morning – yes, three hours of movie amusement.  Worth the tub of popcorn.

Movie Review - The Hateful Eight

There’s good Tarantino – Pulp Fiction, and there’s bad – Django Unchained comes to mind. Let’s add his latest,  The Hateful Eight,  to the bad list but it could have been so good.  Someone needs to give director Quentin Tarantino a machete to cut this film from three hours to less than two. Someone needs to not be so indulgent with Quentin being so full of himself, and just say, “Get on with the story.”

The opening scenes are gorgeous as we watch a stagecoach in the snow. He also shows what looks like a gnarled tree is actually a stone crucifix – ah, symbolism. In the first hour, we pile a mix of outlaws and lawmen into the coach, only to arrive at Minnie’s Haberdashery in a blizzard, and find another group of suspicious characters. The clock is ticking for a bloodbath. Samuel L. Jackson is a principled bounty hunter given to well proclaimed pronouncements. Kurt Russell is holding onto Jennifer Jason Leigh, an urchin outlaw.  There’s a sheriff, a hangman, cowboy, and a general. There is leftover feelings from the Civil War and banter on racism and bigotry. Too much meandering, too much rambling talk, too many cold characters we don’t care about.

In the final thirty minutes, we find out why everyone is at Minnie’s except Minnie and her husband. Tarantino flashes back to show us the behind the scenes gathering of these vultures. It’s almost like an Agatha Christie game of Clue, only with extreme violence. It’s a shame. The acting is fine. There’s some interesting dialogue. It’s filmed richly and the musical score is grand. But, The Hateful Eight is cold and ugly, devoid of a reason to unspool.