The Hateful Eight

I was blessed to have been given the chance to see The Hateful Eight early! I am a HUGE Tarantino fan. I adore all of his movies (including Death Proof) and from a filmmaker's perspective, he's a master behind the camera. I also avoided most trailers and the plot synopsis for this film so I could go in blind. And... holy crap. I'm so happy to say that The Hateful Eight continues Tarantino's streak and is an INCREDIBLE Western!

The acting all around is amazing. Samuel L. Jackson gives one of the most badass performances of his career. Hands down one of my favourite performances of the year. Kurt Russell is also amazing and plays a different character than what he's used to playing in the past. Tim Roth is hilarious and loveable, Bruce Dern is fantastic and the ENTIRE supporting cast including Channing Tatum, Michael Madsen and Jennifer Jason Leigh all deliver excellent performances.

I saw the 3.5 hour Roadshow edition of this film, which includes an intermission. Luckily, The Hateful Eight's pace was so fast that the runtime felt half as long! I was constantly entertained and enthralled in the story, characters, and dialogue that Tarantino presents here. The writing is brilliant (as expected) and frequently hilarious. The movie is like a love-child of Django Unchained, Reservoir Dogs and Clue. Tarantino really knocked it out of the park with this one.

The plot was unpredictable and always interesting. However, my only flaw with the film is that the second half takes an unexpected turn and completely transforms the movie into something totally different. I won't spoil anything, but I preferred the first half to the second half. That being said, I still loved the unpredictable, insane story that Tarantino tells.

The directing is top-notch, and should score another Oscar nomination for Tarantino. The 70mm film shoots GORGEOUS cinematography and forms masterful shots. Ennio Morricone's musical score is also excellent and should earn this musical legend another Oscar nod.

Overall, The Hateful Eight is incredibly written, beautifully directed, very well acted, and proves once again that Tarantino is one of the greatest writers/directors working today. Though it's not his best effort, it is still definitely worth seeing!

RATING: 9.5/10.