January Recommendation: The Hateful Eight

 

               This new year was really about finding any movie that would most certainly be putting me into a good mood whether it was Beerfest, watching a Bill Murray film that made him a star though I also watched Stripes as well when it came to this month hell, I even watched Hot Tub Time Machine which really, if you haven't seen Hot Tub Time Machine you need to stop what hour doing and watch that great comedy. Then of course there were times where I decided to watch a winter themed movie like The Grand Budapest Hotel or celebrate hockey season like watching Goon. But then when you find that one movie that's on Hulu and it most certainly puts you in the best of moods like that way of saying "absof**kinglutly". Well Quentin Tarantino's second epic Western, The Hateful Eight was most certainly the movie to refresh your soul so, you can get back into the crumby world of life

               While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on the mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travelers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all. 

               Originally, The Hateful Eight was intentionally going to be a sequel to Django Unchained, but Tarantino realized that Jamie Fox's character did not fit the story which really he could of had a story involving Jamie Fox and Sam Jackson's character in The Hateful Eight for which would lead to the movie, title The Hateful Eight, but really when it comes to Tarantino I don't know what would be the best story to come up with so I can't honestly complain about that. The film itself, according to Quentin Tarantino was inspired by the sixties Western Television series, like Bonanza, The Virginian and The High Chaparral, and Tarantino explains basically states that all of those shows would usually have a bunch of outlaws take the lead character hostage or go to a place and most of the outlaws were portrayed by guest starring actors like David Carradine (long before he made his epic climax in Bangkok) and Charles Bronson. And Tarantino in his own words "I thought what if I did a movie starring nothing but those characters? No heroes, no knight and shining armor type heroes. Just a bunch of nefarious guys in a room, all telling backstories that may or may not be true. Trap those guys together in a room with a blizzard outside, give them guns, and see what happens". The film alone is ten years old as of this year in fact it's been close to films release although I may be thinking it was released around January, though you know how movies releases are these days. And truth be told I've seen this great movie at the local theater and any of Quentin Tarantino's movies age like fine wine, moreover there's really not a whole lot to say when it comes to a Quentin Tarantino film I mean the film alone speaks for itself from the great actors he casts to the great storytelling to even the satisfying endings that we can all enjoy over and over again. Although I will say that this was probably one of the most beautiful films he's ever shot in terms of scenery and even shooting outside when it comes to winter time despite very little outside filming, now I don't know if it was visual effects or painting but the first couple of shots where there still in the first act of the film with the blizzard chasing after the stagecoach is hands down one of my favorite shots in the entire movie. If I can may some lists of the many gifts that Tarantino is able to use when it comes to making movies, it's most certainly gathering a list of actors he trust as well as actors you'd never expect would show up, and this is him and Samuel L. Jacksons many collaborations and I would most certainly add this as Jacksons greatest roles when it comes to a Tarantino film but you also have a list of actors like Michael Madsen and Tim Roth fellow alums from Reservoir Dogs and even Kurt Russell does a great job in the movie, for which really was a role that I believe Quentin asked him to be in so he can wipe out the stain, that is Death Proof. Now, I don't know if this movie would have a different appeal because I heard one of the two actors that were approach for the movie was Viggo Mortenson and Jennifer Lawrence, all I can say is Mortenson I can see in a Quentin Tarantino film, unfortunately not so much with J-Law especially when it comes to Jennifer Jason Leigh and to make a long story short I'm very glad Tarantino made the wise choice in casting Leigh as the prisoner/antagonist. I can imagine right now Quentin is taking a long break from Hollywood for many reasons, mainly mental break from Hollywood bulls**t especially reporters, so I can understand with good reasons why we haven't seen any reports about Tarantino's latest updates to his next film he'll make. If it were me I would recommend all of Quentin Tarantino's movies for all the world to see because to me he's most certainly up there in one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and, sure kids of this generation or the butt hurt schmucks out there in the world would never appreciate his movies but I'm most certainly one of those guys that loves and cherish his films till the day I die. As for the Hateful Eight I would highly recommend anyone who haven't seen any of Tarantino's films or is finding a good movie to start off with because to be fair their most certainly one of those films that you must see and think but also delivers a ton of shock and awe. So, if you either have a Netflix account or a Hulu account then I would highly recommend watching this great Western until the final frame.