The Hateful Eight (2015)

The Hateful Eight

• I think I can proudly say that Quentin Tarantino has officially cemented himself as one of my favorite directors of all time. I love his style, his passion, and his brain. The amount of effort he puts into his pieces of work turn a simple manuscript of words into a masterpiece. This movie is a great example. In several ways, it reminds me of ‘Inglourious Basterds’. It takes a huge focus on the characters and the dialogue, which worked really well. Sometimes, directors and writers rely on action to make a movie exciting. In this case, it’s the script that keeps the story rolling. Yes, there are awesome, gruesome moments that give you a thrill. But the majority of the movie is just listening to the conversations between the characters, and you get super sucked in. I know I did. The actors help sell the time, setting, and authenticity. Every performance was super strong, especially Walton Goggins and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Each person is diverse, and I love how long it took me to decide who to trust, and whether I actually liked them or not. It’s hard not to love Walter Goggins and Samuel L. Jackson, and they were easily my favorites. Now, story-wise, I’m not going to say much, solely because it’s one you shouldn’t know too much about. It’s a nice little mystery/thriller that I don’t want to give away. I do think the first hour or so was a little slow, but it picks up and goes full speed until the very end. Just know that the writing was phenomenal, and to me, one of Tarantino’s best written movies. Overall, this movie was ridiculously good, with great acting, awesome costumes, a realistic time/setting, and some gory fun. I’d definitely recommend it to all western/thriller fans. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!