Review of The Hateful Eight (2015) by Jeff N — 21 Nov 2016

I just left a special 70mm film screening of "The Hateful Eight." It was nice to be able to attend the roadshow of actual film presentation they are doing before mass release in digital on Dec 31.

If you can, I highly recommend it as it is the first film in Ultra Panavision 70mm in wide release in over 50 years. I'm curious how different it will look in digital. That being said, this 2:47-long film (add 20 minutes to that for an intermission) was gorgeous to watch.

There is no doubt that Quentin is a die-hard, true filmmaker, probably the best of my generation. And his talent for writing supreme dialogue is a marvel to behold. "The Hateful Eight" is no different.

In spite of the film's length, you are hooked in for the entire ride. Mesmerized by the characters, the situations, the dialogue, I was captured throughout. The shots, the scenery, the locale, are all just as strong a character as any actor in the film, all coming together to tell an amazing story.

The movie is a mystery. During intermission, people were trying to figure out "whodunit." No matter how egotistically derived my guess was, it wasn't remotely accurate. Quentin weaved his own version of "Clue" circa late-1800s Wild West-style.

And, like the "Clue" film, it is written and performed like a stage play. Set almost entirely on one set for 3/4 of its length, I don't think Quentin has captured better performances from his pseudo-regular cast since "Pulp Fiction.

" Unfortunately, the last 15-30 minutes had to wrap it up. And, unfortunately, the ending is weak. Almost as though he couldn't figure out how to end it. While it isn't a horrible ending, the movie was a 5-star masterpiece, in my mind, the best since "Pulp Fiction," until the last 15-30 minutes.

The movie is so much better than most, though, so I highly recommend it.