The Hateful Eight (2015)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer:    Quentin Tarantino
Cast:       Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Demian Bichir

I just wrote the names of eight main characters to make sure that there were indeed eight. The IMDB synopsis is: In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters. 

Film is billed as Quentin's eighth film, which is factually correct if you ignore Four Rooms and consider both volumes of Kill Bill as one film, and he has already declared that he will stop at 10. I hope that is as truthful as his statement was about not making 'The Hateful Eight' after the script got leaked. I am generally considered as a Tarantino fanboy and some of my friends have even given me a nickname of 'Tomantino', but I have been kind of falling out of love with his latest offerings. I thought 'Inglourious Basterds' was a glourious return to form but his followup to that, 'Django Unchained' was ultimately a disappointment. I did gave it a 4 but that was more because of me being in denial. His longtime collaborator and editor, Sally Menke, had died before he made Django and based on his two films after her death, it seems his films really misses her especially when it comes to reigning him in and keep in check the running time. I love both Pulp Fiction and the Basterds and both were really long films but you really don't feel it when you are watching them. You do feel it for both Django and Hateful Eight. That said, it might have been different if I had watched The Hateful Eight at the cinemas because you don't have the option of pausing it and take a break. Even the format of it being a mystery also would have suited more if you are watching it at the cinemas. 

From what I have written above, you might think that I didn't enjoy it. That is not true because it is a very enjoyable watch but just that the standards we expect is just too high. I haven't seen 'The Thing' and they use Ennio Morricone's unused theme that he made for that film titled 'Bestiality'. Going by the IMDB synopsis of The Thing, there are plenty of nods to that film especially with the ice-cold winter setting and nobody trusting anybody aspect. Apart from that, you can also compare it to Taraninino's first film 'Reservoir Dogs' with regards to the setting and relationship between the various characters. You also get a long speech just before the interval which would remind you of that Christopher Walken-Dennis Hopper sequence from 'True Romance'. Like this speech is inferior to that one from True Romance, the film is also a lesser version of Tarantino's best works. I just wish he would come out of this 'Period films' phase of his career which started with the Basterds. Performances are great from all concerned, except maybe Madsen, in a very screen chewing manner. There are plenty of great sequences but you just think the sum is not as good as the parts. There is this whole racial politics discussions in it which is also very relevant to the current politics and reality of America. I also liked the aspect that the Black characters in it are portrayed as people who don't like Mexicans. I also loved Tim Roth's speech regarding true justice and mob justice which is also very relevant to the current politics of India.

Overall it is a very good watch but that is just not good enough when you are watching a Tarantino film. His films are meant to be great for re-watches but I don't think it will be so for this one. Ennio Morricone finally won a deserved Oscar for his work on this film. Samuel L. Jackson was great till just about the last act of the film where he kind of loses his dignity (TBF, that would happen if you get shot in the nuts). There is also a delightful cameo from a certain actor. Unlike his last two films, which had major stars and were financially his most successful, this film had an ensemble cast without any stars. The $144 million that it manged to collect is truly remarkable and proves his stature as a superstar director.

Trivia: The guitar that Kurt Russell smashes to smithereens is an 1870 antique piece and he was meant to use a fake replacement during that scene. Jennifer Jason Leigh's reaction to that is genuine.

Rating: 3.5/5

Jackie Brown (1997)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers:  Quentin Tarantino, Elmore Leonard (Novel)
Cast:       Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton

Jackie Brown is a crime-drama film adapted for screen by Tarantino from Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel 'Rum Punch'. The story is about a flight attendant, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), who becomes a key figure in a plot between the Police and an arms dealer (Samuel L. Jackson). 

The rights for the novel was acquired by Tarantino and his writing partner, Roger Avary, after completing Pulp Fiction. They changed the ethnicity of the protagonist from white to black and the treatment they went with for the film was like a homage to Blaxploitation films from the 70s in which Pam Grier herself starred. They didn't inform Elmore of all the changes till a week was left for start of the shoot and the author was extremely happy with the screenplay calling it one of the best he had ever read. This is the only film in which Tarantino has worked with someone else's material and it works well for the film since he kind of went full retard on the self-indulgence quotient in his films that came after this, starting with Kill Bill. I enjoy all his films but in terms of perfection, his first three films are a class apart compared to rest of the films that came after Jackie Brown. 

Like in most of the Tarantino films, it is a comeback of sorts for its lead actors- Pam Grier and Robert Forster. One could possibly say the same for Michael Keaton as well. Maybe the fact that it is adapted from a literary work helps in having lead characters with real depth which cannot be said for the typical Tarantino characters. Film is quite linear with the only major trick that Tarantino used was during the pivotal shopping mall scene where it is shown thrice from the point of view of three different characters one after the other. Plot is kind of complicated but the expositions are done in an expert fashion and they trust the audience to figure out how the plan evolved over the course of unexpected events. This reliance on plot is also a novelty in Tarantino films and one could say that it makes it less re-watchable compared to other films of his since mystery is lost after the first watch. That might be true but the dialog is typical Tarantino and holds up very well on re-watch. I saw it for the first time some seven years back and have rewatched it again once before this. Some people were disappointed with the film, as can be seen from the mixed critical reception, and all the hype after his first two films might have contributed to that. I also didn't like it very much first time round but have come round to appreciate it as one of Tarantino's very best work.

Overall it is a great watch with a terrific soundtrack which is not at all a surprise in Tarantino films. Tarantino tropes like foot fetishness, boot-cam shot etc comes pretty early in the film itself. Robert De Niro's against the type role is a joy to watch. Robert Forster is just magnificent in his understated way and the love story at the center of it the most tender that Tarantino will ever manage to do. As far as my rankings of Tarantino films, 2-4 subject to changes depending on the mood, here it goes:

1) Pulp Fiction

2) Jackie Brown

3) Inglourious Basterds

4) Reservoir Dogs

5) True Romance

6) Kill Bill Vol: 1

7) Kill Bill Vol: 2

8) Deathproof

9) Django Unchained

Rating: 5/5

Natural Born Killers (1994)

Director: Oliver Stone
Writers:  Quentin Tarantino (Story), David Veloz, Richard Rutowski, Oliver Stone
Cast:      Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones

Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and get married and go on a killing spree. They capture the imagination of the nation by the glorification of their acts through mass media.

Tarantino had sold the script, to fund his debut film Reservoir Dogs, and it was rewritten by Oliver Stone and the others because of which Quentin asked them to remove his name from the credits. Film is shot in a psychedelic manner with plenty of Black and White footage, animations and what not. Soundtrack is good (Trent Reznor) and Robert Downey Jr. is amazing. Rest of the film is very underwhelming. Apparently Tarantino's original screenplay had given more time for the media story arc but Stone rewrote it to give more time to Mickey and Mallory which for sure was a mistake. They don't have the chemistry or the depth that similar characters in 'Wild At Heart' and 'Badlands' had. Can see why Tarantino is so pissed off with this film.

Rating: 2.5/5

True Romance (1993)

Director: Tony Scott
Writers:  Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary
Cast:      Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman
Clarence marries Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.

This was Tarantino's first script and he sold it to fund Reservoir Dogs which came out before True Romance. Tarantino's original script was non-linear and had an alternate ending but on Tony Scott's behest it was changed. Great ensemble cast consisting of Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Samuel L.Jackson, Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer as Elvis. Many of them giving their best performance in very small roles. It is worth watching just for the famous Walken-Hopper 'Sicilian Scene'. It is a violently funny film.

The non-linear fan edit version of the film is also floating about in the usual places in the internet for those interested.

Rating: 4.5/5

Django Unchained (2012)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer:   Quentin Tarantino
Cast:      Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L.Jackson

With the help of his mentor, a slave turned bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

The film is entertaining like all other Tarantino films but doesn't have enough interesting characters to elevate it to be among his best films. Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L.Jackson carries the film and sadly the main characters (Django and Brromhilda) and their relationship are not very interesting or convincing.  Among Tarantino films, I rate it above only Deathproof and maybe Kill Bill at a stretch.

Soundtrack is excellent in most places but some horrible raps in it kind of spoils the mood.

Edit: Saw it again on big screen. Think it is Tarantino's second worst film, with the worst being Deathproof. Didn't feel the length on the first viewing but felt it this time around.

Rating: 4/5

Grindhouse (2007)

Directors: Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez
Writers:    Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez
Cast:        Rose McGowen, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson
This was my first watch of these in the Grindhouse form having seen them in their separate extended versions earlier. Planet Terror is in the correct length in the Grindhouse version whereas Deathproof is much better in the extended version. The fake trailers by Robert Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie are great.

Rating: 3.5/5

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer:    Quentin Tarantino
Cast:      Christoph Waltz, Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl
Saw the tavern seen in HBO yesterday and had the urge to re watch it again. Think this was my 6th or 7th viewing. This is my third favorite Tarantino film after Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Humor is excellent and is kind of return to form from QT after Kill Bill and Deathproof. Those two were good films by all means but inferior compared to his other 4 (5 if you include True Romance).

Harvey Kietel's cameo as the negotiating OSS officer's voice is nice as well. Nothing needs to be said about Waltz's performance. Great to hear that he will be there in Django Unchained as well. Can't believe he opted out of 'A Dangerous Method' to do 'Water for Elephants.

Rating: 5/5

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer:    Quentin Tarantino
Cast:       Samuel L.Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth
Its my most favorite film of all time and was my 'n'th watch this time round where n is a large number. It keeps getting better on every watch.

Rating: 5/5