The Hateful Eight

Title: The Hateful Eight

Director:  Quentin Tarantino
Released: 2015

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Channing Tatum, Dana Gourrier, Zoe Bell, Lee Horsley, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Criag Stark, Belinda Owino, Quentin Tarantino

Plot: Bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive captive Daisy Domergue (Leigh) are forced to wait out a blizzard along with a collection of assorted strangers including bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Jackson) and the local town’s new sheriff Chris Mannix (Goggins). However its not long before tensions between the group start to rise as it becomes clear that some is plotting on helping Daisy to escape the hangman’s noose.

Review:  Watching a Tarantino film in the cinema for the first time I always find comes with the same thrill, as those familiar yellow block front titles appear on the screen while at the same time introducing the film as the “8^th film by Quentin Tarantino” once more reminding the audience just how important Tarantino views his filmography, more so as he continues to threaten us with a pending retirement once he completes his 10^th film. That being said this film certainly owes a great debt to Samuel L. Jackson who convinced Tarantino to make the film after the script was leaked online with Tarantino choosing at the time to respond by refusing to make the film. It would of course be a decision changed by a script read and the aforementioned involvement by Jackson and having now seen the finished film I’m so glad that he did.

Clearly not ready to move on from the western genre after giving the world his own addition to the long running Django series with “Django Unchained” a film which was a much a continuation of sorts for that series as it was a homage to its director Sergio Corbucci who here aswell appears to be a key influence for Tarantino who at the same time seems equally keen to take his film making back to the simplicity of “Reservoir Dogs” by keeping all the action for the most part inside the walls of “Minnie’s Haberdashery”. While the western genre is far from a favourite for myself and probably placed somewhere just above “French New Wave” yet somehow Tarantino has crafted here a western that even those of us who aren’t fans of the genre can still enjoy, especially as here it is essentially just more of a setting for him to tell his own reworking of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” in much the same way as John Carpenter did with “The Thing” which itself makes for the other main influence at play here.

What is clear though here though especially with Tarantino’s much use of film over digital especially from the Roadshow presentations of the film which included an intermission and prelude both cut out of the general release with Tarantino believing that they wouldn’t work with your average movie going audience. A risk it seems he wasn’t willing to take again after the disappointing reception that greeted “Grindhouse” and which lead to the film ultimately being split into its separate films when it was released outside of the states. True this is all essentially window dressing, but it’s clear at the same time that Tarantino is trying to once more make movie going an experience again, something that he clearly feels is being lost with the use of digital over the more traditional use of film. The downside of course being that while the intermission has been removed, Tarantino’s narration remains reminding us of what we watched 15 mins ago, despite the fact the audience on these non-roadshow screenings haven’t actually gone anywhere.

As with “Django Unchained” Tarantino’s vision of the Wild West is once more a rough and dirty place and one in which the smallest dash of light and happiness can suddenly be dashed out in an instance, while strangers all carry their own agenda and should only be trusted with caution, a trust which is truly stretched between the group as they begin to suspect that someone amongst them might not be who they seem.  At the same time Tarantino is in no rush to tell his story as he spends the first half of the film cranking up the tension and establishing the setting, which did towards the end of this section really feel like the film was dragging itself through a quagmire before ensuring that he ends this first half on a suitably shocking note.  Its once we get into the second half though that the film really gets going and the violence is cranked up to suitably bloody levels.

I guess it should however come as little surprise that the film is exceptionally bloody and violent in places, as heads are blown off, bullets tear through bodies and the disgusting effects of a pot of poisoned coffee are suddenly revealed, yet at the same time while easy to consider gratuitous is still used at key moments to provide the right amount of shocks. The same can also be said for the large amount of violence inflicted on the character of Daisy which unquestionably shocking when we first see it can see be seen as justifiable considering how she is after all a criminal and in fitting with the period likely to have hardly been treated with the most gentlemanly behaviour as we frequently see here. Tarantino though being the maestro of violence he is though never seems to push things too far as might be seen with a lesser director at the helm. That being said the ending did feel perhaps more sadistic than I personally liked it to be and kind of left me wishing that he gone for the more bloody proposed ending than the one we got but it’s a fun ride until this point and seems like a justifiable end for the events which have transpired.

Unquestionably by going back to his “Reservoir Dogs” roots and keeping the action in one location here it frees him up to craft a truly memorable group of characters who are all distinctly different from each other, while at the same time the dialogue is arguably its most memorable since “Jackie Brown” which is only further advantage here when so much of the action is based around the characters trying to figure each other’s motives out before communication breaks down and the bullets start to fly. At the same with the cast he has assembled here being as good as they are really makes for an engrossing experience once the film finds its rhythm which coming as late as it does may mean that the film comes off perhaps a little plodding for some, even if it more than makes up for things in its second half.

Ultimately this is an improvement over “Django Unchained” and an enjoyable addition to his filmography even for non-western fans like myself, at the same time though I really hope that he decides to move onto another genre for his next film, especially when he continues to taunt us with such tantalising project such as “Wild Crows” and “Kill Bill Vol.3” though I’d be personally be happy to see him doing anything other than another western, but then I guess it all rests on him being able to get hold of enough film stock, so let’s hope that someone is keeping Tarantino a private stash.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Title: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Released: 2011
Starring: Morgan Spurlock, Ralph Nader, Noam Chomsky, Donald Trump, J.J Abrams, Brett Ratner, Big Boi, OK Go

Plot: A Morgan Spurlock documentary looking at product placement, branding and advertising and the effect it has on our daily lives, while at the same time attempting to fund the film from these sources of income alone.



Review: Overlooked by most folks on its release who were no doubt handing over their hard earned cash to go and see “Rock em’ Sock em’ Robots: The Movie” (also known in some parts as “Real Steel”) it has as a result ended up lurking under the radar for most movie goers, which is something of a surprise considering the status of director Spurlock who is no doubt still best remembered for taking on McDonalds with his award winning documentary “Super Size Me” and showing us all just why it’s not advisable to eat nothing but McDonalds for thirty days. A film its also worth noting for killing off “Super Sized” meals as well as causing a knee jerk reaction from Congress, which lead to the passing “The Hamburger Bill” which meant that people couldn’t sue McDonalds and fast food franchises for making them fat. Sadly his output since then has been more hit and miss with his around the world goose chase “Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden”  dividing opinion, especially seeing how the point Spurlock seemed to be wanting to make was “Hey they are just like us”, while his attempt to transfer his “Super Size Me” format into TV with “30 Days” were members of the public were challenged to live another persons life for 30 days, would end up being axed after three seasons, no thanks to largely hit and miss episodes due to their subject content.

Still realizing there are evils in the world still worth fighting, Spurlock once again launches himself into the fray, as this time he sets his sites on product placement, branding and advertising, looking at how it has seemingly worked its way into every aspect of our daily lives. To help examine the points in question he sets out to fund the movie completely through the use of product placement.
Unsurprisingly the big brands who are usually so keen to use movies and TV shows to help shift more of their product with shamless product placement, are not willing to have any form of involvement with the film, with Spurlock’s plan looking like it might not be going anywhere as he receives rejection after rejection, before finally getting his first big sponsor from “Pom Wonderful” who put up the majority of the films budget after putting in one million dollars for the Above-the-title willing which officially makes the film title the lengthy

“Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”

With “Pom Wonderful” on-board as the films main sponsor, they are soon joined by several other big brands such as “Mini” and “Old Navy”, as well as numerous smaller brands who unlike their big brand counterparts are able to see the point of the movie. Each sponsor however brings their own list of terms and conditions for them sponsoring the film, from the usual product placement, to the more impactfull such as the fact that Spurlock can only drive a Mini Journeyman and only fill it up at American petrol chain “Stripes” while more bizarrely one sponsor insists that at least one interview is conducted at their new airport terminal.

Approaching the subject matter with his usual brand of humor, which makes him so reminiscentof Michael Moore’s earlier work such as “TV Nation” before he became more focused on harassing the Bush Administration, while keeping a more serious focus on the subjects of his documentaries, so it’s nice to see Spurlock still having fun, as he attempts to pitch the film to prospective sponsors through the use of storyboards and unbridled enthusiasm, which would not make him seem out of place on “Mad Men” and no doubt played a large part in the film actually making it out of these early stages. Still once he has his sponsors he is soon creating adverts for some these brands including “Mane N’ Tail” for whom Spurlock takes an early shine to, with this advert in particular seeing Spurlock with his son taking a bath with a pony for which the product is intended.

Having found his sponsors who are clearly unaware that they are actually part of the film, Spurlock is soon out on the road examining how advertising has seemingly ingrained itself in every aspect of our daily lives, visiting a South American town which has banned any form of advertising while on the opposite side of things, Spurlock visits a school in Florida which counter-balances crippling cuts in their budget with shameless use of advertising throughout the school. He also sets out to get a deeper understanding of how advertising by undergoing a “Clockwork Orange” style bombardment of advertising while in a CAT scan to examine the effects of advertising on the brain.

To further investigate all side of the argument Spurlock takes in variety of interviews with the likes of consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Noam Chomsky and even Donald Trump weighing in with his own thoughts, which was another big surprise especially with so many of the big brands wanting to distance themselves far as possible from the film, it was interesting to see such an industry titan openly putting across his view points without cutting the interview short and walking off as those kinds of interviews usually end. One of the most interesting parts of the film however was the interviews which Spurlock conducts with an assortment of movie directors including J.J Abrams (Creator of “Lost” aswell as the mighty “Alias”) and Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) who both agree that they can’t see the trend for gratuitous product placement in the movies, with both sharing stories of how “the suits” had interfered in their films because products weren’t being shown how they wanted, while on the other side of things Quentin Tarantino makes another his surprise appearances to share his own thoughts on the subject as well as highlighting the fact that both the opening of “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” were to take place in a “Dennys” and only became unnamed diners after they “Dennys” refused to provide sponsorship, which really makes me wondering how much they are kicking themselves over that decision. I was however surprised to see Spurlock not pick up on Tarantino’s own satire of product placement, which has continued throughout his films with the continual reappearances of his fake brands such as “Red Apple Cigarettes”. Meanwhile musicians like OutKast’s Big Boi and “OK Go” are on hand to give their side of the advertising story and the allure of the big bucks for the right to use their songs, meanwhile “Moby” remains surprisingly absent especially having sold the rights to the majority of his songs off his album “Play” to be used in advertising, so that he could get his music out there, which only makes his absence from the documentary all the more confusing.

While ultimately Spurlock is not destined to make the same kind of impact he made with his debut, especially with the recent introduction of the Product Placement P, which not only warns viewers that product placement is present through the program, but also allowing brands to advertise even more shamelessly than before, so it’s doubtfully that we going to see the brands toning things down anytime soon, but what he has done instead is given us all a slighter better insight of the extent of advertising in modern media.