Movie Review: The Hateful Eight (2015)

The eight film from Quentin Tarantino brings yet another all-star cast filled with incredible performances.  Along with great dialogue, the violence was definitely not lacking.  I was originally going to see this movie as part of the 70mm Road Show.  There were about 100 movie theaters across the United States that were showing The Hateful Eight on actual film as opposed to the digital projectors.  I was excited to enjoy the viewing experience but the cost was double what I ended up paying a week later to watch it digitally.  The film is still beautiful, and I had a great time.

The Hateful Eight takes place in the state of Wyoming where a blizzard is sweeping through. Throughout the movie, you find yourself trying to figure out who the bad guy, or perhaps bad guys, are.  This proves difficult as all of the characters are more sinners than they are saints.

Kurt Russell is the bounty hunter John Ruth and he aims to collect when he delivers Daisy Domergue who is played amazingly by Jennifer Jason Leigh.  With their stagecoach driver O.B.(James Parks) hey cross paths with Samuel Jackson who played the part of Major Marquis Warren and later run into Walton Goggins' character, Chris Mannix.  These four characters have reputations that proceed them, so everyone has an idea of who they're dealing with and it's explained why everyone is on edge.

The majority of the film takes place in a cabin where nothing seems to go as planned.  This is where we meet the characters played by Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Demian Bichir and Bruce Dern.  The rest of the film is spent figuring out who is who and if anyone is truly on the up and up.

Also starring Channing Tatum, Zoe Bell, Dana Gourrier, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Craig Stark, Lee Horsley and Belinda Owino.

The Hateful Eight is in theaters now and I highly recommend seeing it if you enjoy a film with gratuitous violence, remarkable banter between characters and the all around movie-going experience.  Tarantino has an eye and ear for what makes movies such an enjoyable pastime.

What are your thoughts on The Hateful Eight?  What other reviews or content would you like to see from Maskerpiece Theatre?  Please leave your comments below.

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Movie Review: The Dead Lands (2015)

We have a film that starts with a chase and a kill using primitive Maori weapons.  What a cool way to get a movie going!  "The Dead Lands" takes place around the 16^th century in New Zealand, prior to any European exploration.  Two tribes have a long running truce until someone defecates on an ancestor’s skull(literally).  Without their chief present, Wirepa(Te Kohe Tuhaka) is representing  his tribe and he is ready for war.  Wirepa frames the film’s hero Hongi(James Rolleston), who is the son of the rival tribe’s chief(George Henare).  The chief does everything he can to get out of going to war but Wirepa is insistent.

Wirepa and his tribe attack Hongi’s people at night killing off all men except Hongi who, during the attack, ends up at the bottom of a cliff.  The next day, Hongi sees the aftermath and decides he needs revenge.  Hongi has a vision in his sleep of his grandmother(Rena Owen) and she offers advice within the dream.  He tells her he will go where no one dares go, to the Dead Lands where it is said there is a man, possibly a monster, does not welcome outsiders and eats people.   It is then that Hongi decides he will recruit the warrior from the Dead Lands to assist him in his quest to find Wirepa.

Wirepa and his men also happen to be in the Dead Lands, as our main villain is feeling pretty high and mighty and wants to shave off about 5 days from his trip back home. 

Hongi finds the warrior(Lawrence Makoare) and asks for his help in killing Wirepa and his men.  We begin to see the growing relationship of these two.  The flesh eating warrior is reluctant as it’s just been him and his wives for so long.  Throughout the film, you see why the warrior has secluded himself and where the similarities between the two of them form and why he ultimately decides to help young Hongi.

Without giving too much more away, we continue to see Hongi and the warrior track Wirepa’s group and also meet another tribe whose main spokesperson is played brilliantly by Raukera Turei.  This run in, although seemingly peaceful, delves into the mind of the warrior and challenges Hongi’s perception of him.

The fight scenes are incredibly violent and the scenery is beautiful yet also shows some of the treachery of the land.  "The Dead Lands" takes you back to a primitive time, and is exclusively spoken in the Maori language.

The blu-ray extras include a behind the scenes look at the filming, the actors, and also an insight inyo their training.  Maori tribal experts were brought in to make "The Dead Lands" as authentic as possible.  James Cameron is also on one of the blu-ray bonus features singing the praises of "The Dead Lands."

All in all, "The Dead Lands" is an entertaining film.  Lots of action, characters to enjoy and watch grow plus a bad guy you can really hate.  On my scale of 1 to 5 Pile Drivers, "The Dead Lands" gets 3.5.

This blog came from one of my early posts on Cinema Head Cheese.  You can read more of my movie reviews there.

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