Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘The Hateful Eight’

Crime, drama and mystery are leading elements in the Wyoming set Quentin Tarantino written and directed movie The Hateful Eight (2015). Set in 1877 on the plains of the frontier west, the introduces us to the snowy plains with a mission to get to Red Rock, Wyoming that we will never manifest due to a series of vengeful, selfish humanity rife in the hallmark style of the film’s director and screenwriter.

(From left, Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren and Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

It’s on the plains, with three corpses stacked one atop another, that a stagecoach driven by O.B. Jackson encounters bounty hunter and Union veteran from the American Civil War, Major Marquis Warren, stranded. Horseless and stranded with the corpses, Warren seeks a ride on the coach. With bounty hunter John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth to ‘Crazy’ Daisy Domergue already on board and facing the same incoming blizzard, we are introduced to the tension of whether Warren will get a ride. Jackson, Warren, Ruth and Domergue were portrayed by James Parks, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh, respectively.

(From left, Kurt Russell as John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth, Jennifer Jason Leigh as ‘Crazy’ Daisy Domergue and Bruce Dern as General Sanford ‘Sandy’ Smithers in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

Warren and his cargo get a ride, as he bonded with Ruth over a personal letter Warren carries as purportedly written by former United States president Abraham Lincoln. A bit up the road, Chris Mannix, claiming to be Red Rock‘s new sheriff, joins them. The tension baked into Mannix joining this party rests with Mannix’s father, Erskine, having led Mannix’s Marauders, a Lost Cause of the Confederacy militia that fought on the opposite side of the American Civil War to Warren. Clear animosity between Warren and Mannix over clear disagreements based in racial indignance, not to mention a bounty among sympathizers of the confederacy on Warren’s head. Walton Goggins portrayed Chris Mannix.

(From left, Michael Madsen as Joe Gage, Demián Bichir as Señor Bob, Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray and Channing Tatum as Jody Domergue in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

Seeking shelter from the blizzard at Minnie’s Haberdashery, the stagecoach party finds Minnie Mink, ‘Sweet’ Dave Mink, Six-Horse Judy and Gemma nowhere to be found. Señor Bob, a Mexican by heritage, is tending the haberdashery in their place. The lodge, meanwhile, is found to be sheltering cowboy Joe Gage, hangman Oswaldo Mobray, and Confederate general Sanford ‘Sandy’ Smithers. Dana Gourrier, Gene Jones, Zoë Bell, Belinda Owino, Demián Bichir, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth and Bruce Dern portrayed Minnie, Dave, Judy, Gemma, Bob, Joe, Oswaldo and Sanford, respectively.

(From left, Dana Gourrier as Minnie Mink, Zoë Bell as Six-Horse Judy and Belinda Owino as Gemma in the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

Several tensions unfold at the haberdashery, with extends well beyond the introduction to the folks at the accommodations. The fact that the door needs to be nailed shut is a sure sign that unusual happenings are afoot, with the introduction of Jody Domergue, as portrayed by Channing Tatum, not coming until after the scene including references to past events having occurred in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The sequencing of revelation worked well in maintaining much of the larger mystery of the movie.

(Screenwriter and director Quentin Tarantino on set of the Quentin Tarantino movie The Hateful Eight).

The poking at larger cultural tensions through individuals, including a social commentary in the process of telling a contemporary portrait of stylized violence, provide many of the over-the-top elements fans of Quentin Tarantino seek in his movies. It is in the delivery of these points, with a moderated gratuity in language when compared to other Tarantino movies at their full throated, that standout to me. I grant The Hateful Eight as presented by Quentin Tarantino 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, May 13, 2023

Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Reservoir Dogs’

It is nearly 30-years since Reservoir Dogs (1992), the first feature-length movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, was released in movie theatres. The film depicts events before and after a planned diamond heist from a jewelry store goes terribly wrong. The movie looks into the robbery team, the suspicions among members that ensued, and ultimately a resolution for the team along the way. An impactful point of the story is the stress responses in the points in between.

(In the backseat, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink. From left in front, Harvey Keitel as Mr. White/Larry and Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

An early scene in the narrative for Reservoir Dogs includes introducing members of the team in the period before the heist. A notion for the protection of the members of the team seeking to perform the heist is for nobody to know the names of the other criminals involved. Thus, we meet Mr. Pink as portrayed by Steve Buscemi. We meet Mr. White, whom we later learn to be Larry, as portrayed by Harvey Keitel. We also meet Nice Guy Eddie, as portrayed by Chris Penn, whose role in the larger criminal enterprise allows him to not be named with a color. The film does include some off-color humor that gratuitously disparages African Americans.

(From left, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange/Freddy and Harvey Keitel as Mr. White/Larry in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

Tim Roth portrayed Mr. Orange, who we later learn to be named Freddy. We see these two up-close from the beginning of the movie. Reservoir Dogs is not presented chronologically, which is to say that the background information for characters within the story gets shown in flashbacks to earlier points in time that suggest motivations and depth for the individual characters. That the stories of Mr. Orange and Mr. White are strongly connected and emotionally relevant is clear from the earliest parts of the movie.

(From left, Quentin Tarantino as Mr. Brown, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde aka Vic and Edward Bunker as Mr. Blue in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

Parts of the heist, including the plans for the getaway after the heist, include Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blonde / Vic. Edward Bunker portrayed Mr. Blue. The film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, portrayed Mr. Brown. Michael Madsen portrayed Mr. Blonde, who we later learn to be Vic. Arguments ensue after the heist among Mr. Pink and Mr. White about getting medical care for Mr. Orange, who injuries are explained in the course the movie. Distrust runs rampant, yet transforms into something else altogether when Mr. Blonde arrives with kidnapped policeman Marvin Nash.

(From left, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange/Freddy and Kirk Baltz as Marvin Nash in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

Marvin Nash is portrayed by Kirk Baltz. An interesting and brutal scene set to the song Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheels sees Mr. Blonde confronting a sadistic point-of-view in confronting a bound and immobile Marvin Nash. The commentary of place for Mr. Blonde mixed in among the other criminals participating in the heist gives the scene legs.

(From left, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink, Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie and Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde/Vic in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

It’s a conversation among Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde, Mr. White, Mr. Orange and Nice Guy Eddie that precedes that planned confrontation of Mr. Blonde and Marvin Nash. It’s Nice Guy Eddie that ultimately brings his father and ringleader, Joe Cabot, into the dance for addressing the crews getaway after the heist. Joe Cabot, as portrayed by Lawrence Tierney, sees the heist at its clearest level as the mastermind of the theft coupled with the criminal with the fullest awareness of the moving parts of the robbery.

(From left and standing are Tim Roth as Mr. Orange/Freddy, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink and Edward Bunker as Mr. Blue. From left and sitting are Harvey Keitel as Mr. White/Larry, Quentin Tarantino as Mr. Brown, Lawrence Tierney as Joe Cabot, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde/Vic and Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs).

The larger story of the outcome of the heist, the disposition of the thieves are supporting characters, and the degree of loyalty and trust that were merited in the situation at hand are revealed. Was one of the robbers a police informant or cop? Were loyalties properly laid? Were the outcomes meted out just or satisfying? The positive reception for the film is best rooted in these questions. I grant Reservoir Dogs as directed by Quentin Tarantino 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, November 3, 2021