The Hateful Eight - a quick review...

What's it about?
Quentin Tarantino's eighth film (second western) in which a disparate array of ne'er do wells find themselves trapped together in a lonesome cabin in the middle of a blizzard. Someone isn't who they say they are, and with thousands of dollars worth of bounty at stake, tensions soon run high.
Who would I recognise in it?
Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Zoe Bell, Channing Tatum.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Taking a few cues from John Carpenter's seminal 1982 film "The Thing", QT's western is at times, more like a horror movie. Utilising deftly-chosen cuts from Ennio Morricone's score for that film, numerous scenes are afforded an unrelenting sense of tension and menace. As QT said himself, it is as if the blizzard is the monster swirling around outside, trapping the characters together inside. Indeed, Morricone provides QT's first custom-fit score - a sumptuous aural feast - while the tone of Carpenter's film bubbles under the surface. Both films feature a strong cast of characters, whose egos and suspicions clash ferociously. Here, each character is afforded much to work with, everyone standing out in their own regard. That said, Jackson, Russell, Goggins, and Leigh shine out in particular - the latter of whom sinks her teeth into the role with such relish that you can't help but be reminded of John Travolta's savouring of Pulp Fiction. Hopefully we'll see a grand revival for Jennifer Jason Leigh worthy of her impressive showing here...

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Fast and Furious 7: Mini Review...

What's it about?
The heavy-footed family are called back into action when Deckard Shaw - brother of #6's villain Owen Shaw - gets hungry for a spot of revenge (thus tying us in with Tokyo Drift at long last). Throw in an impressive macguffin called "God's Eye", cue a series of set pieces that boast an escalating amount of vehicular insanity, and Vin Diesel grumbling the word "family" at every given opportunity.
Who would I recognise in it?
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Staham, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Ludacris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Lucas Black, Elsa Pataky.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Fast 7 will forever be overshadowed by the sudden death of Paul Walker - mid-shoot - in a car crash, and it's hard to view the film without that thought - and of CGI-infused body double fixes - lurking in the back of your mind. Even more-so considering the film's continued (and franchise-spanning) emphasis on the importance of family, one of the elements that has helped turn this franchise into a box office juggernaut...

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Double Bill Mini Musings: Star Maps and Stolen Art...

Maps To The Stars:
What's it about?
A teeth-gnashing satire of Hollywood and its rich, successful, and damaged inhabitants from David Cronenberg with a script from Bruce Wagner. The lives of various Tinsel Town oddities - from an ageing actress desperately trying to secure the lead role in a remake of her famous (and dead) mother's iconic film, to a limo-driving screenwriter wannabe - intersect in what becomes a spiralling tale of madness.
Who would I recognise in it?
Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
A return to form from David Cronenberg after the frustratingly obtuse Cosmopolis that took itself far too seriously while lacking any warmth or access for a generally bewildered audience. It takes about ten to twenty minutes to settle into the rhythm, but Wagner's script gleefully piles increasingly bizarre and jaw dropping events on top of one another. Just when you thought it couldn't get weirder and more messed up - it does. Top performances all round, but particular kudos to Julianne Moore who goes all-out towards crafting a multi-dimensional and hopelessly damaged person who attracts the audience's sympathy and vitriol in equal measure. There's one decidedly dodgy moment of CGI that sticks out like a big old sore thumb, but apart from that it's a superb venture into Hollyweird ... although certainly not to everyone's tastes. Great.

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