A Pinoy @ The Movies: Quentin Tarantino's Hateful Eight

The poster of Hateful Eight shows a man wearing a black coat with a revolver on each hand treading on heavy snow. Well, since it also snowed in Seoul the other day, I decided to watch this movie.

And as the poster suggested (and as in any Quentin Tarantino film), there were very graphic scenes with heads blown off, and with liters of blood spilt and wasted that I think the nurses of the Red Cross blood donation center would cringe at. (I am a regular blood donor for the Korean Red Cross and the nurses there appreciate each drop of the blood donated, not wasted!)

Hateful Eight is a western movie about two groups of passengers who traveled on separate stage coaches through the snowy Wyoming. The movie opens with the music by the legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone, whose heavy melody made me feel like I was walking through the huge, dark halls of a haunted mansion with some unexpected specter waiting for me down the hall. But it wasn't a specter that waited at the end of the movie though; it was some different kind of ending where no one rides to a 'happily ever after' like Django Unchained.

In a typical Tarantino manner, he introduced each character one by one. Although I actually dozed off on a couple of occasions during the movie's slow start, it got more interesting as the chapters unfolded; the movie was told in 'chapters' just like Kill Bill was.

Even if you take away all its violence and gore, Hateful Eight is a superbly made film. But only Ennio Morricone and Jennifer Jason Leigh are nominated for an Academy Award; Morricone for his music, and Leigh for best supporting actress.

So, if you have an aversion to blood and body parts, this film's not for you. But if you're the violent type with a penchant for killing, you would probably be clapping from your seat each time you hear a punch or a gun going off. Ha-ha-ha! You will just hate to love Hateful Eight!