The Hateful Eight (January 2016)

Official Australian release date: 21/1/16. Viewed: 21/1/16.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Genre: Drama / Mystery

Rating: R    

Much like ‘Spotlight’ and ‘The Big Short’ will be linked, ‘The Hateful Eight’ and ‘The Revenant’ will be linked in my mind, due to the fact that they’re both set in 19th century wintry American Northwest (this time Wyoming), both nominated for Oscars (although 3 vs 12, with the only overlap being cinematography – probably have to go to ‘The Revenant’ instead) and both released in January. And while they’re similar – and both pretty good – neither is definitely better than the other, and neither is quite as great as it could have been.

This is, obviously, Tarantino’s 8th film, but it annoyed me that for the majority of the film, there’s nine people trapped in the cabin, even though the posters and title refer to the eight of them! O.B. (Parks – 4th Tarantino film), the stagecoach driver, doesn’t rate a mention? He has some of the funniest moments in the film! Only Tarantino can have a film starring ‘eight’ characters and end up with 14 bodies, with some characters still alive at the end! The eight main characters are:

     - Marquis Warren (Jackson – 6th Tarantino film), former Yankee Major, now bounty hunter;

     - John Ruth (Russell – 2nd Tarantino film), a bounty hunter with a great moustache;

     - Daisy Domergue (Jason Leigh – 1st Tarantino film), Ruth’s bounty he’s taking to hang;

     - Chris Mannix (Goggins – 2nd Tarantino film), the new Sheriff of Red Rock;

     - Oswaldo Mobray (Roth – 3rd Tarantino film), a British hangman;

     - Senor Bob (Bichir – 1st Tarantino film), the Mexican innkeeper;

     - Joe Gage (Madsen – 3rd Tarantino film), a raspy-voiced loner cowboy; and

     - Sandy Smithers (Dern – 2nd Tarantino film), former Confederate General.

Feels a little like Tarantino started with a joke: “a black war hero, a Mexican, an Englishman, a Kiwi and a racist walk into a bar...” and went from there! Once all eight are trapped in Minnie’s Haberdashery due to the blizzard, the mystery of who’s who – and where Minnie is – is slowly uncovered, with trust in short supply. Starts very slow – particularly the titles, with Tarantino using his classic colouring and sound to show everyone involved in the film before it can properly start. It’s long (2 hours 45min), but not ridiculously so – however, you could probably take out 30min from the start/middle and have a better-paced film. Morricone’s score is good, and the cinematography looks great when they’re out in the mountains and snow, but over 75% of the film is shot inside the cabin, where it’s dark!

Takes a while to really get going, but once it does, there’s plenty of blood (hence the R-rating), as the truth is uncovered. Jackson is great and the main star, while Russell does a fantastic John Wayne impersonation – his voice cadence and over-bearing attitude are spot on –  and Jason Leigh is fun to watch as the vile and racist criminal. The real stand-out, though, is Goggins as the seemingly inept Sheriff – he plays his part with clear relish and gets a few laughs and gets to show some heart underneath his racist exterior. While ‘The Hateful Eight’ is very enjoyable in parts, I didn’t enjoy it anywhere as much as ‘Django Unchained’ or ‘Inglorious Basterds’.

Overall: A little long and overwrought, but still a good Western/’whodunit’.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.   

Spotlight (January 2016)

Official Australian release date: 28/1/16. Viewed: 19/1/16.

Director: Tom McCarthy

Actors: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber

Genre: Drama

Rating: M     

‘Spotlight’ and ‘The Big Short’ will forever be linked, which speaks to their quality – both based on true stories that effected lots of people, both great dramas, both Oscar-nominated films out within weeks of each other. ‘Spotlight’ has some laughs, but not as many as ‘The Big Short’, mostly due to the dark nature of the material – the uncovering of Catholic priests molesting and raping young children, for over four decades.

The Boston Globe investigative journalism team (“Spotlight”) – from when newspapers were still relevant, in 2001 – consisting of Mike (Ruffalo), Sacha (McAdams), Matt (d’Arcy James) and their editor, Robby (Keaton) are tasked with finding out if an accused priest is in fact guilty of child molestation. This comes about when their bosses, Marty (Schreiber, still looking like Sabretooth) – new at the newspaper – & Ben (Slattery) try to shake things up when they smell a cover up. It turns out there’s far more than one priest and one victim – some of the true stories told by the victims as the reporters uncover the facts are truly horrendous and gut-wrenching. Definitely not easy to hear, as you know it has happened in real life, and probably hundreds of thousands of times over the last century.

How Ruffalo is only up for Best Supporting Actor, and not Best Actor, is past me! McAdams, on the other hand, is not that utilised – both due to the ensemble cast, I guess. Keaton and Schreiber are good, as is Tucci as the crusading small-time lawyer, but Ruffalo really steals the show, with his heart on the line and it shows in his performance. It’s really a great film about newspaper reporting, but is told so well and deals with such an important topic that it is actually enjoyable to watch everyone excel – including director McCarthy, who already has form with ‘Win Win’. Certainly not “fun”, but a great film.

Overall: Extremely well done – probably wins Best Picture Oscar.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.   

The Big Short (January 2016)

Official Australian release date: 14/1/16. Viewed: 16/1/16.

Director: Adam McKay

Actors: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt

Genre: Drama

Rating: M     

Based on the true story of how the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) came about from 2005–2008, ‘The Big Short’ tells the story really well by mixing humour, facts (delivered in an unconventional way by celebrities) and following four tenuously-linked groups who have skin in the game. Vennett (Gosling) introduces us at the start of 2005, via a unique fourth-wall-breaking monologue, placing the players on the field – I’m using this terminology, as most of the film (and Wall Street in general) can be likened to gambling. It may sound boring on the surface – a film about banking and finance – but it does a great job of explaining the terminology in simple terms, whilst not being condescending about it.

The groups involved are Burry (Bale), a fund manager and prodigy of sorts, who first sees the housing bubble and notices that the big banks have been over-valuing mortgages (sub-prime). Baum (Carell) and his small company are offered the opportunity to “short” the banks’ mortgages by Vennett. Geller (Magaro) & Shipley (Wittrock), two young entrepreneurs, who seek help from their mentor, retired Wall St mogul Rickert (Pitt) also pick up on what’ happening and get in on the action. It’s great to see the banks gleefully taking their money, being so cocky and greedy, only to have it all blow up in their faces two years later.

I think Carell, not Bale, should have been Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor! Baum serves as the film’s moral centre and calls everyone on their fraudulent behaviour. The film almost acts as a documentary when it delves down to the individual family level and makes you truly realise how little these large corporations care for other humans. The most bittersweet part is the ending – “and then the crooks went to jail, Congress brought in reform and the fraudulent system was overhauled – just joking! They didn’t go to jail, Congress was lobbied so no reform was passed and the big banks were bailed out by the taxpayers” – funny, sad, and true. Really makes you think, but is also a well-made film with excellent acting.

Overall: Great film – energetic and interesting.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.   

The Revenant (January 2016)

Official Australian release date: 7/1/16. Viewed: 10/1/16.

Director: Alejandro Iñárritu

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter

Genre: Thriller / Drama

Rating: MA      

‘The Revenant’ (noun: “a person who has returned, supposedly from the dead”) is a film about a man left for dead, Glass (DiCaprio), and his lust for revenge keeping him alive in the wilderness. Set in the 1820s, in what was then the Wild West of Montana (but filmed mostly in Alberta, Canada), Captain Henry (Gleeson) and his men, including Glass, his son Hawk (Goodluck), Fitzgerald (Hardy) and Bridger (Poulter) are collecting pelts (I assume deer?) when attacked by Native Americans, setting them on a desperate journey back to ‘civilisation’.

Obviously, plenty goes wrong, including Glass being attacked by a Grizzly Bear, which even though it’s CGI, is an amazing/horrifying thing to watch! He survives, but is left for dead and thus begins his improbable survival tale for vengeance. There was a few things I didn’t like that much, including the score (too piercing at times), the length (over two & a half hours, and it meanders for about 40min in the middle) and some of the repetitiveness (always seem to be sitting around a fire!) and unnecessary flash-backs/visions.

However, the cinematography is absolutely superb – hopefully more films are made in Canada after this! – and Leo is solid, with his shaggy hair and crazed stare on display. Hardy is great and completely unrecognisable as Mad Max, while Poulter provides the film’s conscience. For mine, it’s a better film than ‘Birdman’, but although it strives for it, it’s still not an exceptional film. The ending leaves you, like Glass, exhausted and questioning everything.

Overall: Very good film, but not quite great.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.   

The Peanuts Movie (January 2016)

Official Australian release date: 1/1/16. Viewed: 5/1/16.

Director: Steve Martino

Actors: Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller, Alex Garfin

Genre: Comedy

Rating: G       

‘The Peanuts Movie’ (or ‘Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie’, as it’s billed in some places) seems long overdue, seeing as Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip has been around since 1950. Since he passed away in 2000, Schulz’s children have done well continuing on his legacy, as this film honours him and Peanuts well – the animation is quaint at times, but detailed and colourful when needed.

The whole Peanuts gang is here – the klutz Charlie Brown (Schnapp), the nagging Lucy (Miller), Charlie’s best friend Linus (Garfin), the odd-pair Patty & Marcie, Charlie’s sister Sally, the followed-by-a-cloud-of-dust Pig-Pen and, of course, Snoopy the beagle and Woodstock the bird. The film’s set in winter, so there’s plenty of snow and ice skating, and plenty of opportunities for Charlie Brown to embarrass himself. Plot = new girl moves in across the road, Charlie Brown spends the entire movie trying to impress/talk to her!

This director has form, with ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ and does well to keep things happening, especially when Snoopy’s daydreaming and dogfighting in the European WWI skies against the Red Baron! The other adult reference kids won’t get is Charlie Brown reading Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ – a 1,200+ page book for his book report – and asking for “Leo’s Toy Store” at the library! I didn’t like the weird sounds they used in place of adults/teachers, but otherwise it’s well made.

Overall: Enjoyable kids film.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.