THE HATEFUL EIGHT

THE HATEFUL EIGHT is the 8th film from writer and director Quentin Tarantino. It is his second western and his most Tarantino-esque movie since DEATH PROOF. His two previous films INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and DJANGO UNCHAINED have QT written all over them, but those are part of his revisionist trilogy. THE HATEFUL EIGHT doesn't feel like it belongs in that group. Or maybe it does?*

Ever since it was announced that Quentin's next film was going to be another western, I couldn't have been more excited. DJANGO UNCHAINED was such a beautiful film, that I wanted more. And it's rare that Tarantino repeats himself. Two westerns in a row? But like I suspected, THE HATEFUL EIGHT is nothing like his previous film. It is indeed a western, but the look and feel is something else entirely.

Bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth is on his way into Red Rock to see his bounty hang. One Daisy Domergue, wanted dead or alive for $10,000. And when John the Hangman catches you, you hang. The road to Red Rock is a treacherous one. You see, Ruth and his prize are aboard a six-horse carriage racing to beat a massive snow storm. They aren't going to make it, so stopping at Minnie's Haberdashery is the destination for now.

Along the way to Minnie's the stagecoach picks up two more passengers, bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren and Chris Mannix, the new sheriff (allegedly) of Red Rock.

When they arrive to Minnie's they are greeted by unfamiliar faces; Bob, who is taking care of the place while Minnie is away. There is Oswalso Mobray, a hangman, along with Joe Gage, just your regular cow puncher. And finally we have confederate general Sanford Smithers.

From the get go John Ruth doesn't trust any of these strangers, and lets it be known in a manner of speaking. The Major himself has his suspicions. Tensions become high as the eight begin to wonder who is going to make it till morning, if any of them at all!

DJANGO UNCHAINED was a fairy-tale like Spaghetti Western. Django, the films protagonist goes through proverbial hell-fire to save his wife Broomhilda. Taking place under the backdrop of a Sergio Corbucci style Spaghetti Western. Which tend to be more politically charged and violent than the more popular Leone westerns.

While definitely having the classic trademarks of a Spaghetti Western, THE HATEFUL EIGHT is different. For starters it has this grandiose 1960's feel to it. Unfortunately I was unable to see the film in glorious 70mm. But even in the multiplex version you can sense that Tarantino was influenced by 60's cinema. And not only cinema, but 1960's television as well.

That's only half of what makes THE HATEFUL EIGHT unique. The rest is made up of two other genres. The first being the thriller genre. Quentin has his own TEN LITTLE INDIANS going on here. And the final ingredient, is a dash of horror. Yes, THE HATEFUL EIGHT could be considered Tarantino's take on JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING. The proof is on the screen. You've got Kurt Russell, snow, isolation, claustrophobia, and trust issues. The film even has unused score music from Carpenter's film! How cool is that!

Okay, I apparently suck at math because two halves make a whole but I'm not done talking about what else makes this movie amazing. The cast and just how well most if not all of them sing Tarantino's wonderful dialogue! Everyone is great but in my opinion it's Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, and Samuel L. Jackson who really shine here. Walton is on the fast track to becoming my favorite actor working today!

THE HATEFUL EIGHT is very much like a play, and reads like one as well. I've thumbed through the screenplay while drinking coffee at the bookstore and breeze through my favorite monologues over and over again. Once you find that rhythm of the dialogue, it truly becomes like music. And it's the “bad notes” in the dialogue that keeps things interesting and original.

I'll admit, just then I was trying to sound all smart and cool, but probably came off as sounding crazy or weird. I'd be better off just saying Tarantino writes his dialogue extremely rhythmically and leave it at that.

Three of my favorite films of last year; STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS, MAD MAX FURY ROAD, and THE HATEFUL EIGHT have all been at one time my number 1 film of 2015. Yesterday it was THE FORCE AWAKENS, but today it's HE HATEFUL EIGHT.

*THE HATEFUL EIGHT started out as Book One in a series of Django paperbacks that Tarantino was going to write. He thought that the story he was writing did not fit the Django character, so scraped the idea and altered into the screenplay/movie we know today. I really hope he writes those Django paperbacks one day, I cannot wait for something like that!

"Best" Of 2015

I didn't get to see all the movies I wanted to this year. And I missed some pretty high profile releases like BRIDGE OF SPIES, JOY, and STEVE JOBS. One that I really wanted to see this year but can't because it is in limited release is THE REVENANT. Oh well, you can't see them all I guess! Anyway here is my Top 10 of 2015. These are my favorite films of the year that I saw. If a movie isn't on the list it's because I didn't see it or I didn't like it.

Before we get started, here are some honorable mentions.

THE BIG SHORT

INSIDE OUT

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5: ROUGE NATION

Okay, here we go!

10. THE MARTIAN

I was worried at first about this one. A man alone on Mars, and sad-face Matt Damon. I can't wait! Thankfully that wasn't the case! THE MARTIAN turned out to be lighthearted with some serious moments. And, it was funny. It was nice to see director Ridley Scott back in top form. And this was one of my favorite Matt Damon performances in a long time.

9. CRIMSON PEAK

This year I started watching the films of Mario Bava. I love the directors use of color and penchant for Gothic horror. So in a weird way, I was ready for this film. Audiences did not take to this one due to false advertising. But I think over time it'll will get the respect it deserves thanks to home video.

There is an atmosphere to CRIMSON PEAK, and the best way to watch the film is let visuals wash over you. The plot is secondary. One of the most beautiful films of the year!

8. SICARIO

Probably the most intense film I saw this year. There were moments were I could not breathe, or move for that matter! I cannot wait to watch this again!

7. KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE

The best James Bond 007 movie this year wasn't SPECTRE, it was KINGSMAN.

6. EX MACHINA

Screenwriter of great films such as 28 DAYS LATER and DREDD, come Alex Garland's directorial debut EX MACHINA. And what a debut it is! Now, I am not an expert when in comes to hard science fiction. I like it, but I'm also more of a Star Wars kid. All in all, EX MACHINA is the best science fiction film I've seen in a long time.

5. IT FOLLOWS

I can't remember the last time I loved a horror movie this much. More importantly, a horror movie with layers. IT FOLLOWS is about so much more than a sex monster. And the soundtrack is killer!

4. CREED

I've always been a big Sylvester Stallone fan, and I love the Rocky franchise. So It came as no surprise that I was going to see the seventh installment, CREED. What I did not realize however, was how much I like the film. I love this movie! It's the second best in the series and Stallone delivers my favorite Rocky Balboa performance!

3. THE HATEFUL EIGHT

My favorite director has done it again! THE HATEFUL EIGHT is a superb film. The 167 min runtime flew by in the blink of an eye. I just got done seeing this tonight. I wanna give it the number 1 spot, but that would be kinda premature and bias. Expect a review real soon!

2. MAD MAX FURY ROAD

This film is Rock n' Roll, plain and simple!

1. STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS

Yep, you saw this coming a mile away. But I don't care. I've waited 32 years for a sequel to RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS delivered the goods! It's all in my review. Star Wars is back! Forever...

Well, there you have it! 2015 was such a great year for movies. Thanks for reading and expect more posts and reviews in 2016!

Happy New Year!

"Close But No Cigar" of 2015

These films are not movies that I hated this year. In fact I liked them but thought that they could be better. This year I may get an eye roll or two, especially for one film in particular. My picks for “Close But No Cigar” are not ranked in anyway. Here we go!

SPOTLIGHT

This is the one I may get the most flack for because it is a good film and you're going to see it on a lot of “Best Of” lists, but the movie just fell short for me. It lacked a certain cinematic edge to it. The buzz surrounding SPOTLIGHT had my expectations at a ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN level. And it reached at those heights a few times, but too often it felt like I was watching television.

TOMORROWLAND

What a great and fun movie! This film had me all the way up to the end which was weak. This may appear on some “Worst Of” lists which maybe is right? But I totally dug the imagination behind the film.

THE FINAL GIRLS

I might be blamed for being too picky on this one. When I fist saw THE FINAL GIRLS I loved it so much that I watched it twice! Yep, twice. Immediately destined to be my favorite film of 2015. But I slept on the idea. Then I slept on it some more, a lot more. Something was bugging me about the film. And that was, how can you have a movie set inside a 80's slasher film and not have it be a boob and blood fest?

The lack of gore puzzles me but I've come to the conclusion that the film was made for the SCREAM generation, not for the FRIDAY THE 13TH kids. But still, overall THE FINAL GIRLS is one heck of an entertaining movie! The killers mask; however, has got to go. Super lame.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

Probably one of the most overrated films of the year. Again, like JURASSIC WORLD , STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON suffers from nostalgia goggles. The film also suffers from typical Biography Drama troupes. And like me if you only know about N.W.A. through MTV and VH1, then you already know the story? Yes, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON feels like a Cliff Notes version of the groups story. But remember it's awesome, because “I remember that”!

With that being said; the actor who played Eazy-E, Jason Mitchell did an outstanding job and his performance is worth the price of admission alone!

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

This is technically a 2014 release but opened to wide release on New Year's Day. This film could have been the next GODFATHER, but it was missing one tiny element. It wasn't violent enough! Everything about the movie is good but the story drags a little bit. What an opportune time for some mafia action to jolt the audience. And by no means does it have to be exploitation, just a little something? Please!

AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON

More times than I'd like to admit, hype gets the best of me. If you read my review of AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON it doesn't make sense why the movie is on this list? I need to correct something. This sequel is not better than MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS. It's still a good movie but I hyped my review way too much. Upon my fourth viewing the cool "comic book movie" moments don't feel earned like they did in the first Avengers movie. And I'm afraid it's no where near GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY coolness. Which was my favorite film of last year.

"Worst" Of 2015

For the past couple of years I haven't put out a “Worst Of” list because quite frankly I felt like I didn't see enough bad versus good to justify a list. But this year I saw some really really disappointing movies. So here is a list of what I consider the worst of what I saw in 2015.

I am not going to rank these in numerical order but rather list them best to worst. So here we go!

SPECTRE

What happened here? Hot off the heals of SKYFALL I expected SPECTRE to fall short, but nothing prepared me for how disappointing the 4th Daniel Craig Bond film would be. Don't get me wrong, there are far worse 007 movies, but this was definitely a turd.

The action did not disappoint. But everything else felt wrong. The end of SKYFALL wrapped up everything since casino CASINO ROYALE nicely. But the plot of SPECTRE ruined that and made everything convoluted and dumb.

AMERICAN ULTRA

Boring, boring, boring, and more boring. I almost put AMERICAN ULTRA in the “Close But No Cigar” category but it's on this list because I just didn't care about what was happening. If the movie hits Netflix I might give it another chance but I doubt it. Too many annoying and unbelievable characters.

JUPITER ASCENDING

JUPITER ASCENDING is not a good movie. But I like watching it, the film has elements that I like about it. It's the performance by Mila Kunis that puts the movie on this list.

JURASSIC WORLD

Everything that's dangerous about liking a movie purely based on nostalgia is JURASSIC WORLD. I thought the film was just okay with a few horrendous aspects. Like the terrible CGI, constant self- referencing JURASSIC PARK, and parent shaming. What I mean about that last one is throughout the movie they continuously shame a main character for not having kids/wanting to be a parent. Like, your life is missing something if you don't want to be a mommy or daddy. What a load of crap!

PIXELS and THE RIDICULOUS 6 (tie)

By now Adam Sandler films have become an easy target for harsh criticism. For the past 10 years his Happy Madison movie have just gotten worse and worse. His latest two films, PIXELS and THE RIDICULOUS 6 are steps in the right direction. But there is just one problem, it's too late.

TERMINATOR: GENISYS

But talk about your remake/sequel that makes you wish you were watching the original TERMINATOR and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY!

FANTASTIC FOUR

Not the worst comic book movie ever made, but knowing what could have been of 2015's FANTASTIC FOUR, is all more the reason it's on the list.

UNFRIENDED

If UNFRIENDED is the worst film I saw in 2015, then I'm doing pretty good. But this movie annoyed the heck out of me!

There you have it! Now I know this list isn't no where near close to the worst films of 2015. Hence no MORTDECAI, which I'm sure is terrible. Probably worse than anything on my list. So next year I promise to do better!

STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS

When I first saw RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1983 I really didn't care that there was never going to be anymore Star Wars movies. I was 6 years old at the time and had many other distractions. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe being one of them. That Christmas I remember it being He-Man toys or Star Wars toys. I got the essential JEDI action figures, but that year Masters of the Universe ruled all.

I don't think it was until I got the original trilogy on VHS that I truly wondered about Episode VII? George Lucas said it would never happen. But as years went by, never happen changed to maybe in the future? And we all know what became of that don't we. Before the prequels, fans did actually get a sequel to RETURN OF THE JEDI, but it was in the form of a book and not a movie.

These new Star Wars books were cool, but something was missing? They weren't movies, and the experience just wasn't the same. And I completely wrote off Expanded Universe stuff once I heard about a dumb novel about Boba Fett surviving the Scarlac Pit.

Well, the wait is finally over! 32 years I've waited, and tonight Star Wars fans got something I thought we'd never see, a sequel to RETURN OF THE JEDI. And the wait was worth it! Gosh, I'm so happy that Disney listened to J.J and kept the marketing for STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS spoiler free. Which this review isn't going to be, so you've been warned.

Seriously, if you do not want to know what happens in STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS stop reading now.

When the second teaser trailer for the movie hit, I was on board 110%! But something bugged me, I kept wondering where is Luke Skywalker? Oh, okay. He'll be in the next and probably final trailer, that is understandable. I started to get nervous because there was slight rumor talk that Luke would appear at the end of STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS, as a cliffhanger? What! Man, I really hope not!

The last trailer hit the same night as advanced tickets went on sale and lo and behold, still no Luke Skywalker? Fine, whatever. I'm sure there is a good reason to why Luke Skywalker is not in any of the trailers.* Turns out there is a reason, a pretty big reason. And if you're still reading this and haven't seen the movie, your loss.

The major plot point in STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS is that Luke Skywalker is missing! This information is the literal first sentence in the films opening crawl. When I saw this I had to refrain from laughing, because I was thinking “no shit he's been missing”!

Now that that's out of the way, it's time to fall in love and delight in Star Wars again, like the filmmakers had promised. And they did. The Star Wars I grew up with and loved is back!

Like I said earlier, Luke Skywalker is missing. But come to find out it's more of a self exile. He tried to train a new group of Jedi but one of them became seduced by the dark side of the Force and murdered some of the others. Because of this Luke decided to leave because he was doing more harm than good.

There is a new threat. Out of the ashes of The Empire rises The First Order. They want Luke Skywalker dead and the Jedi destroyed forever. His sister, General Organa Solo learns of this and sends Poe Dameron, her best pilot on a mission to the planet Jakku to recover the map. The First Order know of this map as well, so the race is on! Think opening of Episode IV and you get the gist of it. Poe even hides the secret map data in a droid before going off to help villagers fight off Stormtroopers.

The First Order is hot on the trail as well. And instead of Darth Vader we have Kylo Ren, leader of The Knights of Ren. Like the First Order he is a Empire sympathizer and hell bent on the destruction of the New Republic. He is also a Darth Vader wannabe. Ren is well versed in the ways of the Dark Side, but he is no Vader, yet.

The droid BB-8 comes across the aid of Jakku scavenger Rey. And thus begins the delight that is STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS!

I think that is enough of the plot. I mean if you read my blog then chances are you've seen the movie. Or are going to the first chance you get. So from here on out without too many spoilers I wanna talk about the things I loved and a few nitpicks I have.

Let me say this one last time. I love that Star Wars is back! So what's the thing I love most about this new film? Right now it's the practical effects. Everything is back to looking lived-in again. No telling what kind of creature it was, maybe a Dewback? But whatever, there was this creature that had AT-ST armor as a helmet. How freaking cool is that! There is CGI of course, but unlike the prequels it isn't the whole damn movie.

My second favorite thing was the acting and characters. Yes, characters have returned to the franchise! You find yourself caring about each and every character in this film. Rey is my favorite! And she'll be yours as well once you see the end of the film. The last scene of STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS is my second favorite shot in the film. It would be my favorite but that belongs to Rey using a lightsaber for the first time! Holy cow, that music cue!

Next up is Poe Dameron, the new Han Solo of this trilogy. I could be wrong? But I don't think so! Cannot wait to see what's in store for this character.

I have others, but time to move on and talk about the return of Han Solo! A risky move but Harrison Ford pulled it off! I've missed this character since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, so I'm glad he's back.

The last and final thing I loved about STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS is the tone of the film. The entire movie is one huge love letter to the original trilogy. A remix of Episode IV with I'd say 20% of V tossed in there. All the while being something different. Paving the way for Episode VIII being something entirely new! How exciting!

I did not mind the call backs to STAR WARS one bit, with the exception of the Starkiller base. But it was still cool and I wouldn't change a thing!

Overall the reactions to STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS have been positive. There are a few movie news site bloggers saying the film is good but not great. I say half of them are lying, just so they don't come across as fanboys. Which that's all they are, just a bunch of glorified fanboys. Enjoy your TANGERINE and THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY fellas! Hey, all in good jest people. What ever floats your boat!

Final thoughts, I thought the film was great. I've seen the movie twice now and the entire film works for me. The only thing that I think is tiresome is the Starkiller base. It's a third Death Star! Time for something new guys.

I got more to say, a lot more to say! So maybe when the movie hits home video I will discuss more!

May the Force be with you, always.

* I realize that is Luke's hand in the trailer.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S THE KILLERS (1964)

Earnest Hemingway's THE KILLERS is a 1964 film based on the authors short story of the same name. It was directed by Don Siegel and stars a talented cast of actors including Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, and Ronald Reagan. This would be Reagan's final film before entering a carer in politics.

Originally intended to be a television movie, THE KILLERS was deemed too violent for network broadcast. So the studio went ahead and gave the film a theatrical release. I don't have a clue if the movie had any success at the box office. With it's start studded cast I bet it did alright for 1964. And probably had longevity in the drive-in and grindhouse circuit.

By today's standards the film would be considered not very violent. However, the opening is still pretty dark and brutal in terms of tone. Two hitmen burst into a school for the blind and kill their mark. They get rough with the receptionist (who is blind) to get information. And they kill the target in broad daylight. For the rest of the picture the violence is pretty tame, but THE KILLERS holds up nicely as a tough guy movie .

Murder usually ain't no thing to a hitman, but Charlie (Lee Marvin) can't seem to shake the thought that the target just stood there and died willingly? So Charlie and his partner decide to backtrack and find out why they were hired to kill the man.

It turns out that the contract was once a professional race car driver who got wrapped up with a crime boss because of a woman. The driver Johnny North (John Cassavetes) falls in love with Sheila (Angie Dickinson) but gets double crossed by her fella Jack (Ronald Reagan), the crime boss.

Charlie and his partner Lee put the pieces together by talking/interrogating several friends and business partners of Johnny and Jack respectively. All their information and clues lead to a dramatic conclusion leading them to Sheila and Jack.

I won't spoil the ending but the movies final shot is one of the best death scenes in cinema! It's for sure now one of my favorites anyways!

So the set-up and story in THE KILLERS is nothing new, even for 1964. The original film from 1946 was also mostly told in flashbacks. Both movies play like a detective story. But in that film the main character solving the mystery was a insurance claims investigator.

What I think is so cool about the 64' version is that the hitmen are playing detectives. Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager play these two so cool that there has to be a little inspiration for PULP FICTION hidden somewhere!

If you are a Lee Marvin fan, I highly recommend the movie. It's some of his best work! Other than that, you could probably take a pass on this one.

The film that I ended up liking more was the original from 1946, staring Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, and directed by Richard Siodmak. Both versions are available as a double feature on the Criterion Collection. Which if you are a fan of film is the way to go!

RESERVOIR DOGS

This is the second time I've reviewed RESERVOIR DOGS. The reason being I think I've become better at this blog thing since 2008. And I'm going to try and talk about every Tarantino film in honor of his new film THE HATEFUL EIGHT.

My favorite film is KILL BILL. I consider both volumes one film, but if you wanna get specific about it then KILL BILL VOL.2 is my favorite. My love for the film kick started my love for exploitation cinema. And for several years made Quentin Tarantino my favorite director. So for the next several weeks expect to see posts on not only Tarantino's films, but also his influences.

One thing I've noticed about RESERVOIR DOGS over multiple viewings is how well it holds up as a Tarantino film. This is his first directorial effort, but it doesn't look like one. Granted, the film does have some weaknesses which are improved in his second feature, PULP FICTION. But what I'm trying to say is that from the very beginning Tarantino set out to make a distinct oeuvre. The sum of a lifework of an artist, writer, or composer. So far all seven of his films feel like a body of work. With every single one of his films you know you're watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. And it all started with his first feature.

Sure, any artist or writer can have an oeuvre. But when I think of oeuvre I tend to think of people like Mozart, Picasso, Kurosawa, and Bergman. Not an filmmaker for hire like say Brett Ratner.

So much to say about RESERVOIR DOGS. The first time I saw this movie I had no idea who Tarantino was. Back in the day, I rented movies from this local joint called Movies n Video. I rented a lot from that place so they knew me by name. One of the employees knew I liked action movies so he told me to check "Dogs" out. I did and my first impression was originality and violence portrayed like I haven't seen before. In fact, while I thought it was cool and interesting, I probably didn't “get” the movie. It wouldn't be till about 10 years later that I fully loved and appreciated the film.

RESERVOIR DOGS is a heist movie. Most genre movies are reflective appreciations of each other. In other words, if you've seen one heist movie you've seen em all. But with RESERVOIR DOGS, he turns the heist genre on its head. He reinvents the formula. I can't think of any crime/heist movie where the film doesn't even show you the heist? I don't think there are very many crime movies where the bad guys talk about normal everyday things? Quentin Tarantino changed all of that!

He loves his characters and the actors who play them. He gives them cool background music; he gives them wonderful dialogue. All these things happen in the first 10 plus minutes of RESERVOIR DOGS.

The opening scene takes place in a diner. Sitting around a large table is a group of guys all dressed up in suits. One of the men starts talking (in lurid detail) about the "true" meaning of Madonna's "Like A Virgin". What a way to start a movie! The conversation then segue to K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70's weekend, then the famous rant of why Mr. Pink doesn't tip his waitresses. They leave the restaurant in slow motion with "Little Green Bag" playing as background music. Mr. Tarantino knows what cool is!

RESERVOIR DOGS is about a heist that has gone terribly wrong. Primarily taking place in one location, the rendezvous, the surviving criminals try to figure out what went wrong. One of the criminals suspects that there is a rat in the group that tipped off the cops. The rest of the film is recounted in flashbacks centering on key characters in the film. But to be fair they really aren't flashbacks. This is just Tarantino's novel approach to storytelling. And what I find most interesting still to this day is that none of the segments show the jewelry store heist!

I can't give away the ending, but it does have to do with probably my favorite part of the film. And that is the Mr. Orange segment. The film is over 20 years old so I can probably go into spoilers. But for that one person that may read this and that hasn't seen the movie? I just can't do it, sorry.

So next up is probably PULP FICTION? But before that expect to see at least a couple posts on films that have influenced the early works of Tarantino. Sometime or another I wanna blog about ROLLING THUNDER, BREATHLESS, STRAIGHT TIME, THE KILLERS, and a few others

JACKIE BROWN

The first time I saw JACKIE BROWN I was completely blown away. Blown away at how different it was from PULP FICTION. It was also impressive that I watched the movie in one seating. Unlike his previous two films, JACKIE BROWN is a slow burn. The story takes it's time, you're with these characters for the long haul.

Quentin Tarantino's 4th film KILL BILL VOL.1 was a week or two away from release, so I decided to get reacquainted and watch his movies again. And I even added some Robert Rodriguez to the mix. Night one was EL MARIACHI and RESERVOIR DOGS. The second night was PULP FICTION, DESPERADO, and FROM DUSK TIL DAWN. I skipped JACKIE BROWN because I remembered it being different than the others. But after KILL BILL VOL. 1 blew my mind, the following day I revisited the film post haste.

My mindset was perfect for watching the film again. Weeks leading up to the release of KILL BILL VOL. 1, I was reading interviews and researching everything about Tarantino's new film. I became a super fan of the director's work. And he will forever be one of my favorite filmmakers.

Being sandwiched between PULP FICTION and the KILL BILL films, I could see why JACKIE BROWN might not get the attention it deserves. It's a long movie with a lot of people talking. Which is nothing new in a Tarantino picture, but in JACKIE BROWN it's a little different.

The story is simple. A airline stewardess who is stuck in a dead end job gets caught bringing a large amount of cash over from Mexico. To avoid prison time or worse, death. Jackie Brown works on a plan to prevent either from happening.

And like a crime mystery novel, the characters move around like a game of chess for half million dollars. A story set up like this is as old as time. So that's why I think Tarantino made JACKIE BROWN more to do with the characters then the actual plot.

The character interactions are what I like best in JACKIE BROWN. You really get the feeling that you are hanging out with these characters. I have too many favorite moments to mention but I will at least share a few. This first one isn't a interaction but rather a introduction to the films title character, Jackie Brown. Brown is the first person we see in the movie. And her introduction is magnificent!

70's icon Pam Grier appears on screen powerfully. Tarantino is reminding us how cool the woman is! But then quickly the homage is over and we're now seeing Jackie. And she's doing her best not to be late for work at the airport terminal. It's an awesome scene.

The introduction of Ordell and Lewis is a classic! Talking shop on the selling of black market firearms all while watching the CHICKS WITH GUNS video. You know what scene I'm talking about! It was in all the trailers and might be one of the things most remembered about the film.

I don't think I have a favorite scene in the movie, but if I had to chose one it'd be Jackie getting bailed out of jail. Max the bail bondsman offers her a ride home. They stop at a bar (there are a lot of scenes in bars in this film, but it's okay because they are all so cool) to get a drink. The conversation starts of natural, talking about quitting smoking, how hard it is to quit, and then talking about the daily grind of a j.o.b. Then as smooth as whiskey, Max and Jackie are talking about the plot.

It's cool how hanging with these people move the story forward. At over 2 hours long the film does seem to drag in places but it's worth it.

Highly recommended!

RETURN OF THE JEDI

In 1983, the year that RETURN OF THE JEDI came out, I was in Star Wars heaven. It was the pinnacle of my fandom. But I was also getting into the Masters Of The Universe toys. So I did not get very many Star Wars toys that year. But I made up for it with cool stuff like lunchboxes, T.V. Trays, and bed sheets.

Being 6 years old when RETURN OF THE JEDI was released, the Ewoks never bothered me. Watching the film now as an adult the 'teddy bears' still don't bother me, but man the Endor stuff is just boring nowadays. The end is still cool with the second Death Star battle, and Luke fighting Vader, but everything else on Endor drags. And it's not the Ewoks fault.

After the success of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK you would think Lucas and company had a better idea for EPISODE VI? If memory serves, George Lucas even mentions in the commentary on the DVD that Endor, Luke facing Vader, and the second Death Star battle were the only ideas he had for the third film. Really? That just seems odd to me. Rescuing Han Solo was an afterthought apparently? Which leads me to believe that at one time Lucas was okay with killing off the character, but changed his mind because of action figure sales. I'm sure he never was fine with the idea of killing off Han heroically, but you never know.

I mentioned earlier how now watching the movie as a adult that most of the stuff that takes place on Endor drags RETURN OF THE JEDI to a grinding halt. Of course because of the Ewoks being all cute for the kids. But also because Harrison Ford is phoning-it-in on his performance. Now this is pure speculation on my part but I believe this has something to do with Ford and the film's screenwriter wanting to kill off Han Solo. George Lucas said no, and that's why we've got a half hearten Han Solo in Episode VI.

Once everything is over with on Tatooine, the only interesting character arc for the rest of the film is Luke Skywalker. Which makes sense...I guess?

Just as the seasons change so does my opinion of my favorite Star Wars film. Probably never again, but there have been a few times that RETURN OF THE JEDI was my favorite film in the saga. The last time was during the 1997 re release in theaters. I think it had to do with seeing the film on the big screen mixed with the Rebellion defeating the Empire. And the story arc of Darth Vader. Make fun of Lucas all you want (I do), but the man had a vision for this original trilogy.

The film being my favorite of the trilogy lasted for a couple of years before Episode V took back the title. Then there was a long stretch until just recently that STAR WARS was my favorite. I fell in love with how simple the story was. A fairy tale in space.

While both STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK had lots of classic iconic moments, some of my favorite scenes in RETURN OF THE JEDI were the small ones. Like the confirmation from Yoda that Vader was indeed Luke's father. “Tell you, did he”? Man, I still love that scene! And everything during Luke's surrender to Vader and the Emperor.

Probably not (because of the Endor stuff), but there is a chance RETURN OF THE JEDI could again become my favorite. And that is if the theatrical release was ever made available. It is my dream to have an unaltered HD home video release of RETURN OF THE JEDI. As a kid I remember Jabba's Palace being a strange and somewhat scary place? Not anymore, thanks to the Special Edition. Instead, now the vile gangster's home has been child proofed. The “new and improved” dance number is the worst added sequence in the history of Special Edition additions.

Despite all the flaws I have with the movie, it's still part of the original trilogy, it's still Star Wars, and it's still a part of my childhood. Therefore, I am still always going to love it.

At the time of this post we are practically a month away from STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS. How crazy is that! This is the moment that fans have waited 32 years for! A new Star Wars film!

CRIMSON PEAK

The timing of the release of crimson CRIMSON PEAK could not have been more prefect. This October I've been watching a lot of Mario Bava. A good chuck of his films are available to stream right now on Netflix and Amazon. It's interesting to see the roots of Italian horror.

CRIMSON PEAK is not a Italian horror film. It's just that Guillermo Del Toro's use of color reminded me a lot of Bava's work. Funny, when I discovered Italian horror I hated it. Back then I just didn't "get it" and sometimes I still don't, but lately I have developed a strong appreciation for it. Thanks in large part to a friend of mine who is going through a similar revival.

CRIMSON PEAK is also not a horror movie. Which is surprisingly turning off a lot of theater goers. Which I can understand the frustration. Apparently the trailers for the film we're misleading. Audiences were wanting horror when instead they got Gothic romance.

So what's the deal? Were there not enough jump scares? A character opens up the film by saying this isn't a ghost story but rather a story with ghosts in it. But that was at the very beginning of the movie, you don't need to pay attention to that. You were probably on your smartphone ordering your McDonald's Double Cheeseburger. Because you like the same old crap every single time!

Okay, rant over.

While not scary, the Gothic romance genre is atmospheric and can be a lot of the times spooky. Appropriate for certain horror movie marathons/movie nights. CRIMSON PEAK is a film where you let the atmosphere wash over you. For me, following the plot was secondary and my viewing experience was more visual.

The plot of CRIMSON PEAK does seem pretty basic. In the aftermath of a family tragedy, a young woman's heart is is stolen by a seductive stranger. Edith Cushing is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood red clay, a place that will haunt her forever. Between desire and darkness, between mystery and and madness, lies the truth behind Crimson Peak. Beware of Crimson Peak!

Mia Wasikowska plays Edith, an aspiring author who falls in love with Thomas Sharpe, the seductive aristocrat and inventor. The two of them fall in love but Edith's father disapproves. After his untimely death they get married and shack up Allerdale Hall where Thomas and his sister Lucille live.

Strange things begin to happen and Edith starts seeing ghosts. And the mystery of the Sharpe's and Crimson Peak start to unravel.

I truly believe CRIMSON PEAK is Guillermo Del Toro's homage to Hammer films, Mario Bava, and Alfred Hitchcock. With ghosts being part of the story, it's hard not to think about the film Rebecca. But the Hitchcock film I kept thinking of during some key suspensful moments was NOTORIOUS.

All of the cast did a great job. Jessica Chastain who played Lucille was my favorite performance in the film. From the get go you know this lady is up to no good, and Chastain did a wonderful job of letting her madness come to a rolling boil.

As I was watching the film on IMAX I knew the film was performing poorly at the box office. There were less than 10 people in the showing I attended. So this thing may only be in theaters another week? So as I was watching the film thinking it was getting judged unfairly, I began thinking of Grindhouse's and exploitation movies.

If this was the 70's, CRIMSON PEAK would be pulled from the theater and repackaged for later. The studio or distribution would make some edits making it more scary and give the film a new title, something like BARONESS OF BLOOD. With the changes and new title it'd probably make a killing at a Drive-In or Grindhouse. Of course nothing about CRIMSON PEAK needs to be changed. It's just another crazy idea that my movie geek mind came up with.

I highly recommend CRIMSON PEAK. It's one of the year's best!

GHOSTHOUSE

LA CASA III (a.k.a. GHOSTHOUSE) is a 1988 Italian horror film directed by Umberto Lenzi. Oops sorry, I mean Humphrey Humbert? Yep, that's a fake. I've never been sure on the reason for American aliases in Italian horror. Maybe it was a distribution thing to trick American audiences? Or it might be similar to an Alan Smithee sort of deal? Whatever the case, LA CASA III is pretty bad with hints of awesomeness.

You're probably wondering what the heck is a La Casa? Well from what I have gathered, EVIL DEAD and it's sequel EVIL DEAD II were released in Italy as LA CASA I & II. So in Italian exploitation fashion, they make a horror movie and advertise it as a LA CASA sequel to assure asses in seats. But here in the States you couldn't get away with something like that, so in America the film is titled GHOSTHOUSE. There, now you've learned something useless today!

Doing some minor research before watching the movie, I found out that Riff Tracks did an edit of the movie. So that at least gave me a heads up of what I was getting myself into.

The film starts off pretty good. We have a somewhat spooky house, which reminded me of the one from HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY. Oddly enough according to IMDB's trivia page, both films used the same set. Which if true is kinda cool.

The master of the house hears what sounds like cat dying. So he goes down to the basement to investigate. Sure enough, what he finds is the family cat with it's throat cut. Ewe! We then hear this creepy music and find his daughter holding the murder weapon, a pair of scissors. Her punishment is to sit alone in the dark and think about what she has done.

Henrietta and her favorite clown doll don't like the sound of that so the house goes all haunted and her dad gets an ax to the head and a shattered mirror blows up in the face of the mother. The story then cuts to New York City, where we meet our main characters Martha and Paul. Martha loves chili and Paul loves his computer. And by computer he means his high-tech ham radio.

One afternoon Paul picks up some strange sounds. Someone asking for help followed by some creepy music/song. Similar to what we heard when Henrietta and her clown doll was on screen earlier. Paul finds out where the radio signal is coming from, and the two of them drive to the house and investigate.

When Paul and Martha show up there is already a group of teenagers at the house. And one of them has a ham radio as well.

Spooky stuff starts to happen. Exploding lamps, exploding bulbs, ghost dogs, and a bunch of other crazy stuff. And people get gruesomely killed. They eventually learn about Henrietta and learn that her tomb must be destroyed.

By this point the films plot kinda goes out the window, and like I said crazy stuff happens. The atmosphere and look of the film is cool, but the acting is bad. Laughably bad. Watching the film became highly entertaining at how bad it was but at the same time how surprisingly good the gore turned out to be.

I'm glad I watched it, but for as obscure as the film is, GHOSTHOUSE is nothing special. And like I suspected, LA CASA (a.k.a. GHOSTHOUSE) had nothing to do with the Evil Dead films.

I only recommend GHOSTHOUSE if you're a connoisseur of Italian horror. Or enjoy the occasional pizza and beer movie night. Perfect for friends to come over and have a good laugh. Other than that, don't waste your time.

KNOCK KNOCK

Before I begin there is some issues I have to get off my chest. I like going to the movies. Nay. I love going to the movies! If there is a movie that I really really want to see, going to the theater is my preferred choice. Last week two films came out that I've been dying to see, KNOCK KNOCK and THE FINAL GIRLS. Neither movie is playing in town. Why? Because studios don't take risks anymore. Smaller films are going straight to On Demand and it sucks.

A big movie buff like myself was all excited to have a double feature at the local multiplex. Both movies even have some of the same actors. Take Aaron Burns for instance who appears in both. He's the student activist that get's it the worst in THE GREEN INFERNO. So when you see him show up in KNOCK KNOCK you kinda feel sorry for him and glad he is alive! Long story short, these two films would play great back to back.

When it comes to the films of Eli Roth you pretty much know what to expect. Gore, torture, sheer terror, and laughs. And his new move KNOCK KNOCK is no exception. Except maybe the gore? Yes, for what the film lacks in blood and guts Roth makes up for it with terror and suspense. I have thought Eli has always been a talented filmmaker but since his films are known for their gore, the rest of his talents don't get the proper attention (HOSTEL: PART II is an amazing film).

In the film Keanu Reeves plays Evan, a loving husband and father of two. He's an architect and his wife does sculptures. It's Fathers Day but Evan is really busy on a project, so the wife and kids go away for the weekend without him. During a rainy evening he gets a knock on the door and it's two lovely girls that are soaking wet and lost. Turns out they got bad directions to a party they are supposed to be at.

The girls ask if they can come inside from the pouring rain. From this point on you can see Evan's reluctance, and Keanu really sells it. So he let's the girls in and they get warm and dry off. Small talk ensues and Evan is always smart and keeps his distance. But no matter how hard he tries Genesis and Bel persistently stay close to him. A Uber driver is called to pick them up, but when it arrives it's too late. Evan has been overtaken by the girls.

In the morning Evan wakes up thinking it was all a nightmare and that the girls have left. But no, turns out this wasn't just a night of casual sex. These bitches be crazy! He wakes up to find them having breakfast in the kitchen raising all sorts of hell. What has Evan gotten into! He asks them repeatedly to leave. Finally the waking nightmare seems to end when Evan drives them to anywhere but his home.

So far this has been a weekend that Evan would like to forget. After cleaning up the mess he goes back to his project. But is interrupted by a noise and gets knocked out. Genesis and Bel have returned and proceed to rape, torture, and terrorize Evan.

I love KNOCK KNOCK! With this being a Eli Roth film I was worried the movie was just going to be torture leftovers from his 'Hostel' films. Thankfully that is not the case. Here Roth trades in his knack for gore with surprisingly good suspense. Watching the girls' get closer and closer to Evan was a delight, and probably the best scenes in the film.

It's during the third act of KNOCK KNOCK that I noticed the film loosing a lot of it's steam. The motives of the girls' start to be unclear. Clearly they are crazy! There is no doubt, but why they are doing this to Evan (and apparently other married men) never seemed clear to me. I may have missed that part? It's probably just some of the juvenile hysterics that Roth is known for getting in the way. And I don't have a problem with that at all!

I highly recommend KNOCK KNOCK to horror fans, especially those on the fence about director Eli Roth. This is something different from him with the exception of his sense of humor. That hasn't changed. So if you're not a fan of that then you should probably pass.

And if you watch this movie with your wife or girlfriend expect to have a pretty big conversation when the movie is over!

SCREAM

Next year SCREAM will be 20 years old. Has it really been that long? Gosh, I'm getting old. It's been a few years since I've watched director Wes Craven's second most popular horror film. Watching it last night felt fresh, the movie I am happy to say still holds up! Some of the dialogue feels dated and forced, the pop culture references don't sound naturally to me now like they used to? The horror genre was having a hard time in the 90's. They killed off Freddy, everybody thought JASON GOES TO HELL sucked, and Hollywood tried to make us scared of Leprechauns. Thankfully there was some good ones like CANDYMAN and ARMY OF DARKNESS. But the slasher flick was pretty much dead.

With the death of Freddy and Jason being sent to hell, audiences for the most part we're fine with it. But for me, I was just getting started. I loved horror and couldn't get enough. The year that I started college was when I rented and watched all the mainstream (Freddy, Jason, and Michael) horror slashers. I had now seen every film in the Elm Street series and HALLOWEEN had become my favorite horror movie.

The first time I saw SCREAM was on a Friday afternoon after class. I still remember that it was me and about ten other people. Which back then was odd, even for a matinee? The movie floored me! Leaving the theater I thought I'd just witnessed the greatest horror movie ever made.

The next day at work I was telling all my co workers about it. When I got home I called my friends and dragged some of them to see it. For the rest of the 90's SCREAM and SCREAM 2 were probably my favorite films.

It was a slow start but word of mouth made SCREAM a box office smash. The slasher genre was popular once again. The 'Dead Teenager' horror film dominated the late 90's. And while I did in fact enjoy the return, one of these things wasn't quite like the other? These slasher flicks were lacking in the gore department.

SCREAM did good delivering the goods, but the copycats kept becoming more and more blood less. Thanks a lot MPAA and focus groups!

Besides the issues with gore and violence, it turns out that the movies themselves were just not that good. Every character spewing hip self referential dialogue and being to smart to be in a horror movie situation got old really fast. Thank goodness for the J-horror (Japanese) remake craze. But that too got stale.

I'm glad to say that SCREAM holds up! It holds up extremely well. Unlike, say I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. I loved that movie when it came out! But I kinda cringe thinking about it now. Heck, I was worried SCREAM was going to suffer the same fate!

I will consider A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET to always be Wes Craven's most notable and popular film. Fans forever will be split between it and SCREAM. But as much as I love SCREAM, it is not my favorite of the series. That my friends, is SCREAM 2!

THE HILLS HAVE EYES (2006)

Remakes these days seem like a dime a dozen. And if you're a fan of my blog you should know that I typically hate remakes. I am not the biggest fan of the shot for shot remake. I think a remake should try something different. A movie like John Carpenter's THE THING can make you think that Howard Hawks' original film doesn't exist.

Once in awhile a remake that is shot for shot will come along and be better than the original. The 2006 remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES directed by Alexandre Aja is a perfect example. Talk about a remake that improves on almost aspect of the 1977 original. Watching the original nowadays the only thing going for it I'd say is the look of it. Shot on 16mm like every good horror movie should be.

I do not particularly care for the original movie. Hearing about the movie and reading the back of the VHS box makes the film sound a lot better than it really is. A lot of it has to do with the killers. These guys are supposed to be mutant cannibals but instead they come across as backwoods hippies. And the acting wasn't very good. The cheep budget and bad acting seemed to work for me with LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but here I just found it really distracting.

Maybe I am so tough on horror remakes is because THE HILLS HAVE EYES set the standard. This film is easily one of the best horror movies of the aughts! Alexandre Aja is one of the best horror directors and producers working today. I love how he has turned exploitation into high art!

So if you didn't know, THE HILLS HAVE EYES is about the Carter's who are taking a trip through the great American southwest. But a detour on the trip takes a turn for the worse when the family car breaks down. What looks like car trouble turns out to possibly be a trap! A trap set up by some mutant cannibals living near an abandoned nuclear test site. The Carter family are in the fight of their lives when the strange inhabitants start the gruesome massacre.

For fans of the original, yeah there is nothing new here. The rape scene in the original is still shocking, but nothing can compare or prepare you for how Aja cranks up the tension in the remake. Spoiler alert! I remember people walking out of the theater, and you know a horror film is doing something right whenever this happens. I almost did the same thing! The scene I am referring to involves a loaded gun to a baby's head. The baby lives (you think the film is going 'there' but thankfully does not); but still, that is some deep dark territory.

But the real improvement for me is when the mutant family takes center stage. Notice how I said mutant family and not hippie commune. I'm sure if I saw the original at the time of release I would have thought Pluto and the rest of the gang were scary. But by today's standards the look silly.

In the new film some of the mutants are just painful to look at. I remember one guy who was confined to a chair and his neck could not support the weight of his head. It was creepy and I felt sorry for the guy and thought his brothers or sons should do him a favor and put the guy out of his misery.

I haven't seen the remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES for almost 10 years and wonder if it still holds up? I bet it does. So if you're like me and wanting to honor the memory of Wes Craven by watching a lot of his films this October, give this remake he produced a try.

Happy October!

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)

This year for the month of October I am going to blog about the films of Wes Craven. Not all them, but as many as I can.* Let's start things off with his “first” film LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. It wasn't until the late eighties that I knew who Wes Craven was. And I only knew him as the guy who made A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. By the time I got to Jr. High, he was already considered the master of horror. And you were considered an amateur if you had only seen his Freddy Kruger movie. According to the heavy metal kids the Wes Craven film THE HILLS HAVE EYES was where it's at.

I had seen A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS on television and liked it enough that I wanted to see more. But I was still too much of a wuss to rent the horror recommendations at the video store. Especially THE HILLS HAVE EYES. Still to this day Michael Berryman still creeps me out on that box cover. But there was one movie at the video store that I hadn't heard about. And that movie was LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. I knew it was a Wes Craven film because the box cover mentioned something like “Before the nightmare on elm street there was the last house on the left”. Or some crap like that?

I ended up not renting LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT that night, nor any other night for that matter. It wouldn't be until several years later that I'd finally watch the grindhouse exploitation “classic”. And LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT really didn't do anything for me. I understand the films significance in the history of modern horror with it's rape and brutal violence. But there is an element to LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT that hurts the film greatly in my opinion. And that element is the bumbling sheriff and his deputy. I get what the director was trying to accomplish but it just does not work.

Two teenage girls go to the city for a rock concert. While trying to score some weed, Mari and Phyllis get kidnapped by a gang of psychotic convicts. The gang, lead by the nasty Krug takes the girls out to the middle of nowhere and rapes and murders them.

The psycho killers find a place to stay in the rural area. The homeowners welcome them but soon find out their guests are the ones who murdered their daughter. Enraged, the parents take on the gang and get bloody satisfaction doing it!

If you can get past the silly cops I think the film is great. For a exploitation film to stick with you well after you've seen it is saying a lot for most grindhouse pictures.

The highlight of the film for me is the character Krug, played to perfection by David Hess. When you turn your own son into a junkie just to control him, that's some twisted stuff let me tell you!

If you are a fan of Wes Craven but have never seen his early work, then LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT might be worth checking out.

If you're a fan of horror exploitation, then I'd say the film is highly recommended. But whatever you do, please don't watch the 2009 remake. The last thing the original needs is a sleek looking update. Age (besides the awful soundtrack...and idiotic cops) is the best thing going for LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.

*It won't just all be Wes Craven films this month. Amazon Prime has a lot of stuff I want to talk about so some of the horror blogs may spill over into November.