A western in Tarantino style – enough said already!
My Ratings: 4/5.
The Wyoming winter at its peak, surrounded by knee-deep snow and tormented by blinding blizzards, literally at the middle of nowhere there is a place called Minnie’s Haberdashery!
And that is where a bounty hunter and his prisoner (among others) goes to take refuge from the treacherous weather, but little did they know that the dramatic events of that single day will change their lives forever.
Narrated by Quentin Tarantino the director himself, the film The Hateful Eight (also Tarantino’s eighth film, hence the name) is a story that revolves around the core dilemma of whom to trust and whom to kill?
Acting level is again top class, the brutality and the raw ferocity of the characters is what drives this film till the end.
Shot entirely in the Ultra Panavision 70 process, in an aspect ratio of 2.76:1, using the very same 65mm film that shot the chariot race in Ben-Hur (1959), The Hateful Eight is undoubtedly a cinematic triumph and cinematographer Robert Richardson certainly made sure of it.
Original soundtrack, written and composed by Ennio Morricone, now that’s a first!
If you adore the so called ‘Tarantino way of film making‘ – extreme violence with contrast background scores, the blood-thirsty diabolical characters with their own backstories, cheesy yet stylized dialogues and innumerable graphic deaths at regular intervals – then there is hardly any chance that his eighth film will disappoint you!
Then again, just to make sure, why don’t you take a look at it yourself? And if you look closely enough Channing Tatum will reveal himself, I promise!
On Sunday, February 28th, it’s that time of the year when they give away those awards!
Yes, on this day, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences will hand over the most prestigious awards of the entertainment world – the Academy Awards or the Oscars.
On the basis of the ‘preferential voting’ system (democratic and unbiased), all the nominees are chosen each year for the various award categories and then they simply wait, hope and pray to win!
This year Chris Rock will be hosting the award ceremony on ABC.
In total 305 feature films are competing for Best Picture nominations. Though the final and official seven/eight nominated ones will be announced on Thursday, January 14th, it’s always fun to guess, predict and anticipate a little before hand.
So let the predictions for the ‘Best Picture’ category begin!
A film that reflects on the youth and relishes the old age with the same intensity. It deals with friendship, love, marriage, lust, professions, emotions and above all emotions. I bet my
Powerful, dramatic and full of energy, directed by George Miller, this is undoubtedly the best action flick of 2015 and a leader in the Oscar race for the ‘Best Picture’.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (whose film Birdman won the ‘best director’, ‘best picture’ and ‘best screenplay’ awards last year), has come up with this brilliant tale of an explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio).
A fur trading expedition in the 1820s; inspired by true events this is an epic adventure, a quest for survival and also a sure favorite in this year’s Oscar.
Directed by Adam McKay, this is a biographical account of the time (mid 2000) when there was a financial crisis in the US, and four individuals decided to fight the greedy banks for their lack of foresight.
Looks like a pretty sure thing for the award ceremony. Watch out!
Adopted from Emma Donoghue‘s famous novel, this is one unique story of a five-year old boy who is told by his loving mother that their 10-by-10 foot ‘room’ is the only world that exists!
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, a brilliant film that surely is becoming people’s favorite and a likely contestant for the Oscar.
The recently released ever popular addition to the Star Wars franchise and a sudden favorite for the Oscars.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, this film with it’s immense fan following has the potential to be a game changer in the race for this years ‘Best Picture’ Academy Awards.
By the way, this film has recreated the U.S. box office record beating James Cameron‘s Avatar!
Kung fu or wushu are chinese words that refers to the age old tradition of Chinese Martial Arts.
In ancient China, Kung fu was first introduced as a method of self-defence and hunting, and was also a part of the country’s military training. Essentially a hand to hand combat system (with different forms and styles of fighting) but then again, certain classic Chinese weapons are often used as well.
Since long time martial art has been introduced in films for entertainment and such action films were very popular in China and in a few other Asian countries.
But only in the early 70s, the craze for kung fu films hit the west, and the person responsible for giving kung fu a world-wide recognition was none other than Bruce Lee.
Nowadays, even in Hollywood action films like The Matrix Trilogy, Kill Bill, and The Transporter stylized forms of kung fu are extensively used and well appreciated by the audience.
Listed below are some of the best Kung fu films ever made that can be enjoyed even if you are not a hard core action film lover.
Bruce Lee, the legend of martial arts, the man who made kung fu movies a world wide sensation – this was his last film shot before he passed away at a young age of 32.
Directed by Robert Clouse, the film was a sensation and a landmark in action genre.
The ‘Hall of Mirrors’ sequence, the cave fight were Lee beats 50 people at a go, and then the unique steel hands of the antagonist Han were some of the highlights of the film. This one is one of it’s kind and a must watch for everybody.
and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch).
For anybody who is not familiar with the word ‘holocaust‘ (though i doubt that), it is a term used to define the genocide in which approximately six million Jews (including one million Jewish children) were killed by Adolf Hitler through his Nazi regime.
There were another five millionnon-Jewish victims of Nazi mass murders as well.
And thus, in between1941 to 1945, while Germany was fighting the WorldWar II in the forefront, approximately eleven million people were executed in a preplanned and secretive manner throughout Nazi-Germany and the other German-occupied territories.
Numerous films and documentaries have been made to portray those unpredictable and desperate times.
Interestingly the films listed below neither emphasize on the WWII nor particularly based on the inhumane concentration camp stories; these films tell the tales of those who defied against the barbaric massacre of human lives, of those who challenged the deadly systematic annihilation and survived (or at least tried to).
Most of these films are based on true stories and are definitely the best Jew-Nazi dramas in the times of Holocaust.
Directed by Paul Verhoeven, this one was the official Netherlands entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Oscars.
A Jewish singer who transforms herself from a war victim to a spy, she uses her charms and also puts her life at risk to pass German war secrets to the Dutch Resistance.
A visual treat and a plot that has so many twists to keep you guessing till the end.
Leopold Socha, a man probably lesser known than Oskar Schindler but then again he saved numerous lives in the Nazi-occupied Polish city of Lvov during Holocaust.
He risked his own life hiding Jewish refugees from the Nazis in the sewers for almost 14 months!
Directed by Polish female director Agnieszka Holland, a heart touching story of humanity and valor.
Kurt Gerstein, a German sanitation engineer who developed the lethal gas Zyklon-B, didn’t realize that the same gas will be used by the SS to kill millions of Jews in the camps.
He in order to stop the genocide tries to inform the Pope Pius XII and ask for the Vatican’s help.
Directed by Costa-Gavras, a film full of passion and drama.
Talented Adrien Brody as the pianist who desperately struggles to escape from the clutches of the Nazis and from being sent to the ghettos and executed.
Directed by my favorite director Roman Polanski, a film so powerful and emotional and yet very realistic.
The best Holocaust movie ever made – yes, my vote surely goes for this one.
Master director Steven Spielberg tells the tale of Oskar Schindler, a German business man who is responsible for saving many Jewish lives (more than 1000) from being gassed during the Holocaust.
Liam Neeson as Schindler has given his career best performance.
Probably the most popular film representing this particular historical period.
and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch).
Quentin Tarantino – the brilliant use of music in his films: One of the most popular American director of our times, Quentin Tarantino is a name that needs no introduction.
His films are a confluence of wacky dialogues, stylish yet graphic violence (often in slow motion), non-linear storytelling and unforgettable music!
Hardly any director in the world has Tarantino’s gift of choosing the perfect soundtrack that would sync and enhance the visuals of a particular scene to another level of awesomeness.
‘I’m a big collector of vinyl – I have a record room in my house – and I’ve always had a huge soundtrack album collection. So what I do, as I’m writing a movie, is go through all those songs, trying to find good songs for fights, or good pieces of music to layer into the film.’
For instance, in his first film Reservoir Dogs (1992) there is this famous torture sequence popularly known as ‘the ear scene’ where Michael Madsen playing a psychopath groves to the happy tune of ‘Stuck in the Middle With You’ by Stealers Wheel while torturing the tied up police officer Kirk Baltz.
Well, let’s just say … Tarantino has an ear for good music.
And then, in Pulp Fiction (1994), before John Travolta takes a ride high on drugs, the whole heroine-trip sequence shot beautifully in extreme close-ups is perfectly synced with the soundtrack ‘Bullwinkle Part II’ by The Centurians.
‘To me, movies and music go hand in hand. When I’m writing a script, one of the first things I do is find the music I’m going to play for the opening sequence.’
The perfect example, in his film Jackie Brown (1997) the title sequence where the camera follows Pam Grier traveling through the airport while Bobby Womack’s jazzy tune ‘Across 110th Street’ plays in the background – the effect is simply awesome.
Tarantino often uses music to play with his audience’s psychology.
In Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) the famous whistling tune ‘Twisted Nerve’ originally composed by legendary Bernard Herrmann, prepares the audience with the anticipation of danger as a deadly killer, codename California Mountain Snake (played by Daryl Hannah) is the one who whistles it before a hit.
And finally, a girl (Mélanie Laurent) prepares for revenge; a deadly plan to blast a theater full of Nazis and the epic soundtrack ‘Cat People (Putting Out Fire)‘ by David Bowie is brilliantly played in the background in Inglourious Basterds (2009).
By the way, the latest Tarantino Movie The Hateful Eightis awesome but then I really missed that one special soundtrack that redefines his movie, the signature of the acclaimed director. Do you agree?