A Bigger Link
Monday, January 4, 2016 at 3:52PM /Film the first footage from Disney's Moana
Playbill Rapper Daveed Diggs on getting his shot on Broadway's smash hit Hamilton expanding the world. (I hope to one day see this show. C'mon lottery gods!)
Gizmodo an exo suit from Edge of Tomorrow constructed from junk!
MNPP pic of the day Matthias Schoenaerts in A Bigger Splash
Comics Alliance apparently director James Gunn says Captain America: Civil War is awesome and this has excited the internet for some reason. Next time someone OUTSIDE of Marvel's employ enthuses about one of their movies early, get back to us?
The Envelope thinks that Mad Max Fury Road and Carol will lead Oscar nominations (with 9 each). I dare not hope that this is true because that's just so much fabulousness in one Oscar year.
/Film claims that the breakout character of Star Wars is TR-8R -- this shows how well we've been following Star Wars stanning because who knew?
Cinema Blend Joss Whedon talks about why he's done with Marvel
Reverse Shot a deeply insightful look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens - it's possible that f I've linked to this before but even so, it's a must read.
Towleroad Matt Bomer covers Men's Fitness credits Channing Tatum for his current peak physique
Hateful Tangents
Interview talks to Demian Bichir about his first gig with Tarantino. Bichir gave the second best performance in it if you ask me because he realized in the absence of being given a real character to play, play a Real Character.
Slate the Movie Club is in session and it's hilarious and thoughtful as always. They argue over whether The Hateful Right is "ineffably evil", share the joys of Spy and Carol, and observe tricky critical duties as with Tangerine and The Danish Girl. Bonus points for the "f*** this thing" cat gif.
Cinematic Corner on her issues with the heroism of rapists and murderers in The Hateful Eight.
I'm trying to let hate for Hateful Eight go, I really am. But it's like an exorcism. It takes time and I guess I've still got some pea soup to vomit up. I've made no secret that I personally despise this movie -- but I have been reading reviews with kind of a morbid fascination because of how much people try to say it's still somehow a good movie after lining up their lengthy issues with it. I'm not the only one who has noticed this.
It is not a good movie. In fact it's kind of a betrayal of Tarantino by Tarantino because it's him fucking up things he used to do better than anyone. There is zero depth to the characterizations beyond the most simplistic "What a character!" outline, the gore (such as exploding heads) adds nothing other than wank-bank material for sadists, the dialogue is severely lacking in his usual cleverness, and worst of all Tarantino displays none of his usual skill at that constant electric hum of "shit is about to go down!" that powers all of his best films. The only tension in this particular movie is wondering when the shit will finally go down so that it will end. If you think of all of his best films the tension is alive in every scene. The scenes repeatedly feel dangerous as if anything might happen. And something nearly always does. Here we basically have any of those individual scenes only they're now 3 hours long and the tension just goes out of it completely because who cares?
In short, stop justifying this work people; It's okay to think a movie is terrible when it is! Most great auteurs have a dud (or five) somewhere in their filmography. If we try to convince ourselves that every thing a single person makes is masterful, we are denying our own critical faculties and it also makes our love for their true masterpieces highly suspect. For instance here are a five filmmakers I regularly cite when people ask me for "all time favorites": Haynes, Almodovar, Cameron, Minnelli, Hitchcock. All of them have made a film or films that were not that great or that I could not personally connect to. That does not lessen their genius for me. That just means they're human and it helps me to appreciate their masterworks more because I know the love is true and not me trying to argue myself into fandom.
Try this at home. Realize that The Hateful Eight is a shit movie and go back to loving any of his much better films. And cry with me when The Hateful Eight takes Oscar nominations from far more deserving players in ten days time.
On to Happier Thoughts...
Anne Hathaway shared a photo of herself on Instagram pregnant in a bikini!
She did this in order to kill off a paparazzi's shot at making a ton of money off of creeping on her at the beach. Smart girl. We don't follow celebrity pregnancies so have no idea when she's due but it looks like soon... CONGRATS TO ANNIE & HUSBAND.
List-Mania
Top Tens: Variety (Guy Lodge), The Telegraph (Robbie Collins); Slate (Dana Stevens); Pop Culture Crazy (Kacey Bange)
Lists Lists Lists: Gothamist (Best Celebrity Subway Sightings); Pajiba (Seriously F*** That Guy - a retrospective of rage); Pajiba (5 Most Intriguing new Netflix Series. They don't mention Daredevil because it's about new series but season 2 kicks off in March, fwiw); Forbes releases their "30 Under 30" List which includes both of The Force Awakens new stars, natch, as well as all three Straight Outta Compton leads.
First Oscar Commercial of the New Year
Chris Rock kinda sorta prophesies those annual nasty post-show reviews you read every year.
Reader Comments (45)
Thanks for the link! I'm curious how many 'hateful' comments I'm gonna get under my H8 piece. Nothing proves me wrong then being called a C word, that's for sure.
The picture of Hathaway saddens me a bit because it makes me realize that in order for me to fulfill my ambition to marry her I'll have to break up a family, which would be a bummer. Or maybe I should start to let go of that completely unrealistic fantasy, which would also be a bummer.
I'm really annoyed by your hateful comments on The Hateful Eight. I personally loved the film, because it has everything I love about Tarantino. Long dialogues that don't support the plot, lot of characters that have far from being human being (Pulp Fiction, or Inglourious Basterds are full of them, don't try to persuade yourself Hans Landa, or Vincent Vega were like normal guys you regularly meet in a shop) and MOSTLY it proves that Tarantino doesn't care. HE doesn't care, if he is being polite and he easily uses the n-word, or is being hateful to women. Take it easy and laugh about it. By his films, it's probably the only place you can do it at. Even if you're a woman. If you can't laugh at yourself, you're a hippocrat. I don't give a f*ck that he's hateful to women, or violent, or rude. I let loose and have fun and love it. And BTW, the atmosphere of The Hateful Eight is excellent and actually, I am planning my second theatre visit next week.
@moviefilm Yep. As a woman i should be laughing that Tarantino doesn't care and unleashes scenes of violence targeting woman while men triumph in the end. It's not at all irresponsible for him to do that, given how misogynistic the society already is. But I suppose the fact he is having fun and not caring is far more important.
@sati He's a filmmaker, he's an artist. If we criticize artist for doing their job and geld them, it will lead to a strong censorship. I live in a country that lived through the communism and trust me, you wouldn't like that. You really wouldn't like art to be censored. So yes, I like what Tarantino is doing, because he's got freedom.
You shouldn't take yourself so seriously as a woman. Don't be offended just because Tarantino didn't show you beautiful women that are being loved by everyone on screen, this one time.
Where did my first comment go...?
@moviefilm that is an interesting bunch of assumptions. Funny, I also come from the place that was under Communists' rule. Thanks for informing me I wouldn't like that. Thank you for also informing me that I shouldn't take myself seriously as a woman, I mean God, how dare I. Tarantino has never really shown the crap you wrote, but if he wants to have scenes like in H8 he should have at least give us Daisy backstory not slap a knee laughing every single time she is punched after telling us one thing - she killed someone. So did the men in this movie, but you don't see them being treated like that. That Tarantino is an 'artist' doesn't mean he can be irresponsible and out of touch with the real world.
While I walked out of Hateful Eight somewhat disappointed and agreeing with you on several points, I have to realize that it always takes me 2-3 viewing to have a true opinion of a Tarantino film. I was so disappointed walking out of Jackie Brown, but now it is possibly my favorite film of his. Even with my current "meh" reaction, my mind keeps reeling thinking about it. Until I see it again, I'll just say that I'd rather see a subpar Tarantino than most movies released these days.
I'm down with Hateful 8 in Supporting Actress and Original Score. If it goes beyond that, I'll just sigh and say such is life.
One doesn't necessarily have to feel TH8 is "masterful" or "terrible" either. I hated parts of it and liked parts of it, and was indifferent to other parts. In my opinion, it's a deeply flawed film with some merits. Things don't always have to be one extreme or the other, or one work can contain both extremes and the vast area in between.
@sati What is the difference, if she's a woman? She's a movie character, that's all. Nor do the other character have backstory (there are more of them) and killing someone is a good reason for being treated that way. (Another character is killed and then his body is doshonored in a very brutal way.)
But I quess you completely misunderstood Tarantino. Every time Leigh is slapped in her face, you are not supposed to laugh at her being slapped. You are supposed to laugh at the stupidity of the characters that treat her that way. At least that was the only thing I was laughing at.
I didn't like the film either but telling people they are flat out wrong, or lying or whatever because they liked a movie you don't isn't a great look.
(SPOILERS)I don't know what straw man y'all are building. I was in a packed theater for The Hateful Eight. No one was laughing when John Ruth was beating the shit out of Daisy through the first half of the movie. No one. I think everyone understood that he was a sadistic pig beneath the folksy John Wayne demeanor, which is probably why they cheered and laughed when Daisy shot him dead. By the end of the movie Daisy has proven herself the equal of the men, or their better. And in her tender moment with her brother, she actually is allowed a deeper measure of genuin humanity than most (any?) of the other characters. She is the cause, as the de facto leader of the gang and beneficiary of their actions, of as much violence in the movie as she is recipient, and her death - which is as ugly as it gets - is SUPPOSED to be ugly. Nobody was cheering when they strung her up, either.
I think the misogyny and racism in The Hateful Eight are very carefully, thoughtfully contextualized, and purposeful. I don't have a problem with people who object in spite of that, but talking about Tarantino's responsibliity as an artist, or telling people who like the movie that they do so in bad faith because they're sadistic, self deluding Tarantino fan boys (sorry if I'm repeating that line, but my first comment seems to have been disappeared for some reason) is bad form.
Ooh..."Haynes, Almodovar, Cameron, Minnelli, Hitchcock". Sounds like it's time to play "Name that Dud"! Sorry/not sorry, "Mildred Pierce".
LOL at van Gogh!
Dave-yeah, I have been playing that game in my head right now. Any clues, Nathaniel?
Meet the new Taranrino, same as the old Tarantino.
Dave S. and John T.: If I were to guess the other four? Almodovar: Pre Matador, Live Flesh, Broken Embraces. Cameron: True Lies, maybe Avatar after re-watches. (Well staged action scenes, bad everything else. I'll take the opposite, *ahemMarvelStudiosOnABadDayahem*, any day of the week.) Minnelli: Gigi. Hitchcock: Discounting the stuff before The 39 Steps or after Marnie (because those are "no duh" disappointments), Secret Agent, To Catch a Thief and The Trouble with Harry are all fair candidates.
Dear Nathaniel,
The Hateful Eight is a mess and boring.
It seems that Tarantino is really repeating himself: ultraviolent, pretentious, too long. This is his worst film so far.
He is obviously a talented director; however, he must work his screenplays a little bit more to make them less exaggerated or find a great editor like Sally Menke who could collaborate with the pace of his films.
@moviefilm
"If we criticize artist for doing their job and geld them, it will lead to a strong censorship."
What??? Are you serious? We shouldn't criticize artists because it will lead to censorship? People criticizing artists on their blogs will lead to the government censoring them?
Whaaaaa? By that definition you are 'censoring' Nathaniel by criticizing him. Get a grip.
I gotta ask the word you're hearing from events and such on Hateful Eight. Are actual voters loving it and not just the internet?
After seeing it, it just seemed like "No way in Hell will they go for this". I don't see much more than Richardson getting in.
I'm no fan of The Hateful Eight, but I don't think you can objectively call it a "shit film". The snow-covered landscapes make for arresting cinema, the score by Ennio Morricone is terrific and nobody in the cast is phoning it in. I also find it fascinating that this is Tarantino's version of a play (with all those long speeches and the fact that most of it takes place in that one location). I understand not liking this film on moral grounds and feeling that Tarantino is giving in to his worst excesses (which I may be inclined to agree), but I can't dismiss it altogether (just like I can't dismiss Django Unchained altogether, even though the Original Screenplay Oscar for that film really irks me).
If Carol wins anything at the Oscars I want close up reaction shots of Tarantino. Phyllis wins? Smash cut to Tarantino's disappointed face. Todd picks up Best Director? Quick pan to Tarantino having a stroke. Cate gets a third Oscar for one "of these Cate Blanchett movies – they’re all just like these arty things. I’m not saying they’re bad movies, but I don’t think most of them have a shelf life”? Zoom in on Tarantino's head exploding.
Nat, you know HAMILTON is doing digital lottery this month and next month, right? They just announced this today. Everyone should see the show. I've seen it a few times now (I thank the lottery gods) and it's as wonderful as all the hype.
@Rebecca
You took my words too literally. I meant that what Nathaniel and everyone is suggesting and trying to outline is that Tarantino has done a mistake by this film that he can't handle female characters this way. They can criticise it, they can definitely have an opinion on that. But calling him irresponsible is nuts, since he is doing his films the way HE wants it and you can't blame him for that. You can say you (negative) opinion, you shouldn't blame any artist.
@moviefilm - calling something irresponsible is valid criticism. If you can't handle your art being criticized and reflected upon as to how it relates to our current society then you don't understand art.
Did anyone else think that moviefilm was being sarcastic at first?
I haven't seen this film but I recently rewatched Django Unchained, and my previously somewhat positive view of it really faded. It just didn't hold up at all. After the initial surprises in the story and dialogue are void, the film really falls flat. He needs a collaborator who can polish his writing.
I haven't seen this film but I recently rewatched Django Unchained, and my previously somewhat positive view of it really faded. It just didn't hold up at all. After the initial surprises in the story and dialogue are void, the film really falls flat. He needs a collaborator who can polish his writing.
When are the Film Bitch Awards starting?
You teased us by saying Picture and Director would be announced 12/31 and we are still waiting....
I probably fit into what Mark Harris is talking about. I found the film problematic and overlong, but yet I was never bored. I was at once mortified and enthralled. That is Tarantino's brand of genius and a recurring theme in his films. "Are you not entertained?" he screams. I was entertained, but I also felt like I was watching something pornographic.
I've never been annoyed after watching porn the way I am after watching a Tarantino film. NEVER.
It's strange, because even though I COMPLETELY understand most of the criticisms being levied at Hateful Eight, I still found it to be a more successful film than Django; the pacing didn't drag nearly as much for me, the female role was significantly more interesting than what Washington was given to play in that film, and the much-noted Agatha Christie structure of it all DID actually keep me involved throughout.
The characters were mean-spirited bigots, all around; their behaviors / actions were uniformly reprehensible throughout, And yet, Tarantino makes an effort to insert some (not terribly subtle) commentary on the race wars of the present and link it to the past, which is all well and good, but is this the right platform to do it in? Through these characters, through this story?
The film is a befuddlement; morally complicated, strange, strikingly, significantly imperfect, but it never lost my interest.
The Hateful Eight might not be a great movie by someone's standards, but it is undoubtedly great art for it incites passionate debates about its themes, characters and choices and makes people question the reasons to why they either love it or loathe it. Everything else is a matter of taste and taste is non-debatable.
The one director who actually released something artistically or socially insignificant in 2015 was actually Todd Haynes (whom I really admire and who had made at least one masterpiece previously). His movie is flaccid, his characters are uninteresting, the love story is unbelievable and no one was really having any passionate discussions about its take on anything because the screenplay is so trite. I think it's a bad movie and it's bad art. The former is just my taste.
"...makes people question the reasons to why they either love it or loathe it." Actually, no.
"Undoubtedly great art"? Whoa.
The Hateful 8 is excellent. Hope it gets many Oscar nominations and a win for Jennifef Jason Leigh. Bye Felisha!!!
Hurry up, January 14th!
I haven't seen 'The Hateful Eight' yet so I can't judge, but I will say that I'd rather have a film like this that inspires dialogue than one of those boring Oscar bait prestige pictures. At least Tarantino's films are made by an artist.
'The Hateful Eight' just hasn't excited me in the way Tarantino films usually do. Maybe the three hour running length, the lackluster reviews, and the one room setting are keeping me away from the theater.
But Nathaniel is right about auteurs. All of their films don't have to be great. The point is that their failures are more interesting than other filmmakers' successes. Just ask Woody Allen. He's made a number of duds, yet he's also made some of the best movies of all time. And even his duds, like 'Hollywood Ending,' have some interesting Woody Allen things to keep you watching.
Not sure yet where I land on Hateful 8. I can't stop thinking about it. For context, I found Django problematic, but Basterd is my favorite.
Some talking points for H8...
What to make of the fact that the two ostensible leads (representing the North and South) both encounter Daisy (and the story itself) in an incredibly serendipitous (and similar) fashion? Also that they both would have died if they hadn't been rescued, then they become the only survivors of the film.
Also, did anybody else get a "divided nation united only by their mistreatment of women" vibe from the final moments?
For me, Tarantino films took a nosedive as soon as Sally Menke departed. Django was entertaining but had crazy pacing issues and was overlong by at least 30 mins and I feel the same about The Hateful Eight.
@Ez , I share your sentiments. Let's hope Todd or Cate or anyone involved in Carol wins an Oscar and let the camera pan to Tarantino's face in the same instance. What a condign revenge:) LOL
I thought JJL was awful in it too.
I really like what you say about loving directors whilst realising that there are a few duds in their filmography. For me, at least, being a fan of someone's body of work isn't simply thinking everything is great. In fact, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had in talking about why a certain film doesn't work for you, or mapping where a director's particular talents curdled or went off-course. I appreciate that sometimes this can take time since that first flush of excitement at seeing a director you really love's new work can provide rose-tinted glasses that are pretty hard to shift, but the universal raves some directors get for everything they do is, as you say, unhelpful and disingenuous.
I have to say that my favorite parts of reading this blog are not when I am being chastised. I loved The Hateful Eight, and I am still not responsible for grown-up movies not playing in theatres near me.
@NATHANIEL I see Bomer´s pic... but where´s the link???