LogFAQs > #957625212

Johnbobb: I put off watching this for a while after not seeing it in theaters, partially due to the 3.5 hour runtime. Then I saw that Netflix had uploaded a 4-hour cut, broken into much more serviceable 1-hour segments, like a miniseries. So, I sat down, watched one, and then immediately watched the next 3 because I got so hooked on the characters, the plot, and the mystery of this desolate little shack in the middle of nowhere. Four hours goes by faster than most 2 hour films do.

Karo: Eight of the most despicable people in the civil war era end up trapped together in a small house during a blizzard in this filming of Big Brother: The Old West. Everyone is a total shitlord and it is a miracle we make it halfway through the movie before someone gets murdered.
This is the kind of thing only Tarantino could make work, and make it work he does as the blood begins to flow freely and the typical narrative weirdness ensues.
The scenario somewhat bares in mind Agatha's Christie's 'And Then There Were None' and much like that story the bodies pile up until everyone is dead and that is probably what is best for the world.
It is a very very Tarantino movie and if you like his stuff you will probably like this. I myself am lukewarm on many of his movies but this is okay I guess and at least he knows what he is fucking doing as a director.

Inviso: This is a good movie, and the only thing that holds it back from being higher than the movies Ive ranked above it is that theres a LITTLE too much downtime. Dont get me wrong, I know Tarantino is big on building atmosphere and tension, and theres a lot of good stuff of that variety in this film. But for such a largely character-driven piece, I feel like the stretched tension was a LITTLE too often superfluous to the plot. Namely the stuff with Bruce Derns general, who was himself superfluous to the plot. I think hes the real part of the movie that feels like an unnecessary addition, and thats the one piece that kinda hobbles the film for me, just a little bit. I do love the character development of Walton Goggins character over the course of the movie though, and hes probably the best character. Hes a typical Confederate asshole, but even from the beginning, hes trying to turn over a new leaf as a sheriff. And over the course of the film, while hes still quite racist, he acknowledges Marquis skills, and the two of them die as friends, having outlasted the bushwacking attempt. That balances out Bruce Dern, Id say.

CoolCly: This is an interesting movie. It puts a lot of thought and effort into setting up who everyone is and why the are there, and why events are going to unfold as they are. But. It failed at a lot of those tasks.

The Major baiting the old man to draw on him was good, but just doesn't seem to make sense to do in the middle of this house of people who are already mostly hostile towards him.

The narration of what came after is very strange and out of place. This feels like they couldn't figure out a good way to handle this transition and just did the lazily voice over explanation possible, which seems so unusual for Tarantino.

The Major playing detective on who poisoned the coffee and how Senor Bob doesn't belong is great, but killing Bob after giving his conclusions without trying to get any information out of Bob is just dumb.

I didn't like the flashback to how things to where they were. The way it all went down doesn't even make sense - there'd be blood and mess everywhere that they wouldn't have had time to clean up, and handwaving the old man playing along because he's actually in the main movie makes no sense. It feels like they wanted a brutal scene but rushed the actual planning of it and it really hurts the movie. It's all just to justify an extra person being in the house but it's the opposite of clever.

It's especially not good because Gage and Oswaldo are the least developed and justified members of the eight anyways, so to use this to justify adding a ninth person to their gang sucks. Bob's gruff and terse answers was enough to justify him, but not the others.

Having half of the eight all being in cahoots as a "side" makes this a worse set up than eight strangers falling into chaos as is the premise says. Seeing why eight strangers would tear each other apart is interesting. Finding out that half of the game was mafia all along isnt. All in all - bad twist.
It's strange that this movie just fell off a cliff on how to keep things on track, which should be crucial in this type of movie.

I also don't care at all for Tarantino's penchant for really over the top violence - gunshots causing big blood explosions and heads popping.

Walton Goggins in the end game was awesome. It was great how he, and the Major, who hated each other perhaps the most, ended up as comrades enjoying the letter together. That was a great ending.

The best performance is Daisy who seems crazy and patient at the same time.

7.3/10

Poke: Not as bombastic as other Tarantino works, but the witty dialogue and tension between characters is ever present and thoroughly enjoying.

KBM: One of Tarantino's lesser films, yet still a really good one overall. The man is a master of dialogue, which is good because that's most of what this is. Though it's not necessarily one that sticks with you as strongly as his other movies do, it does feature an unforgettable performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh. It's also a testament to Tarantino's skill with dialogue and the chemistry of the cast that it doesn't feel as long as it is (though I can't speak to the Longer Version that's out there now; I had hoped I would find the time to check that version out and see how it is, but I ran out of time).
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Bear Bro
The Empire of Silence