STACK February 2016 Issue 136

22 / 89

ALSO SCREENING
IN FEBRUARY
If you don't know about this wisecracking Marvel
mercenary, you've probably been on Mars with
Matt Damon. Star Ryan Reynolds has been on the
publicity trail – both real and virtual – during the last
six months, aggressively promoting his superhero
passion project, which promises to be more rude,
crude, violent and edgy than most Marvel fare. But
will it be “the most faithful adaptation of comic to
film we’ve ever seen”? Find out on Feb 11.
DEADPOOL
Has it really been 15 years since Ben Stiller first
shot us a glance of Blue Steel? Derek Zoolander
returns – older but perhaps not necessarily wiser
or as ridiculously good looking – on Feb 11.
ZOOLANDER 2
Jane Austen meets The Walking Dead in
this gleeful mash-up of highbrow literature,
period romance, and B-movie zombie mayhem.
Marriages and class struggles are put on hold
in Regency England on Feb 25.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
AND ZOMBIES
Michael Fassbender gives what Ashton
Kutcher couldn't – a convincing portrayal of the
eponymous Apple guru. And with director Danny
Boyle at the helm, how can you miss this? Feb 4.
STEVE JOBS
The 8th film by Quentin Tarantino (if you
count Kill Bill as two separate films and
Death Proof as part of the Grindhouse
package) sees the ambitious auteur continue
to experiment with Western/Civil War tropes
following Django Unchained.
Aboard a stagecoach bound for Red Rock
are bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and
his captive/paycheque, the notorious outlaw
Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh in a
welcome return to the screen). Having gained
two fellow travellers en route – fellow bounty
hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L.
Jackson) and sheriff-in-waiting Chris Mannix
(Walton Googins, who's now stealing Bill
Paxton's roles) – this foursome are forced to
take shelter from an oncoming blizzard in the
cosy and remote outpost known as Minnie's
Haberdashery.
It's here that they meet the remainder of
the titular eight – hangman Oswaldo Mobray
(Tim Roth, channelling Christoph Waltz),
cowboy Joe Gage (Michael Madsen, Reservoir
Dogs ear-slicing Mr. Blonde), Mexican Bob
(Demian Bichir) and a Confederate General (the
great Bruce Dern).
Tarantino's passion for writing colourful
dialogue is both an asset and a detriment to
his films, and the eight are by far his most
loquacious ensemble to date. Indeed, the first
half of the film's generous three-hour running
time is devoted to verbal repartee and is a bit
of a slog. Fortunately he's working with the
best cast assembled since Pulp Fiction, and
by the time the first shot is fired, we have a
pretty good handle on who's who at Minnie's
and their respective agendas.
Or do we? What is Daisy's secret? Is Major
Marquis really in possession of a letter from
pen pal Abraham Lincoln? Is Mannix really
the new sheriff of Red Rock? And where
is Minnie? Throw a pot of poisoned coffee,
Agatha Christie and a surprise reveal into
this pressure-cooker environment and all hell
will invariably break loose, leaving Minnie's
Haberdashery resembling the interior of the
cabin from The Evil Dead.
The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's best (and
bloodiest) film since Kill Bill Vol. 1. It's also his
love letter to the grand widescreen epics of
old, shot on film in Ultra Panavision 70 – the
same format that so spectacularly framed Ben-
Hur and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Although divided into chapters, the film
actually plays as two distinctly different halves
in terms of pacing and tone. It's like a reversal
of Grindhouse: Rodriguez's Planet Terror was
an insane bloodbath and Tarantino's own
Death Proof more measured and sedate. The
Hateful Eight is a similarly bipolar beast; talky,
theatrical, incredibly violent, and R-rated for a
good reason. Scott Hocking
FURTHER VIEWING: Django Unchained
Tarantino's best (and bloodiest) film since Kill Bill Vol. 1.
THE HATEFUL EIGHT RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
CAST: Kurt Russell, Samuel L.
Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh
RATING: R18+
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22 FEBRUARY 2016
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