Hostiles – 2017

Score: 7,5/10

Hostiles is a very deep and powerful movie, right from the start, and I sincerely was surprised by this. I didn’t expect it to be such an interesting experience and I can honestly say it is one of the best modern westerns I’ve seen. I don’t like the genre very much and I can’t say I am actively searching for movies like this, but this had what it needed in order to make me think about things, in order to make me care about how it ended. It’s a tough one, difficult to see and difficult to enjoy, and yet, it has a certain appeal. I truly recommend this movie to anyone that wants more than just shooting and scalping from a Western.

The story is good, interesting, and it makes you care for the characters, especially the main one. I mean at the start, the first 30 minutes or so, the movie really annoyed me, because I hated the main character, he was acting like a total idiot. I hated it, I was thinking that I will abhor it in the end. And yet, as the movie goes on, there is growth, understanding, changes happen, and they happen naturally. It is amazing how the story evolves here, it is amazing how the characters grow and understand the world better and change their beliefs… It was refreshing to see and I really hope more movies learn that this is the right way to make audiences care about your protagonists…

The characters are powerful, interestingly created and they gel well together to propel the story forward. You care about their actions because you understand everyone’s motivations. It might sound like a boring cliché, but here, everybody behaves as normal people would and that is endearing. There are a couple of scenes where the quality of the actors shines, and altogether, the casting is on point. Great performances from Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons, Adam Beach, Rory Cochrane, Peter Mullan, Scott Wilson, Paul Anderson, Timothée Chalamet, Ben Foster, Jonathan Majors, John Benjamin Hickey and Stephen Lang.

For me, the most amazing aspect of this movie is the way in which the main character evolves throughout. It starts off with Bale being incredibly annoying, taking stupid decisions, shouting alone to the sky like an idiot and refusing to accept reality. And it ends with a matured character that has understood that good and evil don’t exist as absolutes and that every decision has consequences. It is refreshing, it is powerful and it transforms the entire narrative of the movie. A great process that we can all relate too.

As minuses, I have to point out many of the fight scenes, that were of course happening at night, which means impossible to see. It didn’t bother me so much since I was not interested in fighting here, but still, again, why do movies do this, I simply don’t get it… Also, many scenes are drawn out because Scott Cooper has this idea that drawing them out makes them seem more profound. He is wrong and it becomes very annoying towards the end. Also, the music is lacking and it seems to never be in tune with what is happening on screen. I was very disappointed by the score and I truly think it hurts the movie a lot.

In conclusion, Hostiles is definitely a movie worth checking out. You will be able to enjoy it even if you are not a big fan of the genre, because it manages to go beyond Indians versus white people and into the realm of psychology and understanding the human condition. It is a powerful movie that, despite of the grittiness and casual killings that happen almost nonstop, has a positive message. Not a politically correct bullshit of a message, but a realistic one that goes straight for your core. A good movie, one that I will remember and one that does justice to the period in which it is set. Oh, and seriously, I never thought I would see Batman in the Wild Wild West :)))

The Hateful Eight – 2015

Score: 8/10

I can’t say I am a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. I have never been and I most certainly have a lot of problems with many of his movies. So I have to say that I went into this a little bit biased. But The Hateful Eight managed to change my mind and I ended up loving it. It is harder to see than most films, but if you manage to get to the end and think about it afterwards, you will discover that the experience was totally worth it. I would see it again and that alone says a lot about the inner quality of it.

The story is a little bit convoluted, but you can expect that already from a Tarantino movie. Nevertheless, it is interesting, it has twists and it manages to keep you alert. This is a great movie for someone who likes to talk and most importantly for someone who likes to discover people through the small things they say and the idiosyncrasies they display. The dialogue is carefully constructed and there are almost no continuity errors here. A great story, and a unique one at that, which is not easy to do!

The characters are amazing, beautifully created and highly relatable. You really feel you are in the Old West and you can’t help but root for not one, but almost all of them. It is amazing to see such a talented cast at work, and the names here will leave you speechless. It is one of the most impressive casts I have ever seen, and I have to commend performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Dana Gourrier and Zoë Bell.

The overall style of the movie is typical Tarantino. A small and almost impossible to identify silver line and a lot of hidden symbols that you have to understand in order to enjoy the experience fully. And here is my problem with this movie. Because of his style, Tarantino manages to make his films feel longer than they actually are. It is the same case here, because on a first viewing, I was almost pushed to the limit. You could argue that is because the 168 minutes running time, but I really think it’s the way everything is shot, with a lot of pauses and a lot of “art”. Too much art can hurt a movie and destroy your immersion, and I really hope Tarantino will stop doing this in the future.

The music, oh my God the music. It is by far the best thing about this movie, and although I was expecting something like this from a legendary composer like Ennio Morricone, I have to admit that he actually managed to surpass every single expectation I had. He is a true legend of cinema and any movie in the world would be enhanced by his atypical and powerful scores. It is a joy from start to finish, and especially in the open credits, the cross scene will leave you breathless… Simply breathless…

In conclusion, The Hateful Eight is definitely a movie worth watching. It tries to be a classic western and it manages to be totally different from whatever you have seen before. It moves slowly but at the same time the action makes you jump from your seat in more instances than one. Overall, I would say that it is a unique experience, completed to perfection by the atmosphere that Tarantino creates, by the amazing musical score from Ennio Morricone and by the spectacular performances of a stellar cast. Oh, and the constant swearing and racism is simply adorable. Now who doesn’t love listening to over 200 hundred swear words in one single movie? 😀