J-Bang Reviews Present: The Hateful Eight

The latest film to come out of the mind of Quentin Tarantino is "the Hateful Eight," starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. "The Hateful Eight" is a story about a bounty hunter taking his captured bounty to a town to be executed but on the way, they run into a blizzard in the middle of winter and must take shelter in a sketchy cabin, full of sketchy characters. Basically, the story is a game of "Guess Who" in a western setting, because once everyone gets situated, it turns out that everyone is not who they say they are.

The "Hateful Eight" is filmed in that same Quentin Tarantino style he is known for. The dialogue is sharp and the script is quite witty but the film mostly lives of the suspense it builds. The first act helps the audience get to know all of the characters and their backstories, while the second act introduces a conflict that disrupts the "harmony" of the cabin. The third act is obviously the reveal and result, but I put "harmony" in quotation marks because the tension can be cut with a knife when it comes to these characters. Even though they don't know each other, it is the lack of knowledge they have of each other that makes them aggressively defensive towards each other. Since everyone is not "buddy-buddy," it makes it easier to understand why everyone is so twitchy when it comes to their trigger finger.

Though "the Hateful Eight" is packed full of unexpected moments, that does not make it the perfect film. One of the few issues I have with the film is the first act. The first act runs a little longer than it needs to. The exposition feels like it is overstuffed with information that doesn't necessarily matter to the story itself. Yet, because it is a mystery and suspense film, I felt obligated to listen to all of the dialogue, word for word. And while I felt liberated to find out that some of the small details of everyone's story did matter as it corresponds to the bigger picture, some details where left unanswered and without resolution.

Anyways, "The Hateful Eight" is an intriguing piece of fiction that goes on to satisfy the cerebral thinking of its viewers rather than the blood-thirstiness of those who choose to watch it. (Although there is a lot of bloodshed, too) "The Hateful Eight" is as fun to watch as it is exhausting. This film gets a score of 4.2 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Presents: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

STAR WARS!!!!!!!!!! It's back baby and better than expected!!!!!! "The Force Awakens" perfectly captures the spirit of the original trilogy while also adding itself as one of the franchise's best! I have some much to say about this movie but thanks to the "super-secret" marketing of Disney, I think that it's best that I keep this review short and sweet. Basically, "the Force Awakens" is awesome!!!

            "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" delivers on all fronts in terms of the cast and the story. The cinematography is stellar and perfectly captures the huge scope that "Star Wars" is known for. Truly, there is no "breakout performance" because every actor in this film puts on a top notch performance. Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, is without a doubt, the best female character in this film as well as one of the best to debut on screen in 2015. She is a strong and likable presence who contributes alot to the story as a whole. Finn, played by John Boyega, is a sympathetic turncoat for the rebellion that brings laughs but also brings a lot of regret and tragedy to his character. BB-8 is practically the cutest little comic relief of the whole movie. Before seeing this movie, I feared that he would end up as the "Jar-Jar Binks" of the movie but luckily, he was cool as he was hilarious. 

             The original cast of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were as great and as convincing as they were 30 plus years ago but my favorite of all characters has to be Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. He is just a scary-ass dude in a nutshell! I mean, he is so volatile and so overpowered in this film that it makes me wonder who would win in a battle between him and Darth Vader. Not only that, but he also turns out to be a sad character who, in a way, has the same motivations as Rey and Finn. 

         "The Force" has truly been awaken in this latest entry to the "Star Wars" franchise. It tells a tale that is easy to follow but also serves as a cinematic metaphor for discovering your destiny, and finding you true calling in the unpredictable game of life. It's funny, suspenseful, nostalgic, tear-jerking and action-packed! This is a film I am definitely gonna watch again and again while its in theaters! "Stars Wars: the Force Awakens" gets a 5 out of 5!