In hopes of creating the most awkward episode to date, Dad and I
watched The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino's violent pressure
cooker of a Bounty Hunter story. Taking place almost exclusively
inside a general store during a blizzard, this ultra-violet Western
takes on an enormous amount, exploring nothing less than the
history of racism in America, while at the same time taking
elements from murder mysteries, horror films and of course,
previous western bounty hunter sagas. And being a Tarantino film,
it is of course chock full of extreme violence and language, often
in the form of N-words. The highlight for me was certainly
discussing Samuel L Jackson's signature monologue in the center of
the film with my dad. It's worth a listen for that alone. Topics of
conversation also include the genius of Ennio Morricone, the
generational gap when it comes to Tarantino's output, the merits of
meta filmmaking, how one's supposed to feel about violence against
despicable characters, and of course, the definitive conversation
about race in America. That's right, it's actually happening on
this podcast, where my Dad and I watch a Tarantino film and discuss
it! Well, we mostly just talk about what we think the ending means.
Honestly, it's a film so loaded with purpose and intent we could
probably do another episode about it. Although Dad probably
wouldn't be too keen on that. Also, as this film is pretty filthy
when it comes to language, we get a little blue in discussing it.
Unavoidable!
Afterwards, we discuss Season Five of Game of Thrones, which we
totally spoil, if anyone still cares, and I have a few words to say
about some recent genre films, Midnight Special and Green Room.
Next time, we'll be watching the Randolph Scott revenge picture,
Seven Men From Now.
The Hateful Eight stars Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer
Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Demian
Bichir, and Bruce Dern. It was written and directed by Quentin
Tarantino.