The Hateful Eight: A Gluttonous Appetite for Debauchery

Early in The Hateful Eight, John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) encounters Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), warning him to move slowly – “molasses-like” – while keeping his firearm fixed on the stranger. You could say that the film itself is comparably molasses-like; dense and dark in its substance while deliberately unhurried in its…

Big Game (2014)

“You’re telling me we lost our president like we… lost a set of car keys. This is the most powerful nation in the history of the planet. This is America, and as Vice President of this great nation, I am commanding you to sort this shit out.” That quote gives you a good indication of…

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

If you ask me, the modern incarnation of James Bond – as played by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and the upcoming Spectre – has been a resounding success. But while I’ve enjoyed Craig’s stint as 007, particularly Casino Royale, it’s fair to say that his Bond films have been lacking…

Life of Crime (2013)

Elmore Leonard is one of those authors that you can be familiar with having not read a single page of his writing. This is thanks to the numerous cinematic adaptations of his work – whether its Jackie Brown, Get Shorty, Out of Sight or, now, Life of Crime. Daniel Schechter’s film has plenty of familiar…