SOUTHPAW/THE HATEFUL EIGHT

BLOOD AND GUTS. (AND GLORY?)

Intense Tarantino Film, Boxing Flick Soar in Parts, But Not Outstanding

Snubbed in the Best Actor race after his transformative performance in last year’s Nightcrawler, Jake Gyllenhaal came back with a vengeance in the dark and literally bruising boxing film Southpaw. I didn’t see it in theaters over the summer due to some middling reviews, but now I got the chance to watch it on DVD just weeks after watching another underdog boxing flick, Creed. And I almost wish the two movies had switched places, because Jake Gyllenhaal might have had a chance at this year’s Best Actor Oscar race if the movie had come out in October or later.

Meanwhile, no matter what time of year his movies came out, Quentin Tarantino’s movies are always Events, in terms of word-of-mouth, box office success, and, usually, end-of-year award nominations. The Oscar winner who writes and directs his own movies has a penchant for laughs, irony, and straight-up grisly material, a cocktail that has led to great success over the past two decades, and almost always turns out interesting, above-average films. So I was quick to see The Hateful Eight, the director’s newest, as it bowed in theaters on Thursday. It was your typical Tarantino, and all the good and bad that implies.

*Fun Fact: Both Southpaw and The Hateful Eight have served as sponsors for UFC Title Fights that I’ve watched over the past seven months. As if they needed more down and dirty street cred…

SOUTHPAW                                                 Grade: B

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

From the director of hard-hitting movies like Training Day and Olympus Has Fallen, Southpaw follows in the footsteps of Rocky, Raging Bull, Warrior and other movies about combat sports. It pits the world against a main character (or two), has it chew him up and spit him out, and then watches him try to climb and recover with the help of a wise friend/trainer or two. Often, the main conflicts are familial or financial ones, and, sometimes, there is a specific villain or adversary the hero must defeat. And he can only do it if he can get out of his own way.

It’s a typical formula, and Southpaw follows it pretty clearly. Billy “The Great” Hope (Gyllenhaal) is a middleweight champion fighter who grew up in an orphanage in Hell’s Kitchen, and has proven to be a better boxer when he’s faced with a real test—that is, when he’s being beaten to a pulp. It’s led to success, sure, but his devoted wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams), who also grew up in that orphanage, thinks it might be about time to hang up the gloves. Part of her reasoning is their smart, precocious preteen daughter Leila (Oona Laurence) who probably doesn’t need to be exposed to the injuries Billy brings home from even his victories. But the allure of the ring, Billy’s own stubbornness, and his “Yes man” manager (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) make pulling out of the game an unappealing possibility. But after Maureen dies in a freak accident, Billy’s world falls apart, as he loses his house, his fortune, custody of his daughter, and his license to compete. Forced to start from the bottom up to prove himself to the courts, to his naysayers, and to himself, Billy has to work as hard as he ever has in the ring to put his life back together.

Southpaw got mixed reviews from critics upon its release because it isn’t exactly original. Like I said, dozens of movies, from Rocky on, have followed this formula, from the familial issues to Billy’s eventual money issues to the villainous guy he has to face in the ring (here a hiss-worthy rival played by Miguel Gomez) to the world-weary gym owner who “doesn’t train professional fighters” (played by Forest Whitaker). I don’t mean to discredit Southpaw in terms of execution, because most of it is well-done. It’s just been done. There are few surprises, whether you’re contemplating the movie’s central tragedy, which was revealed even in the trailers that led up to the film’s release, or the climactic bout that, in a movie like this, can only really end one way. And the aforementioned trainer who doesn’t train professional fighters…whether it was Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Burgess Meredith, Frank Grillo, or anybody else, has that trainer ever resisted the allure of the big time in the history of movies? Southpaw is imminently-watchable (the only times, in my opinion, it did something wrong was when it made sure to emphasize what a douchebag the rival fighter was, and when it ended at least a scene too early), but clichés and comparisons to other films are unavoidable.

Like I mentioned before, I wish this movie had come out more recently, because Gyllenhaal—who deserved the Best Actor nod for Nightcrawler he did not get—is terrific, convincingly shelving his boy-next-door image for this gritty portrayal. A nomination for this lead performance would not be amiss. Whitaker always seems to play the wise man of authority but when he gets an emotional moment he makes it count. McAdams is terrific as the sadly-doomed wife (her death scene is difficult to watch in its wrenching immediacy), and 13-year-old Oona Laurence is able to sidestep most of the cutesy-kid clichés in a dramatic and emotional performance.

Like most movies of its ilk, Southpaw is watchable. If you and yours are prepared for the R-rated language and some pretty intense moments, it’ll keep you entertained.

**SOUTHPAW is rated R for thematic material including boxing violence, bloody and disturbing images, language, intense emotional content, and brief sexual content

THE HATEFUL EIGHT                             Grade: B-

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

With the possible exception of his 1994 classic Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino movies are each roughly 70 percent intense and terrific movies, and 30 percent mean-spirited and completely reprehensible movies. That tradition stays alive with The Hateful Eight, a three-hour epic that is as well-made, well-acted, and clever in its dialogue and set-up as any of the writer/director’s movies, but comes to the usual drawn-out, relentlessly-blood-soaked finale that, combined with a few other particularly dark moments, can leave a bad taste in one’s mouth.

The Hateful Eight are people, a group of men holed up in a small but nicely-rustic lodge in Nowhereville, 1860s Wyoming, during a terrible blizzard. The group is completed when the carriage of John Ruth (Kurt Russell) pulls in to stay for the night, bringing Ruth—a bounty hunter—his driver O.B. (James Parks), and two men he decided to rescue from the bitter cold en route, a black Army officer (Samuel L. Jackson) and the newly-elected sheriff (Walton Goggins) of Red Rock, the biggest town in the region. Also aboard Ruth’s carriage is Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a battered charge handcuffed to Ruth’s wrist that Ruth is planning to bring to Red Rock for a $10,000 reward and a good hanging. Already in the lodge when Ruth and his motley crew pull up in the deepening snow are an old Confederate general (Bruce Dern), a chatty Brit (Tim Roth), a heavily-accented Mexican (Demian Bichir), and a mysterious, laconic cowboy (Michael Madsen). Like those already in the tavern, Ruth and his fellow travelers realize they’ll have to wait out the blizzard in the cold. Daisy’s presence—attached to Ruth’s wrist—naturally raises questions, like who is she, and why is she worth so much money? The tension slowly begins to mount, as the Confederate general and the black officer have a clash of egos, the increasingly-paranoid Ruth tries to collect everyone’s guns to ensure no one will shoot him in the back to try to steal Daisy and the bounty on her head, and whispers of friends of Daisy’s who may be en route make everyone nervous. It turns out everyone stuck in the lodge may not be so hateful, but, trapped in those cramped corners, will they be able to survive when the tension explodes?

This is familiar territory for Tarantino, whose last film, 2012’s Django Unchained, was also about a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) and his sojourn through America in the race-torn mid-1800s. In fact, Jackson, Roth, Dern and Madsen have all worked with Tarantino at least once before (Jackson has had at least a bit part in every Tarantino film since Pulp Fiction). As is typically the case, there is some slow, talky build-up, constant use of profanity—specifically the N- and F-words—a lot of shifty characters, quirky monologues, and, eventually, more blood than you’re likely to see even in a slasher horror film. As is also typically the case, Tarantino’s love for movies and uncanny skill are evident in the snarky humor, dramatic irony, leg-numbing suspense, colorful characterizations, and payoff to those viewers who have paid close attention.

However, Tarantino’s name in the credits also means things will slow to an absolute crawl at points (and this feels every bit of its three full hours), conversations will go on for a long time, every single detail of an encounter will be observed at length, and some very unpleasant things will happen—Hateful Eight ends with a gruesome image the onscreen characters laugh gleefully about that encapsulates the most literal meaning of the term “gallows humor”, but its mean-spirited nadir is a monologue by Jackson in which he taunts another character by happily explaining just how he tormented and abused an acquaintance of theirs before killing them. Tarantino’s movies are always edgy to the point of sadism; there are moments all but the most extreme Tarantino fans could do without.

The main thing that drops Hateful Eight a notch below Tarantino’s other recent films is likely the absence of Christoph Waltz. The Austrian-born Waltz may have won Supporting Actor Oscars for his roles in Django Unchained and 2009’s Inglorious Basterds, but he was the undisputed star, as well as the best thing about both those films. His undeniable charisma, smile-inducing theatrics and musical line readings were a perfect match for Tarantino’s edgy/witty dialogue. Waltz combined with Tarantino was a source of tremendous entertainment in both those films, and, despite solid work by the cast on hand, Waltz would almost certainly have upped the likability and entertainment factor of the drawn-out Hateful Eight were he in it. (In addition, Django Unchained also featured actors of considerable charisma in Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio—the vicious charm the latter brought to his slave-owner role was another of Django’s best elements).

Like I said, the cast on hand isn’t bad. Jackson has proven time and again to be one of the most entertaining actors alive, but Hateful Eight isn’t his finest hour, even if his acerbic, shouty, scenery-chewing portrayal apes his classic Jules Winfield character from Pulp Fiction; truth be told, Jackson has aped that character again and again throughout his career, to the point that it feels like he’s playing himself in most movies—he’s been at his best when doing something different, like the blustery, hand-wringing head slave in Django or the geeky, brains-before-brawn villain in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Russell is a nice addition, Roth is always welcome, and Goggins—who was also in Django Unchained—is a delight in one of the meatier supporting roles. The only woman with a prominent role, Leigh is effective, even if she doesn’t do much more than snigger or spit until the last quarter of the film.

My opinion of Tarantino’s movies usually improves with repeated viewings—it’s easier to appreciate the layered characterizations and witty dialogue when I’ve heard it before and when I know when the darker material is coming so I can be prepared, or so I can skip it outright. But The Hateful Eight still feels a notch below his more recent flicks, due to the length, the more reprehensible material, and the lack of originality (while it’s different plot-wise, Eight takes place in the same time period and, as mentioned, uses a lot of the same language and same actors as Django Unchained, plus we know by now with Tarantino it’s only a matter of time until the grisly, over-the-top bloodbath). If you’re a diehard Tarantino fan, you’re gonna see it regardless of what I say, and you’ll probably love it. If you’re a casual fan or Tarantino films are an unknown entity for you, rest assured, despite its epic running time and a solid cast, The Hateful Eight is nothing you need to see.

**THE HATEFUL EIGHT is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, constant profanity (including racial slurs and graphic sexual references), disturbing images, and a scene of graphic nudity

Southpaw (2015)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Screenplay by Kurt Sutter

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Naomie Harris and Miguel Gomez (as Miguel "Magic" Escobar)

Rated R

Length: 124 minutes
*SOUTHPAW is Currently Available at Redbox and on DVD/Blu-Ray

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Demian Bichir, Bruce Dern, James Parks and Channing Tatum

Rated R

Length: 187 minutes

*THE HATEFUL EIGHT is Currently in Theaters