It's a shame, because there ARE cool things within the universe this movie explores. But the movie doesn't really allow the viewer to explore these things for themselves. It feels like an extension of some unfortunate parts of nerd culture itself, a work that demands to be taken seriously but which forgoes the one most important thing about being taken seriously: meeting the other person at their own terms, at least partially.

Say whatever one likes about, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and its dependence on nostalgia, or Peter Jackson's various forays into Middle Earth, at least those movies know the value of calming the fuck down and letting the characters actually be characters. This does not. For this movie, the lore is the thing, and as cool as it is, it just doesn't let the people within it shine on their own terms. Which is also a shame because there is a solid 2-hour movie with the Orcs ALONE, and their introductory sequences are heartfelt, brutal and tinged with tragedy.

Ah, well. The movie is apparently making some bank, so we'll probably get another movie no matter what. But this movie is just plain bad. It's a failure, pure and simple.

Agreed on the list! This movie is just a fucking mess.

Another thing that bothers me about, "Batman v Superman", especially in regards to Batman...(SPOILER ALERT) so the big Batmobile chase shown in the trailers where Superman then interrupts him because he is a prick? Before all of that happens, Batman plants a tracker onto a truck that leads to Lex Luthor's place, which happens to have a bunch of henchmen and guy Batman thought was, "The White Portuguese". Batman then chases these guys in the Batmobile. Why? Yes, the movie has Batman involved in a mystery where he has to find, "The White Portuguese" because main red herring was said to be a crime boss, but Batman's approach would've completely compromised his ability to actually solve the case. Worse, the guy drives his batmobile through the very trunk of the very truck he kills other henchmen just to chase, tearing through it like paper. That's the trunk where he place the fucking tracker! Did Batman just...forget that he was tracking them in the first place? (SPOILER OVER)

This movie's version of Batman is a bloodthirsty moron. We don't see him plan for things, we barely learn what makes him tick because the movie flattens such analysis flat just to service a series of plot devices. Sure, the opening sequence (and the OTHER opening sequence recounting events from, "Man of Steel") gives us just two things: 1. Why he is Batman (which the movie contradicts by having Bruce tell us that it's bullshit) and 2. Why he hates Superman. The movie's characterization of Batman waffles between stereotype and pretension. Such a waste.

I picture this as being the horror movie genre's, "Drive", something that will likely be disliked by someone expecting what they usually like to get from other movies of that genre (though to be fair the marketing campaign makes a hard sell of the movie as being a really creepy and startling horror movie), while being paraded around by the usual gang of assholes who likes to think of themselves as being Good People just for consuming something even a little high-brow. And...well, I'd be lying if I said I'm not kind of the latter group, for this movie is fucking great, but this is definitely an odd one for an industry currently filled to the brim with one-note "Found Footage" horror flicks, so I can understand if some people dislike it.

As for me? Well, I fucking love this movie. Probably the first movie of 2016 that goes all the way to being capital, "g" Great, and I can't wait to see what writer/director Robert Eggers has in store next.

I quite liked, "Blue Ruin", so...yeah, looking forward to this, even if it looks like something that will horrify me for days.

I haven't felt this way about a movie since the David Fincher-directed adaptation of, "Gone Girl". Like, "Gone Girl", it uses the template of a simple story as an all out assault on the society it is set in, but here in, "The Hateful Eight", the assault is on American history, race relations (pay VERY close attention to the interactions between Samuel L. Jackson's character and Demian Bichir's Mysterious Mexican character) and misogynistic violence...except even that part is screwy, because Daisy Domigue is a racist asshole.

I mean, the movie SEEMS simple, but here is a movie that plays, "Rashomon" with America's past, using the grindhouse/Spaghetti Western aesthetic to gaze at a gaping maw that, if this election season is any indication, America has yet to address. I'm not sure if the movie really succeeds, however. The way Tarintino and company play with the narrative and the audience, it feels as though the things, "The Hateful Eight" addresses are just window-dressing for bloodletting. After all, this IS a story where people bamboozle each other just to survive...and yet it uses those lies to touch upon very real things.

I mean...fuck. Also, as a moviebuff, I have to confess that I could not catch the 70mm screening that occured in Los Angeles (though apparently that was short-lived), so I had to settle for a DCP screening that didn't even have an intermission. Not that I minded the running time to begin with.

I'm relieved, yet I'm still on the fence.

On one hand, yeah it's great to have them finally make a good, "Star Wars" movie again, and when said good movie has resulted from nice tweaks that make the universe of, "Star Wars" more attractive to modern/diverse audiences (at least, they do so for me), that's a big plus.

On the other hand, I can't help but shake the feeling of witnessing the world's most expensive sausage factory. Yeah, the morsels are delicious and the ingredients are solid, but one can't help but search for something a bit more fulfilling. Then again, the movie (and the series in general) already touches upon some pretty weighty themes: destiny, war, history (and the making/unmaking thereof) and loss. It just tackles them in a way that's engaging and fun, especially with the characters. Nothing wrong with that, I'm just waiting for another, "Empire Strikes Back" before I can begin to be truly enthusiastic, and if that doesn't pan out...well, at least we have the Gendy Tartakovsky-helmed animated shorts. And the video games.

I was just about to bring up Moviebob's old review of, "The Clone Wars". Huh. Funny how things chance, and if Moviebob changed that much since then...then I guess the movie must be doing SOMETHING right.

I gotta say, "Inside Out" is probably up there with, "Being John Malkovich" in how it blends paths and structuring into a satisfying and fun result, though it's not exactly as inventive as that movie. Even then, that's not a problem due to how the movie's structure and story beats are accentuated by, well, emotions, to the point where the plot points aren't just about WHAT happens but about WHY things happen. So if one looks to this movie hoping for some innovation...I wouldn't say it succeeds, but I think the movie's theming and characterization are so well done that it doesn't matter.

Also, am I the only one who loves how (SPOILER ALERT) the character Sadness displays empahty? That's what knocked me off my seat. Sure they are a character who is prone to crying and being perhaps pessimistic, but they also have insight on people and how they act/want things, insights that Joy often misses. Wheras Joy is outbeat yet prone to just seeing the big picture at the expense of everything else, Sadness is downbeat but is very detail-oriented. That's why Sadness is the one who has actually read the instruction manuals wheras Joy is all, "Go, go, go!" to the point where it's arguable that the entire plot, and the struggles wherein, are their fault. (SPOILER ALERT OVER).

But, yeah, "Inside Out" is a knockout. Not the most innovative, but it's a movie with plenty of nuance and heart. Almost makes up for Pixar trying to make, "Toy Story 4" and, "Finding Dory" happen.

I think that's a good point. The way Riley is characterized, it's more of like an automation with memories. It kind of reminded me of the Daemons in the, "His Dark Materials" trilogy ("The Golden Compass" to be more specific) where while the personifications of emotions may be gendered, within the context of the movie their gender is made irrelevant. Then there are the short glimpses into the minds of other characters, particularly Riley's Mother and Father, and even those are arguably more gendered than Riley's, they're not done in a way that reinforces any stereotypes about how certain groups of people act, due to how in, "Inside Out", human beings are basically automations with memories.

Though, maybe there's something I'm missing.

I can see what you're coming from, and after seeing the movie, I can say that I don't think the movie endorses any gender stereotypes, due to how the movie treats it's human characters as something like automations/puppets so as to allow it's main theme of emotional growth shine through.

Sure, it SEEMS as though it's going into the "this gender acts like THIS" route, especially given that the characters are the typical American family...but when the movie dives into the minds of each character, it shows a surprising amount of nuance, especially with the main human character. the movie may seem to be embracing stereotypes, but as it goes on it breaks those things apart, to the point where the movie becomes a parable about loss and growing up. A theme that's...well, human, not something that's shown as being a girl/guy thing.

With that said, prepare for a just little bit of stereotyping at the beginning, and then marvel as the movie becomes something quite better and affecting altogether. I happen to think that it's a story that transcends whatever gender stereotypes are shown at the offset, something on the level of, "Being John Malkovich" if you would like an example. And I think that makes it worth watching, because of how it breaks down the human element to the point where the initial stereotypes are irrelevant.