THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Quentin Tarantino 2015)

[Johann]

Right on.
Knowing nothing going in can be a revelation- I've experienced that many times. When I said 95% of the movies out there aren't worth my time, what I'm referring to is Kubrick's mantra: "In a way, everything has already been done in cinema. Our job is to do it BETTER", and no one is doing it better.

Case in point: Steven Spielberg. That man knows how to make a movie on Kubrick's level (and has all the tools at his disposal to do it) and he refuses. He continues to make "audience" movies. He was an auteur in the 70's, with Friedkin, Coppola & even Lucas- auteur of blockbusters. I think he's lost his "auteur" status, and lost it when he made "Hook". Many may disagree, but that's what I feel.

Lincoln was well-made- I really liked it. But how cinematic was it? Not much. War Horse- same thing. Bridge of Spies- who gives a shit? Spielberg is frustrating. He towers in Hollywood, but a director like Roman Polanski or Werner Herzog leave him in the dust. There's no "ecstatic truth" to be seen in any recent Spielberg pictures. He can do what he wants, he's earned it, but if I miss a Spielberg I lose ZERO SLEEP.