Just a quick word as I don't have time for much more. I saw Carol on xmas and the Hateful Eight yesterday.
The Hateful Eight screened in 70mm with an overture and an intermission and with no previews. Anyone who cares to see the movie should do everything reasonably possible to see it in 70mm with the roadshow format. Probably tied with A Force Awakens for my most enjoyable moviegoing experience of the year, though neither of those movies will appear in my top ten.
The Hateful Eight was very good and very funny, but at least on first watch didn't take hold of me like Tarantino's last two movies. I can't wait to hear all the morons arguing about the racism and misogyny in the movie, though. There's plenty for those types of idiots to glom onto if they want to bitch, but they will be totally wrong. Great in parts and on the cusp of greatness overall but it doesn't quite show QT's potential imo. Would still be a HUGE mistake to miss in 70mm. Plus you get a sweet big movie program like in the old days as well.
Carol I almost didn't even see. My mom wanted to go see Star Wars on xmas, but we didn't know when we'd be finished at my mother-in-law's so we didn't have tickets in advance and of course it was sold out by the last showtime of the night. I kind of pushed Carol on her as it was the only thing at the theater that I hadn't seen and wanted to catch.
I didn't expect it to blow me away as it did, though. Cate Blanchett was very good (and her performance complex in a way that I can tell I will be unpacking it further on multiple watches), but Rooney Mara was stunning. And the direction was magnificent. I had heard/read it ended up being a little lifeless due to Todd Haynes's preoccupation with the set and costume design, but that was way off the mark imo. So many notable sequences that show how thoroughly Haynes understands how to tell the narrative story in a purely visual way. I don't see how this won't make my top ten.
