The Hateful Eight

Oh dear. If I hadn't seen "Inglourious" or "Django" I might be tempted to be done with Tarantino after this god awful mess. This was needlessly long, gory for no real point, crass, and just plain annoying. I lost count of how many times I heard the "n" word, most of the time just for shock value and not to further the plot. By the end of the first hour I was rolling my eyes at how ridiculous a story this was. By the end of the second, I was exclaiming out loud. By the end I was just cursing Tarantino for being so utterly self-indulgent at the sake of what could have been a decent movie if it had an editor and a much better writer. The actors were all great, but that's to be expected. Oh, and only Kim Ki-Duk gets to write things like "The 8th film by" before the title. Tarantino gets maybe one more shot from me before i toss him on the same pile I threw Malick a while back. Ugh. 2/5

The Hateful Eight on Netflix

October Gale

A simple story told simply & well, a taught drama with no pretense or extraneous information. Well done.  3.5/5

October Gale on Netflix

Selma

So let me get this straight. In a year where Oscar bait films dominated the awards pictures, and lackluster films like "The Imitation Game" and "The Theory of Everything" got awards and nominations left, right, and center... no one nominated David Oyelowo for Best Actor? Really??? I thought his performance was superior to Carrell and Cumberbatch and equal to Redmayne, and "Selma" as a film was far more solid and nuanced that the two I previously mentioned. If you are going to nominate actors from Oscar bait films, David Oyelowo deserved a nomination. At least "Selma" got a nomination, which is comforting. 4/5

Selma on Netflix

Broken

What a terribly and tragically beautiful film this is, blending beauty & heartbreak so seamlessly. Just divine. 4.5/5

Broken on Netflix

The Hit

A young Stephen Frears took a shaky script & made it shine with excellent casting, acting & direction. Well done. 3.5/5

The Hit on Netflix

Made In Britain

Tim Roth is electrifying & stunning in this brilliant film about troubled British youths. Mesmerizing. 4/5

Made In Britain on Netflix

Deceiver

Wholly impractical, ridiculous, badly edited & directed, just ludicrous in so many ways. Bah. 2/5

Deceiver on Netflix

The Beautiful Country

Damien Nguyen & Bai Ling are extraordinary in this emotional story about the lost children of Vietnam. 4/5

The Beautiful Country on Netflix