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General Category => TV/Movie Reviews => Topic started by: Josh on July 31, 2019, 08:14:03 PM

Title: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Josh on July 31, 2019, 08:14:03 PM
I liked it, but I can see a lot of people not being into this. I normally don't go for movies or TV shows about Hollywood; I usually consider them self-serving and too "inside baseball" for me to care about. You could make those same criticisms about this movie, too, yet I still enjoyed it. It's Quentin Tarrantino's tribute to a by-gone era in Hollywood and it's also a hangout/buddy flick. Lots of long, drawn out scenes with talking and not much happens until the end, but the end is worth waiting for.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 01, 2019, 03:20:31 AM
I'm excited for this. In my opinion Tarantino hasn't made a bad film in his career.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Jor el on August 01, 2019, 10:09:05 PM


   He's a fucking Hack

Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 01, 2019, 11:35:34 PM
Someday we'll agree on something
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: stooge on August 02, 2019, 11:19:36 AM
he has not not made a real bad movie but as with most bands his later stuff after jackie brown became kinda generic
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: jmucke on August 02, 2019, 01:04:35 PM
Agreed, Jackie Brown was the last one I really liked. Since then Tarantino lacks somebody who tells him when he's overdoing it. Some great scenes but a lack of coherent story-telling.
That said, Once upon a Time was mostly enjoyable if a bit too long - as usual.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Jor el on August 02, 2019, 02:10:04 PM


   Tarantino & Kevin Smith - every character delivers the same kind of dialog in the same fashion. 

Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 02, 2019, 02:33:24 PM
^ Part of what makes Tarantino good, and Smith un fucking bearable.

The strudel scene in Inglourious Basterds, for example. A perfect scene.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Jor el on August 02, 2019, 02:52:26 PM


   They're both un fucking bearable for the same reason.

   
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 02, 2019, 03:02:09 PM
There's nothing wrong with writing distinctive dialog if you're good at it and it aids your creative vision.

Bad: Smith, Sorkin
Good: Tarantino, Jarmusch, Cronenberg
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Jor el on August 02, 2019, 03:05:25 PM


   I guess we'll have to agree that you're wrong.

Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 02, 2019, 03:19:40 PM
I got expelled from film school so I doubt I'm wrong  8)
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: socket on August 02, 2019, 03:20:15 PM
I thought that vampire thing Tarantino wrote or whatever was fucking stupid and lost interest since. I saw Inglorious Bastards and thought it was just ok. I liked Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Oh yeah, and Jackie Brown. Never saw any of the others.

I liked some of Smiths stuff. I was young and stupid and Mallrats was for me and I saw the others up until Dogma, I guess. Kevin Smith pisses me off for no reason.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 02, 2019, 03:22:51 PM
Smith's films are just a direct window into his garbage brain, all of his stupidity and insecurity projected onto the screen. I dug Clerks through Dogma when I was a child, but they don't hold up in my opinion.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Jor el on August 02, 2019, 04:12:18 PM


   What does you flunking oot of 'film school' have to do with Tarantino being a Hack?



Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 02, 2019, 04:34:06 PM
It was a self deprecating joke.

I did learn a lot about movies though
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: mortlock on August 02, 2019, 08:58:33 PM
is there a lot of blood?
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Josh on August 03, 2019, 02:04:05 AM
Quote from: Jor el on August 01, 2019, 10:09:05 PM


   He's a fucking Hack

What makes him a "Hack" in your opinion?
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Bro. Righteous on August 04, 2019, 01:29:47 PM
Saw this w/mumsy...comfy VIP theatre trip (btw, tip...) bring your own booze save a few grand.
...movie., long as fuck typical Tarantino but too much insipid dialogue, slow paced - few funny scenes
w/Decrapio...ya, that's what I call him, better to see him in the Revenant. Pitt sexy as usual nails the 70's
look but once again vapid dialogue. Margot Robbie was ultimately wasted in this, check out her righteous
acting in the movie 'Terminal'....Q-man fucked this up and why wasn't there more Manson, I mean the fucker
nailed that role for the 30-seconds he had on screen, shame. I mean if your gonna do a re-telling of the
Manson murders, he coulda done a hell of a lot better///

7 outta 10 Brad Pitt dog food feeding scenes.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: Jor el on August 04, 2019, 01:55:25 PM


    ;D

Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 04, 2019, 03:36:28 PM
Flat out masterpiece; best QT joint since JACKIE BROWN.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: stooge on August 05, 2019, 09:21:29 AM
saw it yesterday and agree it's his best work after jackie brown
actually it is really good i liked that alternate reality thing and the scenes at the farm with the out to lunch hippie girls were just phenomenal as was the bruce lee fight  and pitt in general i laughed so hard i was glad i was in a drive in theatre in my car
the only downside was it's length some scenes should have been shortened or left out
also it was kind of a grindhouse double with "crawl" as the first movie (mediocre creature feature) so i had to sit in the car for like almost 5 hrs
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 05, 2019, 10:35:01 AM
I found it a bit slow at first, but in the long run I thought the pacing really worked to its benefit and I was almost bummed when it was time for Shit To Hit The Fan and it stopped being a day in the life / hangout movie. The one place I might agree would be the Italy montage.

But I wouldn't want to lose a moment of the Western shoot where Rick crumbles under the accolades of an 8 year old girl, or the sequence where Tate watches her movie. Those two scenes were so loving and kind towards the characters and I feel like it's a more tender side of Tarantino than we usually see. The Tate scene starts out with her kind of embodying the vapid, narcissistic actor stereotype, but when she's in the theater just secretly maxing out on the joy her goofy movie is bringing to the audience.... yeah man I was floored.

I dug how there's this recurring thing where things get left unresolved. Did Cliff really murder his fight wife? We cut away before we can see. Who would have won the Cliff/Bruce match? Zoe Bell interrupts them before the tiebreaker. Could Tex have done anything at the ranch? He gets there an instant too late and Cliff is already driving away.

The ranch scene and the final 20 minutes of the film are so fucking good, basically perfect filmmaking, I don't think anybody does coiled-fuse tension and payoff as good as Tarantino.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: stooge on August 05, 2019, 03:21:39 PM
well i could have lived without the tate watching tate and little girl talking to dalton scenes at least they could have been way shorter - the older i get the more i hate to waste time ;)
it's super cool that one don't know if he really killed his wife or not because otherwise chris character would have been to impeccably good so it's great a little edge was added
i love the way the film looks -all those beautiful cars & clothes & tv sets & appliances & else
music was good too (paul reveere all over) the chris/bruce match & ranch scene the ending were unbeleivable - sooo awesome - those insane chicks ... bruce dern... just wow
and i loved that cigarette commercial in the end over the credits too - real cool movie
i especially loved the fact that he did his own version of the manson saga (no spoiler here)
i would never have thought that tarrantino would be able to pull of a thing like that after all those mediocre movies he did in the 00s (except the 1st grindhouse w. russell) and later
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: juan11 on August 09, 2019, 05:17:17 AM
Best movie I've seen in a long long time. Didn't really know what it was about when I walked in. Wasn't even sure who was in it really. Couldn't have seen it under better circumstances.

I thought it flew by and I was bummed when it was over.

Manson got 30 seconds because this was a fuck you charlie film.


I spotted a couple of 1970's Volkswagens.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: stooge on August 09, 2019, 04:12:53 PM
it's also a "fuck bruce lee" (and "fuck sharon tate") film foe sure
lee's family already complained big time about how bruce is portrayed in the movie
like "he would never have gotten in brawl he took karate serious"
although i adored bruce lee like almost every kid who grew up in the 70s i just loved that tarrantino made him look a complete jerk
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: renfield on August 09, 2019, 04:43:33 PM
How is it fuck Bruce or fuck Sharon? I completely disagree.

The whole point of the Bruce scene is to show that Cliff is a total badass, so much so that he can actually go head to head with Lee.

The film is basically a love letter to Sharon Tate.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: juan11 on August 09, 2019, 05:41:43 PM
This is a complete love letter to Sharon Tate.  Even used her (Sharon Tate) in the theater clips.  She was so goddam likeable in that film, "Good luck with your adventure!" to the hitchhiker she picked up, and all.

I read that the Lee family didn't like that people laughed in the theater & that he would have never thrown a jumping kick in a street fight.  "Street fight" is a little strong for that scene, and caving in a Lincoln didn't seem to hurt him much.
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: juan11 on August 09, 2019, 06:07:11 PM
I can't stress enough how rad it was not knowing what it was about, really, assuming it was the Manson story from the opening minutes, having that fade into the background kinda, only to came back here and there, and then full on as a "oh, shit, here we go" moment (and with Tate so goddam likeable!), only to...  you know, THE END.  Amazing!
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: stooge on August 09, 2019, 09:45:59 PM
Well i'm Obviously from another planet
To me celebrities celebrating themselves are super uncool
Lee goes "look at me my fists are officially lethal weapons"
Not even Ivan Drago would have said that
Tate is so in love with herself watching herself in her own movie it turned me off completely and I can't really get how that is likable
But hey it's just my two cents and I'm just a negative Nancy so...
Title: Re: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Post by: juan11 on August 10, 2019, 01:45:34 AM
I got a different vibe totally, like she was surprised/happy to find people liked her in it. I mean, these weren't folks kissing her ass at a party. I though even the way she turned down the refreshments offer made her likeable. Like, it was cute she got in for free, but she wasn't really after any special treatment.

Plus, that 911. Jesus H. Jones. Like McQueen's 911 in Le Mans. How am I not gonna like a sweet mod chick in a black 69 911?  I'M ONLY HUMAN.