Quentin Tarantino is a household name in the Hollywood industry. Through his unique style of filmmaking, he has more than earned his place in cinema history, crafting several memorable hits such as Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and Django Unchained. In this, his ninth feature film, Tarantino has taken a trip down memory lane and exposed audiences to the world of 1960s Hollywood through the lens of a washed up actor, his stuntdouble, and a hit actress whose life ended in horrific tragedy. Now personally, I have always been a huge fan of Tarantino, so where do I find myself when it comes to Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood? Well, while it's certainly not a bad movie, it's definitely for me one of Tarantino's weaker outings and one that I may not hold in such high regard as some of his other works. Let's get into why that be the case:
UPS
- Brad Pitt steals the show, which is excellent given that he's opposite the always superb Leonardo DiCaprio. While the latter does pull off a great performance as leading man Rick Dalton, Cliff Booth is far more interesting to follow and Pitt portrays him with such charisma that you can't help but love him.
- The setting. The time between the 60s and 70s is such a glorious time for pop culture, and it's so cool and interesting to see Tarantino's interpretation of how that was like in the former. I'm sure many, such as my father, had heavy bouts of nostalgic joy. For me, the little voiceover of Batman and Robin that played over the credits was a nice touch.
- THAT ENDING! Tarantino has a knack for providing an alternate take on how certain historical events play out (i.e. the ending of Inglorious Bastards.) In this case, it's the Manson Family's horrific murder of Sharon Tate. Nothing prepared me for what I saw, and that has to be one of the most insane endings to a movie I have ever seen, one that came completely out of nowhere, but in this case that's a good thing.
DOWNS
- This movie takes a long time to really get going and becomes a little self-indulgent in its runtime, which wouldn't be bad if I didn't find myself getting so bored at times. While I already mentioned that Leo's acting was impeccable and there were a few solid scenes sprinkled throughout (such as the moments he shares with rising star Julia Butters,) Rick is easily the least interesting of the main leads involved and one who took up too much screentime while others such as Margot Robbie's Tate get the short end of the stick. All in all, if Tarantino trimmed down the runtime a bit and allotted time for each character's storyline better, the movie would have benefited tremendously.
OVERALL
While I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood, I do appreciate certain aspects and think it's still a movie that's worth a watch.
And that's it for this post, guys! Tune in for more coming your way :)
20. The Revenant
19. Rise of The Planet of The Apes
18. Alpha
17. Deadpool
16. The VVitch
15. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
14. The Wolf of Wall Street 
13. The Irishman
12. Prisoners
11. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2
10. Django Unchained 
9. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Coco
7. Logan
6. Whiplash 
5. Dawn of The Planet of The Apes
4. Avengers: Infinity War
3. How To Train Your Dragon
2. Joker
1. Toy Story 3
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9. 
8. 
7. 
6. 
5. 
4. 
3. Marriage Story