Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - No Spoilers Review

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DrDominator9
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I saw this film last week and thought it was quite captivating yet not Tarantino's best. Very good but not his best. It was an homage to the Hollywood of QT's youth and perhaps that was part of the issue. While it more than hit many of the memorable aspects of 1969's moods and media, the plot wasn't nearly as focused and didn't move forward like Tarantino's other scripts. I didn't mind the meandering at first but it's a long movie and after a while it dragged even as it built slowly to it's usual violent QT ending. The sense of dread as the characters slowly interacted with the Manson "family" was very well done, I'll admit.

I won't spoil the ending here and will wait until the movie is out for another several weeks, but initially I wasn't a fan of it.

I thought the three main actors in the film, Leonardo di Caprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie all did a fine job with their characters, with Margot not quite having as much to do with her acting chops. Still, she was endearing and beautiful. Both Pitt and DeCaprio were more than ample in their roles, drawing us into their personas with deftness that made them more than sympathetic. As usual, the dialogue was terrific, a strong point in QT's films. And he's a craftsman in building his scenes and choosing his angles. Visually, it's a feast and there are so many Easter Eggs you won't catch them all in the first viewing. Certainly it was well worth seeing on the big screen and I'm curious how others feel about the ending.

Without giving away crucial aspects of the plot, what did others here think about the film?
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bushwackerbob
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I think I liked it more than you did, I thought it was an enjoyable film. Plot, what plot? I do not remember enjoying a film with this thin a plot in my entire life. I agree that the strength of the film was in the performances of the two leads DiCaprio and Pitt. Perhaps one of the reasons I might enjoy the film more than others is because it was set in the sixties, a decade (not having been born yet) that has fascinated me for most of my life. I am a sucker for anything having to do with the decade. CNN had a really good series on it some time back and PBS also had a really good take on it about 15-20 years ago. I would have loved to live through that decade, it must have been a very exciting time. I really enjoyed seeing Tarantino's exploration of Hollywood in that time period. I totally agree with you that the film meandered and drifted from one thing to another with no real destination, or at least not the destination you thought they were heading towards, yet inexplicably, I loved it. Somehow I do not believe that university film professors will use this film as a template for aspiring screenwriters or directors but as a vehicle to entertain people for two and a half hours, it succeeded in my view. I would like to talk more about the film but I do not want to spoil it for others so I will wait for a bit until I post.
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tallyho
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I really enjoyed it - 8/10 for me, and excellent acting across the board. Thought DiCaprio was superb and the Bruce Lee actor also but the little girl was fantastic and 2 great scenes with her and Leo.



With regards the ending...it was there all along in the title
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bushwackerbob
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If you thought that the NBA/China/Hong Kong thing was ridiculous, here is another example. China recently banned the film Once Upon a Time In Hollywood because of a scene in which Brad Pitt kicks Bruce Lee's ass. I bet the studio will knuckle under and edit the scene out for Chinese audiences. I am sure that famed social justice warrior Lebron James will approve.
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