Movies
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Not sure why he wanted to tell the story or why he told it the way he did, but "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" could have been at least an hour shorter.
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He could have made it an hour longer for my part and ditched any narrative pretence. But it is when QT is at his cinematically poetic best that I like him the most, and story be damned. Some of the LA driving montage scenes were exquisite, and the segment when Di Caprio’s character films the western TV show contains some wonderful dialogue and acting.
I think OUATIH is probably his most layered, personal film. It’s also low key in its subject matter and the way he treats it, compared to the more obvious, visceral genre/history inspired films of his middle to late term work.
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Moon does indeed rock.
Once Upon a Time is still boring until the last half hour.
And yes, I know all about Sharon Tate (who seemed more like a prop than a character, BTW) and understand what he was doing in cultivating a sense of dread during that slow burn. Could have told the story (or a more interesting one) and still made it pretty in 90 minutes. Maybe QT couldn't squeeze in enough female toes in that timeframe…One final thought is that a better tribute to Tate than a 2-dimensional character with zero development and only a few lines SPOILER: might have been for her to be involved in deterring the Manson family. I mean while we're revising things and paying tribute, why let two fictional characters get all the glory? I think if she could have fended them off and called for help and then had the neighbors/cowboys/superheroes swoop in, that would have been a more satisfying ending. Though, the ending wasn't really the problem.
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I read a few articles criticising the treatment of Tate, from a gender perspective, and I think it is a valid point. QT was called out on it at Cannes and gave a typically boorish response. Robbie, when asked was loyal to the film and director. All a bit disappointing in this day and age.
That being said, and rightly or wrongly I think that considering the movie as a revisionist nostalgia fantasy/fairytale means it makes sense for Tate to be this idealised über feminine starlet. The sequence where she goes to watch her own movie being a case in point. Her, and Polanski too, are unwitting, utterly innocent, little elf-like beings, existing in their own hallowed, ethereal plane, far removed from the world of our grubbier, more earthly heroes. The two of them don't get their hands remotely dirty and have no conception of the danger they are in at any point in the film.
For me that part of it is the flimsy frame that Tarantino hangs the real work on, which as I've implied earlier in the thread is his love letter to a period, to the city, to the workers of Hollywood, to the nascent glory of TV culture and not least to The Leading Man. That's the real story for the director, the Manson/Tate situation is a over-developed MacGuffin, necessary in order to tell it.
I found it a sumptuous bit of filmmaking, and it will be forever amongst some of my favourite films I suspect. But these things are, fortunately, like everything else worth talking about and enjoying, subjectivity and personal preference make the world go round. Hell, I still believe David Lynch's "Dune" is a misunderstood, misrepresented pearl of a movie, to be enjoyed at least once a year
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I'm always behind the times on movies as I rarely ever go to a theater show. Finally got around to watching Joker now that it can be bought/rented. Whoa. Terrifying.
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Gemini Man: 5/10
Interesting premise but poor execution. The de-aging effects looked off and some of the other cgi effects weren’t that good. I’m not sure which fx studio Ang Lee uses for some of his films but some of the action sequences looked a bit herky jerky, kinda like some of the atrocious Marvel films from 2008-10.
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@BloodnThunder I'm interested to watch The Joker. I can't abide super hero franchise films, regardless of what new spin or angle directors try and put on them. Character development, the complexities and isolating nature of possessing such 'super powers', and the effect it has upon their relationships yada yada yada…Joker seems to have been handled differently (I'm hoping).
I've heard lots of discussion, from people not enduringly effected by mental health, that it explores the 'spiral' into mental health crisis. I hope there are some positives. The cinematography and acting look to be good though, so I am looking forward to it.
We don't expose our son to super hero movies, and have no intention of doing so. We help him understanding that actual, living people are real heroes, and that exaggerated examples of masculinity and femininity are not healthy or helpful (skin tight suits, muscular physiques, stereotyped gender silhouettes etc).
He has a school project to do entitled 'The happiest place on earth', which is reference apparently to Disney. We have subverted this and are doing a project on Finland and the Finnish people, as this is actually the happiest place on earth...not a corporate, soulless, cesspool.
still...looking forward to watching The Joker
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@Stuart.T I'm kind of in the same boat. I enjoyed the darkness of a few of the most recent Batman movies but have avoided seeing any of the other films. Joker, aside from the fact you know it's based on a Marvel character, really doesn't feel like a superhero movie in any way. In certain ways it felt like the director wanted to simply make a movie about the state of mental health and may have simply used the Joker character to gain a larger audience. This movie very easily could have been made and would have been fantastic if it had nothing to do with a comic book character.
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Joker, aside from the fact you know it's based on a Marvel character, really doesn't feel like a superhero movie in any way. In certain ways it felt like the director wanted to simply make a movie about the state of mental health and may have simply used the Joker character to gain a larger audience. This movie very easily could have been made and would have been fantastic if it had nothing to do with a comic book character.
You meant to say “DC” character of course.
Thematically and stylistically there are enormous similarities to Taxi Driver. Loner in the big city, feels alienated and misunderstood and enters a downward spiral where his self pity turns into self loathing, before being projected onto those around him with inevitable results.
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Uncut gems. My heart rate stayed above 120 the entire time. I think i might have sweat a little too. Tension not action.
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Joker, aside from the fact you know it's based on a Marvel character, really doesn't feel like a superhero movie in any way. In certain ways it felt like the director wanted to simply make a movie about the state of mental health and may have simply used the Joker character to gain a larger audience. This movie very easily could have been made and would have been fantastic if it had nothing to do with a comic book character.
You meant to say “DC” character of course.
Thematically and stylistically there are enormous similarities to Taxi Driver. Loner in the big city, feels alienated and misunderstood and enters a downward spiral where his self pity turns into self loathing, before being projected onto those around him with inevitable results.
Describing it in that way has me feeling I might over relate
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Watched Once Upon A Time in Hollywood last week
I watched it ion the plane earlier today. Absolutely loved it, almost watched it twice….
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Watched Once Upon A Time in Hollywood last week
I watched it ion the plane earlier today. Absolutely loved it, almost watched it twice….
Saw it last week myself, great film and pace for 2hrs, then its mental for the last 15 mins!
