Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
I ventured to the local cinema to give this a watch yesterday. I have to say, I was very happy to see Tarantino finally break his 'bloody revenge flick' spell that was getting tired and boring. Some might argue that Hateful 8 was that break, but I disagree, due to some elements of the film, most primarily Samuel Jackson's character.
Anyways. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The 3 hour run time seemed a bit unnecessary, but in a year filled with absolute crap and trash (where I'm most excited about the 9th Star Wars film... blech) this film stood out like a Mary Kay Cadillac in a ghetto. I'm not sure that I was able to glean a point or even a plot from the film, and yet it still kept me riveted. The ending convinced me that it was supposed to be like an alternate reality (Once upon a time... and all that), and I have to say that the performance from both DiCaprio and Pitt was fantastic. They've both really hit their stride in recent years.
Little cameos from Kurt Russel and Al Pacino gave me a chuckle, and I enjoyed the 60s period piece nature of the film. The Paul Revere and the Raiders album that Margot Robbie's character plays early on is one I actually picked up for a buck myself at an old hippy record shop back where I went to college, and I also have the Vanilla Fudge record that has the final scene's song on it (a cover of Keep Me Hanging On, Vanilla Fudge did some AMAZING covers back in the 60s).
All in all, if you're a fan of 60s pop culture, and a sort of Woody Allen type approach to a Tarantino film, you'll love Once Upon a Time. I highly recommend making the trip to the theaters to see it on the big screen before it's gone.
8.2/10