Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood (2019)

[GrahamS. 803]

I saw Once Upon last night with a good friend of mine. My friend walked out midway through it, I liked it. We’re both big Quentin fans but I think the movie was too slow and inside baseball ((or Hollywood, rather) for him. I didn’t care for the Bruce Lee caricature and did find the middle section slow, but overall really liked it.

i know Quentin’s films are not usual HDTGM material, but I’m just curious to hear other people’s opinions. I have heard other people say they REALLY didn’t like it. What do you think?

[theworstbuddhist 572]

I quite liked it but can certainly understand why people wouldn’t. I grew up kind of fascinated by the dark side of Hollywood history and was apprehensive about QT exploiting the awful story of Sharon Tate, so the way it played out was a pleasant surprise for me. It gave me a lot to talk to my parents about. I loved some of the weird little details like Damian Lewis as Steve McQueen. Next to Death Proof and Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, it’s probably my favourite of his films. 

[GrahamS. 803]

I agree! I also was SUPER apprehensive about how he would handle Sharon Tate’s story and was pleasantly surprised by how Tarantino wrapped things up. Whether or not he retires/does Star Trek after this, I thought this was a strong film to go out on.

[KillGod666 1]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Thank God This Got Made material. Seriously, it was really good, and it's getting great reviews from critics. Those who think it's too slow must have attention-deficit disorder. And this is coming from someone who thought Pulp Fiction was a bit overrated. If HDTGM decides to cover this movie, I will no longer listen to their episodes.

[GrahamS. 803]

2 hours ago, KillGod666 said:

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Thank God This Got Made material. Seriously, it was really good, and it's getting great reviews from critics. Those who think it's too slow must have attention-deficit disorder. And this is coming from someone who thought Pulp Fiction was a bit overrated. If HDTGM decides to cover this movie, I will no longer listen to their episodes.

I liked the movie a lot, but I will defend people who were bored by it because the 60s era Hollywood is not fascinating to everyone. I think this is Tarantino’s most niche film and he’s a niche filmmaker to begin with. This is a portrait of what made him who he is, and if you don’t share his taste, this is a VERY LONG, mostly shock-value-free film. And shock value is what people expect from him. Full confession: I found the western in the film kind of dull, and I liked the movie as a whole and I like westerns. That was the section where  I took my bathroom break because I knew that I wouldn’t miss much.

Honestly, even among friends who I know are big fans of Tarantino, this is a hard film to recommend without major caveats. A lot of the people I’ve recommended it to are people who I know aren’t Tarantino fans, because it’s so different.

 As for HDTGM covering it, I doubt they will, but not all films they pick are “bad” (whatever your definition of bad is—mine would include Birdemic).  They are just films that provoke strong reactions. By that standard, this film (and Midsommar) would make for an interesting episode.

[RyanSz 3140]

I absolutely loved this movie and for me it didn't feel too long as it basically had the same tone and style for the majority of the film, outside of the ending. I'm honestly surprised that he didn't make this his final film since it's such a love letter to Hollywood's Golden Age, and it honestly amazes me at the incredible number of well known actors who were in this movie, many with zero lines, just to be in a QT movie. I was going thru the IMDB cast list for it and was stunned seeing the names mentioned and trying to go back in my head of where I might have seen them in the movie. If Brad Pitt doesn't get a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod for this it would be a complete travesty, as it would if the young girl actress who talked to Leo on the Lancer set or Bella the dog as they were complete scene stealers. I will say it was weird watching this movie and its ending and realizing that on numerous occasions I was within arm's reach of Tex Watson because of my job, it was a instant thought that popped into my head as I was driving home that was a weird sense of unease. Though in usual QT fashion, I was laughing at the scene of the Family members fanboying out realizing that they were just yelled at by Leo's character who they watched on TV when they were kids, even though they were still trying to complete their given task.

[GrahamS. 803]

42 minutes ago, RyanSz said:

I will say it was weird watching this movie and its ending and realizing that on numerous occasions I was within arm's reach of Tex Watson because of my job, it was a instant thought that popped into my head as I was driving home that was a weird sense of unease.

I enjoyed QT’s take on the ending as well. 

I have to say, while I enjoy some true crime, I’m not big into serial killers/serial killer cults (or whatever you’d call the Manson family). Even though I lived in L.A. for four years, I’m not really familiar with the events that transpired (except for Sharon Tate, obviously) and who was involved. Was Tex Watson one of the key people?

[KillGod666 1]

8 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

I liked the movie a lot, but I will defend people who were bored by it because the 60s era Hollywood is not fascinating to everyone. I think this is Tarantino’s most niche film and he’s a niche filmmaker to begin with. This is a portrait of what made him who he is, and if you don’t share his taste, this is a VERY LONG, mostly shock-value-free film. And shock value is what people expect from him. Full confession: I found the western in the film kind of dull, and I liked the movie as a whole and I like westerns. That was the section where  I took my bathroom break because I knew that I wouldn’t miss much.

Honestly, even among friends who I know are big fans of Tarantino, this is a hard film to recommend without major caveats. A lot of the people I’ve recommended it to are people who I know aren’t Tarantino fans, because it’s so different.

 As for HDTGM covering it, I doubt they will, but not all films they pick are “bad” (whatever your definition of bad is—mine would include Birdemic).  They are just films that provoke strong reactions. By that standard, this film (and Midsommar) would make for an interesting episode.

In the forum, it says at the top, under the heading, "Which stinking pile of Hollywood bullshit should we talk about next?"

"Have you ever seen a movie so bad that it's amazing?" is what it says on the podcast's homepage. So, yes, the movies chosen for HDTGM are supposed to be bad. 

And I just want to add that those who complain about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood being too long probably hate the Godfather movies (not to mention The Bridge over the River Kwai, Schindler's List and Lawrence of Arabia).

 

 

[RyanSz 3140]

8 hours ago, KillGod666 said:

In the forum, it says at the top, under the heading, "Which stinking pile of Hollywood bullshit should we talk about next?"

"Have you ever seen a movie so bad that it's amazing?" is what it says on the podcast's homepage. So, yes, the movies chosen for HDTGM are supposed to be bad. 

And I just want to add that those who complain about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood being too long probably hate the Godfather movies (not to mention The Bridge over the River Kwai, Schindler's List and Lawrence of Arabia).

 

 

To be fair that tagline for the forum has been there since the near beginning of the show, before it evolved into discussing "thank god this got made movies" like Face/Off, the Fast and Furious series, and Crank movies.

14 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

I enjoyed QT’s take on the ending as well. 

I have to say, while I enjoy some true crime, I’m not big into serial killers/serial killer cults (or whatever you’d call the Manson family). Even though I lived in L.A. for four years, I’m not really familiar with the events that transpired (except for Sharon Tate, obviously) and who was involved. Was Tex Watson one of the key people?

Tex was one of the of the higher ups within the Family and was involved with both the Tate murders as well as the LaBianca murders that took place the next night and has been in prison since 71. Basically up to the twist, the movie was following history in who was going up to the Tate house that night and what they were planning on doing.

[KillGod666 1]

16 hours ago, RyanSz said:

To be fair that tagline for the forum has been there since the near beginning of the show, before it evolved into discussing "thank god this got made movies" like Face/Off, the Fast and Furious series, and Crank movies.

Tex was one of the of the higher ups within the Family and was involved with both the Tate murders as well as the LaBianca murders that took place the next night and has been in prison since 71. Basically up to the twist, the movie was following history in who was going up to the Tate house that night and what they were planning on doing.

They should've never done an HDTGM episode on Face/Off. The original intent for this podcast was to discuss bad movies. It should've never "evolved" from that. People seemed to have forgot what it is supposed to be about.

[RyanSz 3140]

11 minutes ago, KillGod666 said:

They should've never done an HDTGM episode on Face/Off. The original intent for this podcast was to discuss bad movies. It should've never "evolved" from that. People seemed to have forgot what it is supposed to be about.

Yes original intent was bad films but if it never evolved, which it did very quickly, it would have never opened it up for great discussions like in the Punisher War Zone episode or the episode with Brian Taylor from Crank. If it had been just horrible, soul-crushing films like Ninja Terminator or Last Airbender, they'd have probably stopped years ago.

[GrahamS. 803]

 

7 hours ago, RyanSz said:

k If it had been just horrible, soul-crushing films like Ninja Terminator or Last Airbender, they'd have probably stopped years ago.

I’m glad they watched those films so I didn’t have to!

[KillGod666 1]

10 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Yes original intent was bad films but if it never evolved, which it did very quickly, it would have never opened it up for great discussions like in the Punisher War Zone episode or the episode with Brian Taylor from Crank. If it had been just horrible, soul-crushing films like Ninja Terminator or Last Airbender, they'd have probably stopped years ago.

Punisher War Zone isn't a good movie, at least in my opinion.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

2 hours ago, KillGod666 said:

Punisher War Zone isn't a good movie, at least in my opinion.

And Face/Off isn't a good one either. So there ya go. Welcome the world of different opinions.