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Author Topic: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood  (Read 7097 times)

Junior

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Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« on: July 27, 2019, 06:15:43 PM »
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1SO

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - SPOILERS!!!
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2019, 10:32:18 PM »
So glad to see this so I can talk about the Ending.

I only watched the trailers. Did anyone go in tipped off that we wouldn't see the Sharon Tate murder? It took me completely by surprise, even though Tarantino did something similar with Bastards. I'm also relieved because I don't trust Tarantino to bring the right amount of seriousness and weight to real life murders. Instead, we get one of the epic sequences of violence of his career, turning this into yet another revenge fantasy. It's brilliant because it gives a happy ending to our heroes and to Sharon Tate.

I wonder when the articles will come out about the violence against women. I think Tarantino took extra steps to demonize the Manson women here, so we recoil at the amount of violence and not the gender of the victims. It's also just a really cool callback to have DiCaprio come out with that flamethrower.

The scene at Spahn Ranch has that great drawn-out tension Tarantino is so good at, but an even better one for me was Cliff Booth mixing it up with Bruce Lee. It shows a different, very believable side of Lee filtered through the other stuntmen. Also some perfect meta-casting of Zoe Ball as Kurt Russell's wife.

Rick Dalton complaining about the heat of the flamethrower is another great little moment. In general, I noticed Tarantino would break up his usual long dialogue scenes with brief cutaways. A very welcome decision. Of course, he also shows mac n cheese made in real time and when Sharon Tate goes to see her movie we sit through not one but two movie trailers.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2019, 11:24:25 PM »
The scene at the ranch really is something, it's filmed like a horror film in some ways. Obviously we don't get the Tate murder, but even while watching it that felt like how it would have been shot, the slow creeping up on a door, the sneaking around, etc.

bama_filmsnob

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2019, 10:27:42 AM »
Loved the tension in the scene at the ranch.

I had listened to Karina Longworth's Podcast 'You Must Remember This' 12 part series on Charles Manson's Hollywood, so I knew some background. Was hoping that Cliff wouldn't be killed like Donald Shea.

Anyone notice the jump cuts in the scene with DiCaprio and Olyphant?
"Well it lacked certain elements that we need to market a film successfully. Suspense, laughter, violence, nudity, sex. Happy endings. Mainly happy endings."

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Will

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2019, 11:23:10 PM »

I wonder when the articles will come out about the violence against women. I think Tarantino took extra steps to demonize the Manson women here, so we recoil at the amount of violence and not the gender of the victims. It's also just a really cool callback to have DiCaprio come out with that flamethrower.


Mmmm, you can feel both. You can feel both quite intensely, in fact. I did. His killing of the teenage girls pretty much confirms he shot and killed his wife on purpose too. I feel that this is Tarantino's most naked attempt to show (what he believes as) morally justifiable brutal violence against women. The final scene was too much. He didn't have to drag out their deaths. He didn't have to show Cliff running a girl's head into a bar repeatedly. He didn't have to show a woman suffer an extreme panic attack before being burned to death. There's a sick glee fo his indulgences here. Is that just the violence? No, I would feel less upset about it if the violence would happen to men. I have no qualms in being able to admit that. Tarantino didn't have to show that violence, but he did, as he did in THE HATEFUL EIGHT and every now and then in his other films.

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FLYmeatwad

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2019, 07:50:27 PM »
I liked how the dog bit the guy's balls, you knew that dog was going to give it to someone at some point in this movie.

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2019, 10:36:03 PM »
I thought one of the women would kill the dog, which would send Pitt into a rage. I loved the humor of the wife opening the bathroom door to let the dog in while they wait out the rest of the attack.

Will

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2019, 08:17:08 PM »
Beyond my initial reaction, so much of the "six months later" segment felt meaningless. I agree - the dog should've been killed - at least then, there would be some suspense to the proceedings. Far more suspense in BASTERDS - even though we know how it is going to end, we don't know exactly who will live or die throughout the finale and we aren't sure what will happen to Aldo. I don't think Tarantino thought the ending through that much. I felt similarly with DJANGO UNCHAINED.

Solid Blake

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2019, 05:27:32 AM »
Things I liked:
  • Any scene with the young Julia Butters as Trudi
  • Rick Dalton's alcoholic benders
  • The car mounted long takes and recording of engine sounds
  • Cliff feeding his dog
  • Cliff Booth
  • The Bruce Lee scene
  • The suspense built in the Spahn Ranch scene
  • DiCaprio's performance in both the good/bad takes in Lancer
  • The depiction of Sharon Tate/her innocence and hope/using her actual footage on screen vs. a digitized Margot Robbie

Things I didn't like:
  • The immature/unearned violence in the final scene
  • Sharon Tate's unnecessary involvement/red herring role within this alternate history
  • The punching of Brandy, the dog
  • This film could have trimmed away 30 minutes or so and would have benefited greatly from it

Solid Blake

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Re: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2019, 07:55:55 AM »
I need to think on this film more, but I do rank it around mid-range-Tarantino for now. Seeing it in 35MM in a historic theater definitely helped with the prestige factor, but I really miss his now deceased editor, Sally Menke.

 

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