This isn't supposed to be a Monty Python sketch or a nuanced satire. This is supposed to poke fun at the ultra patriotic Bro dude history that people homology together into our past. This is the version of America where Lincoln rides a grizzly bear into battle on a t shirt. It's chock full of references and humor and while not perfect I found it ridiculously entertaining and I'm a historian. Just don't take it so seriously.
Reviews
2 Reviews
This film is already underrated
28 July 2019
First off I loved this movie. Beautifully acted interesting and just so easy for me to watch personally. To the dedicated cinephile this is an incredible masterpiece. However I think people dislike this movie for all the wrong reasons. Tarantino to me seems like the kid who went to HighSchool with who got into a fight once and won but secretly hates fighting but everyone still wants him to fight more. To me Tarantino is at his best when he makes movies that are driven by the interesting characters in them rather than blood gore and one big climactic event that everything leads up to (nothing wrong with some blood though) For instance, everyone loves Pulp fiction and rightfully so that movie is one of the greatest movies of all time. This is a movie that is exciting fast-paced and sometimes extremely over the top. While entertaining, this style of moviemaking to me is not where Tarantino excels to his greatest extent and I feel like this isn't the type of movie Tarantino has liked to make for a long time as evidenced by how much he has had to cut out of the hateful 8 and Jackie Brown. Jackie Brown is another movie that suffers from the same problem in many people's eyes that once upon a time in Hollywood does. To some people both these stories may seem drawn-out overindulgent and Meandering. However I find these movies too much more interesting due to their much more realistic pacing and more interest in their characters as people rather than plot devices. As shown in other movies like The hateful eight and Jackie Brown flushing out the real sustenance of a character and putting that on screen is where Tarantino really tends to shine and is criminally underappreciated by many people. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is another one of those movies I feel Tarantino truly shines in the way he wants to. Here he has created a movie that is driven by and it is about the interesting people that lived 1960s Hollywood and their everyday experiences that made their lives so interesting rather than simply being about the huge climactic events that many people thought this movie would solely be about. Tarantino's choice to recreate the 1960s thoroughly in this film was also a huge reason why this movie truly shines in what it sets out to do. You can literally feel the town of Los Angeles from 50 years ago spring off the screen and come to life as you watch this movie. Don't go into this movie expecting an overzealous gorefest a True Crime documentary or an over-the-top drama. Go into this film expecting to be immersed in the world that Rick Cliff and Sharon live in and be prepared to thoroughly enjoy those people, their very interesting lives, the town that they lived in, the music and radio that they listen to, and the stories they have to tell. If you do this I can tell you right now you will fall in love with this film.
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