Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a B actor whose career is starting to fade.  His one time staring credit in a popular western TV series - Bounty Law - now gets him guest appearances as the bad guy du jour.  His long time stuntman, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), serves as his driver, handyman, and best friend.  It just so happens that Rick lives next door to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate.

The movie reminded me of Hail Caesar!  The setting is the main character and all the actions just offer more details of a specific time.  Tarantino is celebrating late 60s Hollywood in this movie, offering a deep dive into the era through the main characters.  Behold the nostalgia.

Pitt and DiCaprio are excellent in their roles and, though most of the movie has little to nothing to do with the climax, it is always fun and engaging.  After watching this, I wanted to go rent the 14 Fists of McCluskey and check out a couple episodes of Bounty Law.

Definitely worth seeing though I'm not sure I'd say anything here is Oscar material.  Well, set design is pretty impressive.

Thumbs up.

The Hateful Eight

The opening of the film is shown in the trailer: Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) stops a stagecoach on a snowy Wyoming road and asks, "Room for one more?"  It turns out that the stagecoach was hired by John Ruth (Kurt Russell), a bounty hunter who is escorting a murderess, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), to be hanged.  Thanks to a blizzard, the stagecoach gets stuck at a way station populated by an assortment of men who may or may not be who they claim to be.

 

This is not an action movie.  When the shooting does happen, it is quick and bloody.  Mostly, this is a suspense movie.  One of the big influences was The Thing (1982) with Kurt Russell.  There is a lot to like though Samuel L. Jackson steals the show.  Most of the acting is very good but Michael Madsen was miscast.  His soft jowls and long flouncy hair just didn't fit with the hard-living of the American West.  Also, Channing Tatum is a bit young for the role he played or perhaps his sibling was a bit old - 18 year age gap.  Rather than sibling, maybe it should have been parent?

 

When the entire story unfolds and every character is exposed for who they are, one wonders why the plan was what it was.  Why the subterfuge?  Right out the gate, John Ruth is busy hammering a plank in the door with one wrist handcuffed to Daisy.  He was an easy target.

Though a bit too generous with the blood, an inordinate amount of which seems to shower the same character, it is good popcorn fun.  Despite its three hour runtime, it goes surprisingly quickly.