Movie Debate #76: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

[Reed Rothchild | 9,588]

[Gloves | 11,841]

Never seen it.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

Never seen it.

I've seen Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Does that count?

[Sumez | 2,995]

The movie feels like it's a little too focused around the long drag up until the twist ending (which only really makes sense if you're somewhat informed about the real world events the movie is set around, too).

It's a satisfying conclusion in this weird, awful way, and definitely fascinating. But I think the best aspects of the movie doesn't come from any of the content that is based around that series of events, but all the little bits about DiCaprio's and Pitt's characters, and the former's struggle with remaining relevant. My favourite part of the whole thing was that segment around the middle, where he's starring in a cameo role of sorts in a western, while struggling with believing in his own skills.

I kind of wish the whole movie would be more centered around that theme, but Tarantino is a guy who makes whatever the hell he feels like making, and it's clear he had an idea from the outset that he wanted to achieve, and I'd rather he sticks to complete creative freedom than what I thinks he should do.  If only because he's one of the only remaining huge names in Hollywood who is still able to even do that.

7/10 - No "Inglourious Basterds", but still good

Edited June 28, 2021 by Sumez

[Sumez | 2,995]

[The Count | 532]

I was really looking forward to seeing this as I'm a big Tarantino fan, but I wasn't too thrilled with it. It had a lot of potential, but it never went the way I would have liked to see it go. 6/10.

[twiztor | 855]

i liked it a lot, but i doubt i'll go back to it very often. Tarantino movies (to me) have a lot of replayability, but this felt like an outlier. 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

I was one of the "9/10" votes.

I think everyone should watch it.  Has enough slow burn to make a swath of it almost feel like a strange "slice of life" film, but then pivots hard in a pretty memorable way.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,588]

I will just say I was pleasantly surprised by the twist, and also incredulous that I somehow didn't see it coming.  I mean, it's a Tarantino movie for chrissakes.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,588]

20 hours ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

I've seen Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Does that count?

They're both riffs on Once Upon a Time in the West (or America), Douglas 

[Brickman | 4,017]

A lot of people didn’t like this film but I personally loved it. Kill Bill is my favourite of his then this. I loved the slow burn and the ending. I’m interested in a lot of themes explored in this movie so that’s probably why. I’m waiting for a TV upgrade and will watch it again.

[JamesRobot | 5,837]

I did really enjoy it but I probably won't watch it again.  Probably goes the same for most of his movies after Pulp Fiction save for Death Proof. 

By definition, I guess it's a 5 because I won't really go out of my way to watch it again.  But it's better than that.  I also want to give it a 7, very good but not quite great.  So I guess in the end it evens out to a 6.

It all comes down to runtime I guess.  My attention span just won't allow for three hours to casually watch Tarantino flicks, let alone the double header Kill Bill or the extended Hateful Eight.  I'll probably never get around to watching that one. 

Oh, and his portrayal of Bruce Lee in this movie rubbed me the wrong way even if it was admittedly funny.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,018]

20 hours ago, twiztor said:

i liked it a lot, but i doubt i'll go back to it very often. Tarantino movies (to me) have a lot of replayability, but this felt like an outlier. 

This one I had to watch twice bc I picked it up with no recommendations or prior knowledge of what the movie was going to be about. Needless to say I was shocked by the twist lol

[glazball | 172]

This movie is wildly overrated.  QT has forgotten what made his first few movies great.  Won't ever be watching a second time.  4/10

[JamesRobot | 5,837]

7 minutes ago, glazball said:

This movie is wildly overrated.  QT has forgotten what made his first few movies great.  Won't ever be watching a second time.  4/10

Just wondering where he drops off for you?  I'm probably least interested in rewatching Basterds, Hateful 8, and KB 2.  

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I literally just watched this three days ago.

6/10. Not Tarantino's worst movie, but certainly not his best. It's a very long run for a depressingly short slide. It's missing the witty banter that fills his best movies and the film just doesn't have a strong identity. Also, from a filmmaking perspective, when you have two of the biggest stars in Hollywood, I'm not sure that splitting them up for most of the movie really makes sense. And the final scene would be absolutely ripped apart by critics for being nonsensical and gratuitous if it were from any other director.

Overall I enjoyed it, but wouldn't recommend it to very many people. The high RT score from professional critics is not surprising considering the subject matter and self-congratulatory nature of Hollywood, but even the audience score at 70% seems like a bit much. 

Edited June 30, 2021 by DoctorEncore

[Reed Rothchild | 9,588]

Bump.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

On 6/28/2021 at 3:27 PM, Reed Rothchild said:

They're both riffs on Once Upon a Time in the West (or America), Douglas 

Never seen it although I have heard of it.