Tarantino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

Wow...tough question because I don't want to spoil anything or give people any ideas before going to see it.

I'll say different.

It's more personal and heartfelt than anything he's ever done, IMO. With that said, there are still plenty of easter eggs, excellent cameos and typical QT obsessions that are everywhere in the film.

If you're a huge QT fan, I think you'll LOVE this movie.

I wasn't alive during this time period, but I really FELT like I was in 1969 LA.

Saw some interviews with him where he talked about the movie being a love letter to his home town.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Saw some interviews with him where he talked about the movie being a love letter to his home town.

Definitely plays that way.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Saw some interviews with him where he talked about the movie being a love letter to his home town.

I love well done period pieces. One of my top five favorites is L.A. Confidential.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I love well done period pieces. One of my top five favorites is L.A. Confidential.

Absolutely love that movie. So perfect

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Absolutely love that movie. So perfect

It's The Godfather of cop movies.

I always thought it was kind of ironic that the weakest of the main performances won the Oscar. I guess Spacey, Crowe and Pearce were all so good that they cancelled each other out.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I love well done period pieces. One of my top five favorites is L.A. Confidential.

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Absolutely love that movie. So perfect

That's a prime candidate for a re-watch. One of the few movies that I know i watched and I know I enjoyed a great deal, but I couldn't tell you much about it at all.

I mean, I have a good memory, but I watched it once, on VHS, in my dorm, right after it came out of home video. What was that? 25 years ago?

EDIT - Looked it up, closer to 20. So it was more likely on DVD in my apartment. I just recall it being a rental, which is more than I remember of the movie.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

That's a prime candidate for a re-watch. One of the few movies that I know i watched and I know I enjoyed a great deal, but I couldn't tell you much about it at all.

I mean, I have a good memory, but I watched it once, on VHS, in my dorm, right after it came out of home video. What was that? 25 years ago?

EDIT - Looked it up, closer to 20. So it was more likely on DVD in my apartment. I just recall it being a rental, which is more than I remember of the movie.

Netflix streams it from time to time

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Netflix streams it from time to time

Went ahead and queued it last night.

Was an excellent film, if a tad Hollywood-stylized [which I realize is an odd criticism of this particular film, and it's not it's fault, but time has witnessed a move away from prestige films looking like Hollywood productions, . . grittier, less 'star power,' ironically].

The performances were great, but the one true star of the movie is James Elroy. Such a narrative. Such writing.

A close second was Cromwell's understated accent. Could so easily have fallen into caricature.

I disagree that Basinger was the weakest acting of the bunch. But I do think her OScar was lifted a bit by Hollywood's love of her character [they love when Hollywood lionizes Hollywood /cough Shakespeare in Love]. This also was Elroy's creativity.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Went ahead and queued it last night.

Was an excellent film, if a tad Hollywood-stylized [which I realize is an odd criticism of this particular film, and it's not it's fault, but time has witnessed a move away from prestige films looking like Hollywood productions, . . grittier, less 'star power,' ironically].

The performances were great, but the one true star of the movie is James Elroy. Such a narrative. Such writing.

A close second was Cromwell's understated accent. Could so easily have fallen into caricature.

I disagree that Basinger was the weakest acting of the bunch. But I do think her OScar was lifted a bit by Hollywood's love of her character [they love when Hollywood lionizes Hollywood /cough Shakespeare in Love]. This also was Elroy's creativity.

She basically had no character arc. She started as a whore with a heart of gold type and ended that way. OTOH all the other main characters change significantly as the story unfolds.

Don't get me wrong - I thought Basinger did a excellent job. Just not as good as the others.

Ironically, one of the pivotal moments of the film - when Dudley asks Exley about Rolo Tomasi - wasn't in the book. Elroy said he was just as surprised by that as everybody else.

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I love well done period pieces. One of my top five favorites is L.A. Confidential.

I just watched that here 2-3 weeks ago. One of my all time favorites as well. It is one of those few movies I revisit on a near yearly basis.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Saw some interviews with him where he talked about the movie being a love letter to his home town.

You don't need to hear him say that to know it.

I've been teaching screenwriting in Chicago all summer, and was kind of nervous about heading back to LA. What if I'd fallen out of love with it?

Watched this movie in 70mm at the Music Box, and I couldn't be more excited to go home.

Lots and lots and lots of people have tried to make a movie about the movies. There is always a layer of artifice to it that you cannot escape. Not with this one. It's just everything there is to love about Hollywood. Not Los Angeles - Hollywood. LA is a city. Hollywood is a state of being.

Thankfully, the other film faculty here is a bunch of crazy smart European and Lebanese filmmakers from Columbia University, so having a conversation about movies is like talking food with a Michelin star chef.

Last night, one of the directing faculty and I were having drinks, he looks at me and says "The more time I spend away from that movie..." and I finish his sentence:

The more you love it.

Yep.

I have to see it a couple more times to know what I think. Right now, I suspect it is Tarantino's opus. I'm not sure. Have to think about it. But I don't need time to know how I feel:

I ****ing LOVE it.

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

You don't need to hear him say that to know it.

I've been teaching screenwriting in Chicago all summer, and was kind of nervous about heading back to LA. What if I'd fallen out of love with it?

Watched this movie in 70mm at the Music Box, and I couldn't be more excited to go home.

Lots and lots and lots of people have tried to make a movie about the movies. There is always a layer of artifice to it that you cannot escape. Not with this one. It's just everything there is to love about Hollywood. Not Los Angeles - Hollywood. LA is a city. Hollywood is a state of being.

Thankfully, the other film faculty here is a bunch of crazy smart European and Lebanese filmmakers from Columbia University, so having a conversation about movies is like talking food with a Michelin star chef.

Last night, one of the directing faculty and I were having drinks, he looks at me and says "The more time I spend away from that movie..." and I finish his sentence:

The more you love it.

Yep.

I have to see it a couple more times to know what I think. Right now, I suspect it is Tarantino's opus. I'm not sure. Have to think about it. But I don't need time to know how I feel:

I ****ing LOVE it.

I’m sorry man, this post just makes me laugh.

[DeepPurple]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief
Saw some interviews with him where he talked about the movie being a love letter to his home town.

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

You don't need to hear him say that to know it.

I've been teaching screenwriting in Chicago all summer, and was kind of nervous about heading back to LA. What if I'd fallen out of love with it?

Watched this movie in 70mm at the Music Box, and I couldn't be more excited to go home.

Lots and lots and lots of people have tried to make a movie about the movies. There is always a layer of artifice to it that you cannot escape. Not with this one. It's just everything there is to love about Hollywood. Not Los Angeles - Hollywood. LA is a city. Hollywood is a state of being...

I ****ing LOVE it.

A movie about movies that I believe is absolutely perfect is The Player. I've seen it at five times and can still watch it again. It's got the scenery, the story, the acting, the backstabbing, the intrigue, murder and love.

A film about the City of LA, without a doubt it's Chinatown. It's style, music, acting, the story, everything about that town rolled into one. Since the 70's I've probably watched it 40 times. Have it recorded right now along with The Player.