by Pa Rock
Movie Fan
While I was in Kansas this past weekend, Tim (my movie-writer son) and I went to a theatre to see Quentin Tarantino's new film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I hadn't been to an actual movie theatre in something like two years, so settling in for a movie in someplace as plush and comfortable at the Standees Theatre in Prairie Village, Kansas, was quite a treat.
(The popcorn was over-priced, even for movie theatre, but the free, refillable cups of ice water helped to take the sting out of the pricey popcorn - and the comfort level of the theatre was amazing!)
And the movie itself made the whole experience an unexpected treat.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a retelling of an actual historical event, in this case events leading up to the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends in her home in the Hollywood hills, but with just a bit of a twist. In the movie Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski, live in a very nice home on a cut-de-sac at the end of a private road. That much was true. In the movie version, however, a washed out, alcoholic, former television cowboy star lives next door to Tate and Polanski. That character, Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is very much a fictional creation of Tarentino - who directed and wrote the movie.
Rick Dalton's best friend is his stunt double, Cliff Booth, ably portrayed by Brad Pitt. Booth works for Dalton as his driver and handyman even when they aren't making television shows or movies. Most of this movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, focuses on the relationship between Dalton and Booth as they both struggle to remain relevant in a fast-changing Hollywood.
The year is 1969 and along with the two homes up in the Hollywood Hills, one rented to a real couple and the other occupied by a fictional individual, Sunset Strip is also alive with street people, some of whom are members of Charlie Manson's hippie "family." As these flower children hitchhike up and down the Strip, one of them crosses paths with Cliff Booth.
Beyond that I am fearful of giving too much plot away - but suffice it to say that there is an action scene at the end of the movie that is pure Tarantino and will not be easily forgotten!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, while not riveted to historical accuracy, does give a fairly lucid portrayal of what life in Hollywood and the greater Los Angeles area must have been like fifty years ago. Tarantino has twisted the dial a bit on the ending, but his version certainly inspires some thought on how the smallest of changes can impact history in really big ways..
And the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are both Oscar-worthy!
Movie Fan
While I was in Kansas this past weekend, Tim (my movie-writer son) and I went to a theatre to see Quentin Tarantino's new film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I hadn't been to an actual movie theatre in something like two years, so settling in for a movie in someplace as plush and comfortable at the Standees Theatre in Prairie Village, Kansas, was quite a treat.
(The popcorn was over-priced, even for movie theatre, but the free, refillable cups of ice water helped to take the sting out of the pricey popcorn - and the comfort level of the theatre was amazing!)
And the movie itself made the whole experience an unexpected treat.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a retelling of an actual historical event, in this case events leading up to the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends in her home in the Hollywood hills, but with just a bit of a twist. In the movie Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski, live in a very nice home on a cut-de-sac at the end of a private road. That much was true. In the movie version, however, a washed out, alcoholic, former television cowboy star lives next door to Tate and Polanski. That character, Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is very much a fictional creation of Tarentino - who directed and wrote the movie.
Rick Dalton's best friend is his stunt double, Cliff Booth, ably portrayed by Brad Pitt. Booth works for Dalton as his driver and handyman even when they aren't making television shows or movies. Most of this movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, focuses on the relationship between Dalton and Booth as they both struggle to remain relevant in a fast-changing Hollywood.
The year is 1969 and along with the two homes up in the Hollywood Hills, one rented to a real couple and the other occupied by a fictional individual, Sunset Strip is also alive with street people, some of whom are members of Charlie Manson's hippie "family." As these flower children hitchhike up and down the Strip, one of them crosses paths with Cliff Booth.
Beyond that I am fearful of giving too much plot away - but suffice it to say that there is an action scene at the end of the movie that is pure Tarantino and will not be easily forgotten!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, while not riveted to historical accuracy, does give a fairly lucid portrayal of what life in Hollywood and the greater Los Angeles area must have been like fifty years ago. Tarantino has twisted the dial a bit on the ending, but his version certainly inspires some thought on how the smallest of changes can impact history in really big ways..
And the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are both Oscar-worthy!
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