Wow! This movie was extremely NOT AMAZING!

Rating: 3/10 (30 July 2019)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is, by far, the most pointless, meandering, excruciatingly un-entertaining work of the usually reliable master, Quentin Tarantino! Only a handful of good-to-very good performances save this unintentional "disaster film" from complete worthlessness! Fortunately for the picture, one of those performances is by one of its stars, Brad Pitt, who is consistently watchable and entertaining throughout, even as the film he inhabits so often isn't! Pitt's fellow co-lead, Leonardo DiCaprio is barely memorable (and not even particularly good) as a character who isn't especially likeable, or compelling, anyway! Most telling of DiCaprio's shortcomings in the film is the way he easily gets his "thespian clock" cleaned by a then-9 year old actress, Julia Butters, who dominates scenes with him with a seemingly effortless, naturalistic style (seriously, she is one of the best things about the film)! Also very good is the gorgeous Margaret Qualley (Andie MacDowell's real-life daughter) who plays a comely hitchhiker who brings an unsuspecting Pitt into contact with several Manson family members! The fight scene between Pitt and "Bruce Lee" was also entertaining, yet these are all mere moments in a largely overstuffed, hapless mess of a picture! Also, conspicuously absent from the film is writer Tarantino's gift of creating memorable, quotable, dialogue! Not only is the movie crafted in a blandly disposable way, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has precious little of the inspired genius that has profoundly uplifted so many other Tarantino films before it!