Too Long, Too Uneven, Too Unpolished

Rating: 1/10 (28 July 2019)

After months of anticipation, I couldn't wait to hit the theaters on opening night to see Quentin Tarantino's 10th film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood".
(sorry people, but it really is his 10th despite his incorrect claims).
So after leaving the cinema, I was disappointed. Couldn't believe the 8.9 rating on IMDB and people talking about Oscars for this movie. First, Brad and Leo give great performances. They really made this movie watchable and without them, I would've never made it to the end. Brad is especially fun to watch as he smirks and postures two and fro, looking totally cool and putting people in their place as they embarrass themselves left and right, i.e. Bruce Lee and the Manson family member at the Ranch. DiCaprio is the foil to Pitt's character as he's an anxious, neurotic, stuttering mess of a once super hot TV actor that is now struggling to keep afloat in 1969 Hollywood. The chemistry these two have breathes life into an otherwise stagnant script. If we could only isolate Brad and Leo's performances, I would give this movie a 10. However, they are not alone, and their performances cannot cover horrible plot, random cameos, unfunny conversations, dirty feet, and awful Kurt Russell voiceover.
The dialogue. Let it be said, it's not good. This is especially surprising, considering QT normally writes engaging scripts even if some of it's stretched thin. But with Once Upon a Time, the dialogue is completely throwaway and uninteresting. A couple one-liners from Brad and Leo are not enough for 3 hour movie.
Empty space. Lots of empty space for a nearly 3 hour movie. Many long, drawn out shots of Brad driving around Los Angeles, feeding dog, and jumping on roof to fix antenna. Yes, editing is for fools.
Random people. Too many random famous people who randomly appear on screen and leave never to be seen again. The whole supporting cast felt like Where's Waldo. Scoot McNairy, Michael Madsen, Damian Lewis, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Luke Perry, and Al Pacino all do their best, but the script is hiding from them. Tragic underuse of a phenomenal group of performers.
Sharon Tate character. Margot Robbie is beautiful to look and is a great actress but the script hides from her, too. She had maybe three scenes in entire movie. Two of those scenes she sleeps and watches own movie. Yes, Oscar for Robbie is a must.
Boring storyline. Very boring storyline for 3 hour movie. The first 2+ hours are a complete unpolished bore filled with Tarantino self indulgence of bare feet and boring scenes and tired 60s pop culture references. It isn't until Brad starts killing Manson family members that the movie becomes a little exciting. You can finally see some plot breaking through the rubbish you watched from earlier in the movie. However, once Leo uses flamethrower to kill last Manson member in swimming pool, movie ends.
That said, I did enjoy the movie in patches and indeed there are moments of brilliance such as Brad on the boat with wife and the invisible crew talking offscreen to Leo when he can't remember his lines in the Western saloon with Timothy Elephant. The cinematography is gorgeous and Robert Richardson is a genius with his camera. Production design is top notch. But as it stands, the movie is too long, too uneven, and too unpolished.
5 stars for Brad and Leo and some great cinematography and 60s set pieces.