Good, Refreshing, Non-Comic Book-Movie, with Great Acting, Directing, Editing, and Lots of Fun

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2019)

I really enjoyed this movie. It's just a lot of fun. It's very interesting and different. Most of the movie is DiCaprio's Rick Dalton struggling to stay relevant and keep getting work as an aging actor, and the realities that occur on the sets of his shows.
Pitt is very entertaining as Dalton's carefree stunt double, Cliff Booth, who- legend has it- once challenged Bruce Lee to a fight on set and beat him. And Margot Robbie is delightful, charming, beautiful, and charismatic as young, up-and-coming starlet Sharon Tate, who just got married to famous filmmaker Roman Polanski.
You can enjoy a ride through 1969 Los Angeles, passing through the Playboy Mansion, the Hollywood Hills, Burbank, along the freeway, down Ventura, and all the way to Chatsworth, to Spahn Ranch, where a group of hippies are gathering. Rick and Cliff have been in showbusiness and Hollywood for a while, and they have noticed how hippies have begun showing up around town, hitchhiking, and stirring trouble at times.
This is one of Tarantino's best films, and it's because he doesn't overindulge as much as usual. His directing is more toned-down and writing more reserved. There is more of a sense of realism in Once Upon a Time than anything sensational, like his last five movies or so. In this way, I guess you can say that the film in his catalogue that comes closest to this one is Jackie Brown.
This movie is more concerned with the realities of Hollywood in 1969, and the realities of the industry for a few various different actors getting work. As such, it is a lot of fun and full of laughs, a quirky style, and a good time.
It might just be me, but I almost find this kind of movie nonexistent out of Hollywood in recent years; it seems that if it's not CGI, comic book, Star Wars, or other movies with lots of explosions (usually unoriginal, done before, or remakes), then it hardly gets made or any attention.
Fortunately, Tarantino has given us something more down to earth, historical, and true-to-life with a cast of great actors who bring their A-games to their roles. This is definitely a movie not to take too seriously, but just to sit back, immerse yourself in the time period/era, and just have a good time. If you get the sense of humor and quirks on display at times, you will definitely do just that.