MOVIE REVIEW: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern,  Al Pacino

Release Date: July 26, 2019

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Rated R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references

Runtime: 2 h 45 min

Review:

Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s 9^th film, is a gloriously unfocused tome that takes the audience back in time to another era.  Tarantino’s film feels like a unrelated assembly of story vignettes which ultimately do converge in an interesting and unexpected fashion.  While the finale will get a lot of buzz but the journey is just as enjoyable.  The film is anchored by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt who are both clearly having a blast in their roles.  They both share some amazing chemistry that keeps the film watchable and enjoyable for the duration.  Their takes of their character layered, subtle and ultimately lots of fun.  There’s a huge whose who of faces that pop up through out the film that boost the film at just the right times.  You can almost feel Tarantino’s gleeful energy come through the screen as some of the screen legends pop up on the screen.  There might be a bit of a complaint about how unfocused the whole thing is and in comparison to his other films, the story here isn’t the strongest.  Still it’s hard not to enjoy this dazzling stroll through a bygone era brought back to life by one of films most talented directors.


A-

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE CRAZIES

Sunday, February 28, 2010
MOVIE REVIEWS: THE CRAZIES

IN THEATERS

THE CRAZIES




Sahara director Breck Eisner teams with screenwriters Ray Wright (Pulse) and Scott Kosar (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) to give George A. Romero's underrated 1973 shocker a shiny new makeover in this update starring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell. Perform a Google search on "small-town America," and eventually you'll stumble across Ogden Marsh, a picturesque hamlet situated a safe distance from the nearest big city, and full of friendly faces. The citizens of Ogden Marsh are happy, albeit unremarkable people, but they're about to discover just how fragile their warm slice of the American Dream really is. When a mysterious toxin transforms the locals into murderous maniacs, it's up to Sheriff David Dutton (Olyphant) to find out why a man who was once an upstanding citizen would attempt to massacre the local youth baseball team, and a caring father would burn his beloved family alive. Within hours the town has descended into total chaos, and the government has ordered it quarantined. Anyone who attempts to escape will be shot on sight, whether they're infected or not. Realizing that their only hope for survival is to fight through the madness that has consumed their once-quiet town, Sheriff Dutton, his pregnant wife, Judy (Mitchell), his deputy Russell (Joe Anderson), and frightened medical center assistant Becca (Danielle Panabaker) wage an epic struggle to discover the source of this malevolent scourge while fending off their infected friends and neighbors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director: Breck Eisner

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker, Joe Anderson, Christie Lynn Smith.

Release Date: February 26, 2010..

Rated R for disturbing violent content, violence and gore

Runtime: 1 hr. 41 min.

Genres: Horror, Thriller

Review:

The Crazies is a surprisingly effective, if predictably derivative, remake of George A Romero’s 1973 original. Breck Eisner creates an effective atmosphere and delivers a visually engaging picture. After a shaky start that feels closer to Resident Evil and The Happening, Eisner finds his footing putting any concerns at ease. Eisner keeps the film moving at a quick pace and doesn’t linger on much peripheral information creating an experience that’s never boring and only occasionally borders on tedium. He has a nice knack for creating set pieces that are interesting and innovative, a scene at a car wash and one at the high school make the biggest impact. The cast is effective but they suffer from weak script. Timothy Olyphant is strong as the lead, even if he’s a bit young for the role and being stuck in the tightest sheriff uniform in history, and plays against the type well. Radha Mitchell works well with Olyphant even if the pair seems a bit mismatched but you can’t help but feel she could have done so much more if the character were defined. Joe Anderson and Danielle Panabaker are even more one note but they aren’t asked to do much aside from look act increasingly unstable and the latter acting terrified. Scott Kosar & Ray Wright penned the script, Kosar having scripted various other remakes, and they keep it simple which has its positive and negatives. The characters aren’t terribly defined and logic takes various sabbaticals during the film’s run time mixed with an over reliance on gotcha scares probably keep this from something special. Also, I’m uncertain about the effectiveness of making “the crazies” zombie like in appearance when they aren’t zombie in the standard sense. These deficiencies aren’t fatal mainly because Eisner keeps the film running at a steady pace and making it less of a problem. Genre fans, me included, will find plenty to enjoy here and The Crazies is much better than the bevy of remakes currently being churned out.




C+

MOVIE REVIEWS: A PERFECT GETAWAY

Tuesday, February 16, 2010
MOVIE REVIEWS: A PERFECT GETAWAY

ON DVD

A PERFECT GETAWAY

Honeymooning newlyweds Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are hiking an 11-mile trail in Hawaii when they cross paths will ex-military man Nick (Timothy Olyphant), who earns their trust by helping them navigate a particularly treacherous mountain cliff. A few yards later, the trio runs into a group of girls whose parents are begging them to return home following reports that a honeymooning couple has been murdered on one of the other islands. The suspects in the killings are a young white couple, and when Cliff and Cydney meet Nick's frees-spirited girlfriend, Gina (Kiele Sanchez), tensions start to rise. The further the foursome walks together, the more delicate the balance of trust and suspicion becomes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide


Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Marley Shelton.


Director: David Twohy


Release Date: Aug 07, 2009


Rated R for graphic violence, language and some drug use.


Runtime: 1 hr. 38 min.


Genres: Action, Thriller


Review:

David Twohy returns to form after his lackluster follow up to Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, with a surprisingly effective thriller. Twohy serves as writer / director here as he usually does and what he creates with A Perfect Getaway is an intriguing if occasionally overly self aware yarn that’s far better than it deserves to be. Twohy doesn’t spend too much time with unnecessary build up or excessive fluff. He gets right into the meat of the story and lets it run in a very lean and well paced manner. He makes great use of the local and shoots some wonderful views of the vistas both as beautiful yet dangerous. The characters he creates are intentionally one dimensional at a glance but as the film proceeds they become more and more ambiguous, keeping the audience guessing. Performances from the cast are decent with most delivering what you’d expect. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich play it straight, for the better part of the film, as the naïve newlywed couple. Both have major character shifts in the films third act, something Jovovich handles better than Zahn who goes a little overboard. Timothy Olyphant is a ball of crazy eyed enthusiasm. Kiele Sanchez is plays it lower key and probably the most forgettable of the main cast. Twohy direction and script keep you off balance and when the major turn occurs in the final act he loses a bit of steam as he feels the need to over explain the situation. He over does it and the entire sequence feels like it could have been trimmed down significantly without losing effectiveness. Regardless, A Perfect Getaway is stronger than expected and delivers an intriguing thriller.


B-