Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood

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🎙️ EPISODE 210: 12.04.19 Somehow, after 200+ movie review podcasts and a gaggle of these written critiques, yours truly has not reviewed a Quentin Tarantino motion picture. This might have been tactical. I feel like I'm ready now. Let's start at the end and work our way backwards, hmm? The 9th feature from QT is certainly the most *fun* film he's made in awhile, if not ever. He saves ALL the violence for the finale and that tension/release really pays off. He's fond of calling this movie a 'hang out' movie, as in: it's really just about 'hanging out' with these characters. That's all well and good but mostly lip service, a low key form of advertising.

I am a fan of Tarantino and have seen all of his movies during their theatrical release (starting with Pulp Fiction). My main criticism has always been that they don't really age well. They seem to age horrifically, in fact..

I recently sat down to re-watch Pulp and The Hateful Eight, as both films have recently been added to the popular streaming service, Netflix+ Max. I was shocked by how little they resonated, how stifled the dialogue felt. I have NEVER felt this way seeing his movies on the big screen, mind you. How odd? This is all a very long-winded way of saying this: I'm not sure how much this matters when giving a film a (mostly) arbitrary score or writing a review. It's OK to watch a movie a single time and never revisit. In that way, they remain timeless and, hopefully, good if not great (in your mind's eye).

Or, counterpoint: longevity and rewatchability matters, perhaps greatly. So let's split the difference (at least as it pertains to the Tarantino-Verse). Hollywood feels like a low to solid 9 outta 10. This is its movie theatre grade. Of course it is. It hits all the beats you're looking for in a cinema experience and never tires even as it approaches three hours in length. I won't belabor this point. YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS AT YOUR LOCAL CINEPLEX. The End.

Will it hold up? Who's to say. I will get around to rewatching all of QT's films at some point and assess them on a different scale: the forever grade. Our culture might seem to demand that this be the more important grade. But what I'm saying to you now, dear reader is: please reject my hypothesis; I needn't be further indulged anyway.

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 209B - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 211A ⫸

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