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Older and Wiser: Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood Review

9/27/2019

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By Bill Friedell
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Quentin Tarantino, ever since 1992, has shocked and entertained audiences with multiple intersecting plots, non linear storytelling and a large dose of film references. But where does he fit in 2019? Tarantino explores this in his newest film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Once Upon a Time In... Hollywood follows the stories of struggling actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), disgraced stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), and rising star Sharon Tate (Marggot Robbie) as they each try to find their place in Hollywood in the late 1960s. 
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The acting is an undeniable positive in this film. DiCaprio gets to show a more vulnerable side as a fading star who can only get jobs as villains on T.V. shows. While he is not as despicable as Jordan Belford in The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013) or Calvin Candie in Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012), he isn’t particularly noble either. Dalton is shown with a stutter and is mainly interested in maintaining his career and lifestyle. It also showcases his versatility in the many T.V. shows and films he appears in throughout the film. This appears to be Tarantino gripping with his own place in Hollywood: still a known entity but due to his own idiosyncrasies and the changing prospects of new trends and tastes contradicting what he has always known. Pitt also gives an excellent performance, oozing charisma and a hint of danger. The film sings whenever Pitt and DiCaprio work off each other, showcasing one of the best movie friendships of the year. Robbie also excels, giving life to an icon taken too early. Despite not having as much dialogue as Decaprio and Pitt, she still brings a presence and exuberance that makes her real, particularly when she goes to a theatre and watches The Wrecking Crew (Phil Karlson, 1969), a movie the real Sharon Tate starred in.
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Inglorious Basterds runs at 2 hours 30 minutes
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Django Unchained runs at 2 hours 45 minutes.
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Hateful Eight runs at 3 Hours 7 minutes
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Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood runs at 2 Hours 40 minutes.
Tarantino’s films tend to run longer than most films do, (Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood running at 2 hours 40 minutes) which allows for the director to let the movie breathe and inhabit the spaces the characters do. He lets us sit in the passenger seat as we see characters drive from point a to point b while era appropriate rock music like Bring a Little Lovin' by Los Bravos plays on the radio. We see Cliff prepare his dog food in all its intricacies and this lets us truly live in his camper filled to the brim with details. This approach especially pays off as Cliff finds his way to an abandoned western town set filled with members of the infamous Manson Family. The prolonged time spent building the tension pays dividends as he masterfully escalates the stakes with each exchange between Cliff and the Manson Family.

This breathing room creates a very different atmosphere than Tarantino’s other films, creating a more intimate, low stakes film. It’s not an epic like 
Django Unchained or as claustrophobic as The Hateful 8 (2015). This provides a more contemplative and introspective atmosphere. It’s also Tarantino’s most metacinematic film since Inglourious Basterds (2009), incorporating film within film and T.V. within a film, showcasing movies and T.V. shows from the period both fictional and real. This allows for Tarantino to lovingly recreate the aesthetics of old Hollywood production in a sendup to late 60s Hollywood, like something larger than life when the streets of Hollywood turn on at night. He also doesn’t partake in non linear storytelling, taking a more conventional linear approach, jumping between Cliff, Rick, and Sharon’s stories as they concurrently happen.​
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Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) stars in the fictional western T.V. show Bounty Law
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Tarantino utilizes metacinema by putting Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) into various films and T.V. shows. Many of these films and shows are not real shows, but are made in such a way that they blend in perfectly with the era.
One area where the film struggled was the caracturized portrayal of Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). While he is a small role in the film, he is the centerpiece of a scene where Cliff meets him during a stunt job, resulting in a three round fight. Lee easily wins the first round, but Cliff surprises Lee with a quick takedown of his own. At the third round, both men seem evenly matched, but the fight is broken up. Some have criticized this scene for making Bruce Lee into a joke as well as a means to prop up Cliff’s character by winning a round on him and seemingly stalemating before the fight is broken up. It seems weird that Bruce Lee isn’t given the same reverence Sharon Tate gets (they both died tragically and young). It seems that Tarantino is aware of this as he shows Bruce Lee training Sharon Tate for a fight scene for The Wrecking Crew. The fact that the fight was left unresolved allowed me to accept this storytelling choice, but I felt as if the cockiness of Tarantino’s Bruce Lee seemed to make him more like a cartoon version of Bruce Lee, rather than an actual human being. 
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C.iff Booth (Brad Pitt) and Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) fight each other
Potential Spoilers about the ending. skip to the next paragraph if you haven’t seen the movie.

The ending of the film is the biggest hurdle Tarantino must overcome. Much like Inglourious Basterds, it involves alternate history. While most of the story has been an intertwining mix of real Hollywood history and fictional characters (Rick and Cliff), use of voiceover from Kurt Russell later contrasted by Tarantino’s more stylized elements (particularly when it comes to shooting violence) creates a context for the ending that cements it as fiction. What happened in the movie may not be what happened in real life, but in film, that need not be the case. 

Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood is a loving send up to film that was during a time of major industrial change in Hollywood. The performances are masterful and Tarantino’s direction and script remain compelling, despite being more laid back. It’s unlike the rest of Tarantino’s impressive filmography while still being a Tarantino film. While it may be an investment with its length, it creates a breathable experience that puts you in a time and place, letting you breathe in the time period of late 1960s Hollywood. Despite making films atypical to the zeitgeist, Tarantino delivers a movie unlike any he’s made before while remaining his own unique voice in films.
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An Innovative Sensation or Just Another Remake: The Lion King (2019)

9/13/2019

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By Joseph Naguski
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Here shown is a young Simba being held up by Rafiki in one of the most iconic shots from both the remake and original films
In an era of what seems like an endless barrage of “real life” remakes to Disney’s classic animated films, this past summer’s main attraction was The Lion King. It is filled with a star-studded cast including Beyoncé (Nala), Donald Glover (Simba), and Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) among others. Along with this superstar cast is the return of the iconic voice actor for Mufasa, James Earl Jones. This is an unquestionably strong lineup that helped gain traction to this film (as if it really needed any more). Other than a change in some voice actors, the reason to view this film is its deviation from the original hand drawn animation to use of CGI to bring the animated characters from the classic to life.

The main reason to view this film is Disney’s integration of hyper-realistic CGI to one of its most popular narratives. Every shot in the film except for the very first shot is the product of a computer’s creation. The filmmakers used Virtual Reality headsets to let themselves experience the world which the film would take place in. Along with this, artificial intelligence was incorporated into the virtual characters so that they would be taught to perform realistic actions. “For example, the filmmakers could create a 3D model of a lion, and then teach the AI so that the lion can act hungry, or cold, or as if it’s looking for food: “We start telling the computer things like that and then it starts to associate behaviors with motivations and intents.” (Ha) This use of technology brings an extraordinary innovation of realism to the world of animation.

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Donald Glover is the voice actor for Adult Simba, shown here facing his character
warning: the section below contains spoilers

Besides the obvious change in the medium which it is portrayed in, The Lion King brings some other new elements to the table.  Most popularly noted is a new track “Spirit” sung by Beyoncé playing while Simba and Nala journey back to pride rock to battle Scar. As for the plot itself, a major change from the original is the fleshing out of Mufasa and Scar’s problematic past. In the original film we know of the sibling rivalry is very evident but there is nothing clearly eluded to as a reason for this feud between brothers. In the new film it is revealed through Scar that his disfigurement was the result of a battle between him and Mufasa for the throne. It is also apparent that Sarabi had chosen Mufasa over Scar as a partner, furthering the hostility between the brothers. Female empowerment and matriarchy within the film is also much more evident, with Nala’s daring escape from Scar and involvement in his dethronement. These changes for me were well thought out executions that improved the overall storyline of the classic tale. Overall these changes are effective in fleshing out the narrative and give viewers of the original Lion King some curveballs to keep them entertained while still retaining the factor of nostalgia for them. 

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Just like the classic hand drawn film did in its heyday, the new The Lion King (2019) has become the highest grossing animated film at $1,600,490,982, beating Frozen by over $300,000. Fans of the original or those who never it will both be captivated while viewing the new version of The Lion King. Viewing the classic story from a new medium of animation certainly makes it an intriguing experience to watch. For me the realistic portrayal of the characters and the environment they find themselves in is nice to look at, but it doesn’t quite match up to the extraordinary vibrancy of the original. The colors pop much more in the original and some of the uniqueness of the characters is removed in the remake. It seems that a certain amount of imagination is lost in the photorealism, but that loss does come with some new perks. This takes the retelling of The Lion King’s tale into a new creation to be enjoyed within a medium which brings these animated characters into a new reality.

Works Cited
Ha, Anthony. “How the New 'Lion King' Came to Life .” TechCrunch , 30 July 2019, techcrunch.com/2019/07/30/lion-king-behind-the-scenes/.



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Avengers Endgame: An End to the Infinite War

9/9/2019

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By Bill Friedell
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2019 has been a year of endings. Game of Thrones aired its final season to a mixed reception. The final chapter of the Skywalker Saga of Star Wars is on its way at the end of the year. But first came Avengers: Endgame (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2019) , the finale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga, the culmination of twenty two films over eleven years of build up and story. Producer Kevin Feige and a multitude of filmmakers brought to film what comic book fans had always experienced on the page: episodic storytelling with interconnected characters and storylines. By digging into the MCU’s two greatest strengths, the characters and its 11 year history, Anthony and Joe Russo, with screenwriters Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely craft a satisfying and emotional ending (Be warned that I will talk about the movie in its entirety, including the end. So if you haven't seen the movie yet, be warned that I will spoil major moments and the ending of the film). 

Like video essayist Jonathan Burdett said in his series of video essays on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the films are built on the power of character (Burdett, 00:00:46 - 00:01:43). If we didn’t invest in the characters and find them compelling, we wouldn’t have cared about these characters when Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) joined together in 2012 in Marvel’s The Avengers (Joss Wheaton). We also wouldn’t have cared when many of our beloved heroes disappeared because of the machinations of the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers Infinity War (Anthony and Joe Russo, 2018). ​
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Iron Man set the stage of the MCU as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Film.,
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Captain America: The First Avenger takes place in the 1940s, making it the first film chronologically.
The Russos, Marcus, and Mcfeely masterfully weave callbacks throughout the film. Not only as a celebration of how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has progressed, but also to show how the characters have developed and changed. Captain America has many callback moments, particularly during the time heist to recover the infinity stones scattered throughout time. When he confronts his past self, we see a more naive version of him who hasn’t been in the modern world as long and hasn’t grown skeptical of America and S.H.I.E.L.D yet. When young Cap says, “I can do this all day”, present day Cap annoyed cause he always said that. He’s also more prone to swear, working off of the “language” running joke from Avengers: Age of Ultron. Captain America, starting with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2014), began a process of dissolution with the world around him, seeing that the ideals of modern America fall away from what he knew to be true in the 1940s. While his ideals have never wavered (as seen in the final battle as Cap alone stares down Thanos’ forces, tightening the strap of his shield) he has changed in terms of his approach to authority and the naive patriotism he use to display. And this is rewarded as all the heroes of the MCU rally behind him and is finally given a chance to receive a life of his own. In the words of Matt Goldberg of the Collider Podcast, he is a soldier who is allowed to go home (Goldberg).
In terms of Tony’s arc, ever since he became Iron Man, he has struggled to figure out the best way to protect the world and rectify his mistakes. Ever since Iron Man 3, Tony has attempted to leave behind his responsibilities as Iron Man, not in a selfish way, but rather to create a better world he should have been trying to make instead of making weapons. But the sins of his past, usually in the form of a supervillain who hates Tony, forces Tony to confront his flaws and save the world while doing it. First, he destroyed his armor, then he created Ultron to protect the Earth from outside threats, and finally with the Sokovia Accords and mentoring Peter Parker  (Captain America: Civil War: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2016), all to no avail. After the snap, Tony started a family, finally resting after years of constant worry over the threat of Thanos. Once again, Iron Man must rectify for his failure, even though he doesn’t have to and doing so may endanger his own daughter’s existence. But through reuniting with his father, Howard Stark (John Slattery) in the seventies while searching for the space stone, Tony finds catharsis over the issues he had with him since Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010) and further elaborated on in Captain America: Civil War. His father tells Tony that even though his child isn’t born yet, he would do anything for him, which Tony will have to do in order to prevent Thanos from restarting the universe. By creating this arc for Tony Stark, the father of the MCU having to give his life to save the MCU as a good father, he mirrors Thanos’ negative father figure role as seen through his interactions with his daughters, imposing his will and committing all sorts of atrocities in the name of knowing what’s best for the Universe (Marvel's Biggest Baddie Just Wants To Be Your Daddy (Avengers: Infinity War) 1:20 - 5:45). Where Thanos sacrificed his daughter for the "sake of the universe", Tony sacrificed himself for his own daughter and the rest of the Universe. 
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Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) sacrifices himself to save all of existence.
Unlike the penciled images of the comic books these characters are modeled after, these stories aren’t infinite. While some franchises recast their roles to continue, the Russos decided to give our central characters a definitive ending. It retrospectively gives more power to what was given before by offering an endpoint, giving the arcs of each character structure. While Marvel could have continued these characters in some form or another. Marvel allowing for this poetic ending, sending Tony’s old arc reactor into the lake as the heroes of the MCU watch and morn, showing not only the effect he had in this world, but seeing what the success of the original Iron Man lead the way. Just like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did for comics by creating the Marvel Universe, Kevin Feige and all the directors of the MCU did the same in movies. They created a universe of heroes that intermingle and interact with each other, combining the highest of stakes and crazy concepts with humanity and relatability. And while it isn’t the end of this series, it gives a proper final curtain for the first Avengers.  

Works Cited

Burdett, Jonathan, director. Marvel's Super-Powered Characterization. YouTube/ Films&Stuff, YouTube, 17 Aug. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDJQs7GK6hU.

Goldberg, Matt, host. The Collider.com Podcast; Episode 196 – ‘Avengers: Endgame’. Collider.com, April 23, 2019. http://collider.com/podcast-avengers-endgame/#poster

Marvel's Biggest Baddie Just Wants To Be Your Daddy (Avengers: Infinity War). YouTube/ Just Write, YouTube, 30 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=72QQsWm7yFk.​
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