ONCE UPON A TIME IN…HOLLYWOOD: HOLLYWEIRD

When it was announced that Quentin Tarantino was going to deliver his take on the Manson murders fans went nuts. They were so excited to hear that this director known for his extreme moments of violence would tackle this story with a new perspective. Then we heard it wasn’t exactly about the Manson murders. Then we heard more of what it was about. The end result? A movie that was interesting enough for one viewing but no way watching a second time.

Taking place in the late 60s the story revolves more around two men than anything else. Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a movie star on the downward spiral. His last steady work was the lead in a western in the 50s called BOUNTY LAW. Now he’s been relegated to playing the heavy in various cameo roles on TV series. A new agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) tells him that leads to disappearing. Instead he tells him he has something new for him, a lead in a spaghetti western.

Alongside Dalton throughout the film is Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his stunt double, gofer and only friend. Booth drives him where he needs to be, helps him with his ego when it needs a boost and watches out for him. While he has a place of his own he spends most of his time at Rick’s place in the hills of LA next door to his new neighbors Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).

This is where we learn about Tate. We get to see her going to parties with her husband and friends, learn about her connection to Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch). Jay dated her and still loves her, hanging around hoping she’ll dump Roman. We see Tate shopping and stopping at a theater showing THE WRECKING CREW, a film she has a role in, enjoying the moment of an audience reaction to her performance.

We also get glimpses of the Manson family as little more than hippies on the streets of LA looking through trash for food and hitching rides to their home at Spahn Ranch. At one point Cliff gives one of the girls a ride there, knowing the area since he worked on TV series shot there. His visit leads to a potential confrontation when he wants to make sure George Spahn (Bruce Dern) is okay.

So these are the three stories that bounce back and forth in this film. The thing is there is little if no connecting story to bring them together with the exception of happenstance. Not only that, there is no real story here as people understand a story. No beginning, middle and end that involves a running plot thread through each. The film is various incidents that take place with each character that are strung together in a linear timeline. But that’s it. No story unless you consider watching what happens over a series of days a story.

Tarantino knows how to make a movie look good, I’ll have to give him credit for that. Well shot with some amazing sets and costumes he captures the look and feel of 1960s Hollywood. As a matter of fact more than anything the film feels like a love letter to those glory days of Hollywood that were beginning to fade at the time. The film is filled with movie marquees featuring the titles of films I am sure Tarantino is a fan of. It also highlights a number of locations that have become synonymous with Hollywood as well.

Watching the actors involved here one thing is certain. Tarantino put as many well-known actors in the film as he could, even if given small roles. Damian Lewis from HOMELAND plays and looks like Steve McQueen but his role is about 3 minutes long. Dern is in the film for about the same. Dakota Fanning has even less time. Even Pacino feels like this is less than a cameo. Perhaps worst of all is the way Margot Robbie is used here. She’s nothing more than window dressing with little to say much less do. Her role is to simply look pretty and dance around like a flower child. Many criticized this when the film was released and rightfully so.

At 2 hours and 41 minutes the movie was filled with far too many scenes of people driving around. You could feel that full 2 hours and 41 minutes waiting as they ticked by. The saving grace was the last 10-15 minutes which seem like a Tarantino film, a violent few moments that are brutal and yet hilarious at the same time. It also explains much about the title but the less said the better. No spoiler here. But it’s too little too late to save this film. The end result for me at least was that I was glad I watched it as a fan of his but it’s not one I’m likely to revisit or add to my collection. So worth a watch? Maybe for some. But that’s about it.

Now here is the thing about this film that many will have happen to them. Since writing this and discussing it I’ve found people I trust tell me I’m all wrong about this, that the film has more to offer than I found in that first viewing. I mention this because that might be the case and I’d hate to turn some movie fans off based on my first impression. So take what you will from this review as well as the many others you might read and decided for yourself. In the meantime I may get around to another viewing but it might be a while.

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READY OR NOT: THE MARRIAGE GAME

A number of movies that once qualified to be called thrillers now fall under the guise of horror films. These films have viewers on the edge of their seats waiting to see what will take place, filled with jumps and scares aplenty. What makes them horror films are the morbid things that take place in the film. READY OR NOT is such a film.

Former foster child Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into the Le Domas family after a whirlwind 18 month romance with son Alex (Mark O’Brien). Alex has been estranged from his wealthy family for some time now. They return to the family home for their marriage and all seems to be going well. Until the evening of the wedding Grace learns of something unexpected.

The Le Domas family has made their wealth from the gaming industry. Begun years ago by Victor le Domas, he was provided with funds to start the company by a mysterious benefactor named Le Bail. Victor left behind a mysterious box and a demand of his family. When someone marries into the family they must play a game, determined by a card that the draw from the box. After hearing the story Grace draws her card and the game chosen is hide and seek.

Grace runs off to hide with no idea of what is actually about to transpire. The family believes that if they don’t follow the game to its end something terrible will transpire. What they haven’t bothered telling Grace is that this game of hide and seek involves hunting her with weapons, the object to kill her before sunrise. If she survives, things move forward.

As Grace hides the family arm themselves with various weapons. For most of them this is something new they’ve never experienced. While some are skilled others have no clue how to use the weapons they’ve been given. This becomes apparent when one of the family members is killed by mistake.

A change in the game takes place when Grace is located by her husband Alex. He tells her what is going on and explains to her the object of the game. With his help the pair are hoping to survive the night and move on to become a happy couple. But with the number of family members hunting the odds are not in their favor.

The movie sounds like a simple plot but is filled with tons of things that make it worth watching, in particular the dark comedy that many of the sequences lend themselves to. In particular is Aunt Helene who has a scowl on her face from start to finish. She seems the most suited for the role of hunting and seems to take relish in what transpires. What she does to the help is guaranteed to provide a laugh for those with an offbeat sense of humor.

Another funny moments has the family arguing about whether or not to use the security cameras seen throughout the house. The cameras are not to be used during the game but once the first person is killed they think twice about using them. Aunt Helene complains telling them they have no sense of tradition.

The film has a wonderful look to it, a sort of brownish haze that adds to the atmosphere of the film. The sets are amazing with a fantastic looking old style mansion for the events to take place in. The cinematography is also extremely well done allowing scenes in the dark just enough light for things taking place to be seen, a problem with many movies that take place at night.

The acting here is wonderful as well with each character turning in wonderful performances. To be able to play these roles with a straight face takes some acting chops. Perhaps outstanding among them is Henry Czerny as the head of the family. His ability to play his role as serious as he does while in the face of absurdity is hilarious. Samara Weaving as Grace is worthwhile too, showing the right amount of shock and resilience the role requires. And Andie McDowell is fantastic in the role of the mother here, a role that most would never expect her to play.

READY OR NOT is not the type of movie that everyone will have fun with but if your sense of humor runs the dark side then this will be a movie not to miss. It’s gruesome and funny at the same time and that for me is something that rarely works. This time it does. 

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MARY: GHOST AT SEA

Today’s horror fans don’t seem to understand that you don’t need a group of nubile teens that look like they walked off the pages of a fashion magazine and you don’t need gore laden effects to make an effective ghost story. The two greatest ghost films ever made, THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and THE UNINVITED, had none of these things and yet to this day provide solid scares. So when MARY came to me I wondered if it would be up to the challenge.

The story opens with a ship in distress and few survivors being picked up. The setting moves to an interrogation room where Sarah (Emily Mortimer) is being questioned by Detective Clarkson (Jennifer Esposito). Before she will allow her to see her two daughters, Clarkson wants to know what took place on the boat and to find out if Sarah is a murderer or just plain crazy. And so Sarah begins her story.

Sarah’s husband Dave (Gary Oldman) is a ship’s captain working for a tourist company in Florida who has dreamed of owning his own ship to take people out to sea. When he and his partner Mike (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) go to look at a potential ship, David is drawn to a battered old ship that was abandoned at sea and towed in by the Coast Guard. A ships masthead of a woman leads the ship and intrigues him. He buys the ship and insists with a little work it will be the perfect boat for the family.

They clean the ship up and prepare for a test run sailing across the Atlantic. With their youngest daughter Mary (Chloe Perrin) who thinks the boat is named after her, teenage daughter Lindsey (Stephanie Scott), her boyfriend to be Tommy (Owen Teague) and Mike, they prepare to set sail. Strange things happen before leaving as Tommy takes a picture of the group in front of the boat only to see an eerie image in the flash as he takes it.

Once at sea stranger things happen. Mary begins talking about a new friend she’s met on the boat. Then the first night out, Tommy attacks Mike with a knife. They subdue Tommy and at their first port leave him to calm down before heading home. They later learn that he hanged himself in his cell.

As they travel forward we learn more about the family on board the ship. When Sarah tells David she wants to return he tells her they can’t, that everything they have is tied into the boat and they must move forward. But those strange things continue to build. Sarah finds the logs of the ship and learns that three families have gone completely missing from the boat in the past. Then Mike goes mad. The question of what is behind this and if the family will survive is yet to be seen.

The film works on many levels because what is terrifying is rarely if ever seen. A situation where you have to wonder is it something toxic on the ship that’s causing this? Is it past relationships? Or is there really something that haunts those on board? That is what makes the film all the more mysterious.

Add to that the sense of isolation when you have a boat in the middle of the ocean and the scares generate themselves. That feeling that it’s too far to go back and so far from your destination. With nowhere to run from whatever you are confronting, how do you deal with it?

While Oldman is the selling point of the film and turns in his usual great performance it is up to Mortimer to carry off this story and make it work. She does so in spades, having us wonder if this isn’t some story she dreamed up to explain her actions or if she truly did see something out there. If she didn’t play the part with conviction it would fall apart. Fortunately she does an amazing job.

MARY won’t be for all audiences. As I said today’s young people have a tendency to ignore films that feature adults or that don’t rely on gore to move the story forward. But horror fans that have been around a while will find this film a treat. With that in mind I can recommend this one with ease and hope that others will find it just as satisfying.

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