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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) in Movies

Jul 27, 2019 (Updated Jul 27, 2019)  
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Overhyped and disappointed
Contains spoilers, click to show
This review will contain spoilers.... and this is my opinon.

Once upon a time in hollywood is Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film and has a large ensemble cast.

This to me didnt seem like a quentin tarantino film, i mean it had some elements that he does but overall it didnt seem like a tarantino film, it was missing all of elements pervious used in his other films. There are only three storylines in this film. Rick's storyline, Cliff's storyline and Sharon's storyline and thats it. When in reservoir dogs, pulp fiction, jackie brown and four roons their were more than three storylines. Its also missing all the blood and gore like in his other films. Yes that sence at the end, and one of Rick's movies he has a flamflower but thats it. When as the other films that tarantino did had alot of blood and gore and violence and swearing. This movie seemed like it had none of that.

I was very disappointed because iam a huge quentin tarantino fan, i think he is one of the best directors of all time and like his other movies. So i was very excited for this movie and turns out i was very disappointed.

It didnt seem like it was a 2h and 40min movie.

Also lets talk about charles manson and his family throwed into this movie. I thought the movie was going to be about Rick and Cliff invisagating the murder of sharon taron and invisagating the manson family. Their are only three sences that have to do with the manson family.

1. The scene were charles introduces himself to polanski home.

2. When cliff goes to Spahn ranch run by the manson family and thier meanching charlies and cliff should meet him. This sence right here is the best part of the movie. Its myserious, dramatic, you dont know if the family is going to murder cliff or not. So your questioning if thats going to happen. But unfourtaly this sence is only like 5-15 mins long and at no point charles comes. You think something is going to happen than boom sence ends.

3. The end, were some of the manson family are about to kill tate and her friends and then thier try to kill rick and cliff because cliff was mad at them for being hillbillys and being on privite property. Which was like a unexpected turn but why??? Cliff fights them off and kills two of them and then rick kills one with a flameflower.

Thats it, three sences with the manson family and one with charles what a let down.

This whole movie was a let down,

Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Luke Perry , Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant and micheal madsen all had one sence and these are big movie stars. To waste all of this talent is sad. Basically most of the supporting cast was wasted and only had one sence.

Also the ending, after rick and cliff fight off some of the manson family, cliff is being taking off to the hostipal and rick finally meets sharon tate then the movie's title comes on and then boom movie off. I thought that cant be it, that wasnt 2h and 40mins. It didnt feel like it, but it was. I thought why are the credits showing. Their should be more, but no the credits are showing.

Once upon a time in hollywood, is alternate timeline movie about the late 1960's in hollywood. But why have the manson family in it when your not going to use them that much. Why develop this alternate storyline, when their is a real life story and your using the real life people in the movie. Stupid it.

I can go on and on how this movie was very disappointed but i think i did this movie its justice.

Overall, once upon a time in hollywood is a very dissappointed movie.

:(
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Dear Wife in Books

Jul 8, 2019  
Dear Wife
Dear Wife
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
In Pine Bluff Arkansas, Jeffrey comes home from travel to find his wife, Sabine, missing. Her car has been left behind, and she's seemingly vanished into thin air. As Detective Marcus Durand begins his investigation, things quickly become complicated. Sabine and Jeffrey's marriage wasn't what it seemed, and all signs appear to Jeffrey wanting her gone. What was he doing between his flight and arriving home, for instance? Meanwhile, several hundred miles away, Beth Murphy is on the run, carefully executing a meticulous plan to escape her violent husband. One slip, one mistake, and Beth knows he will find her--and kill her.


"Four hours on the road, two hundred and eight-three miles of space between us, and it's nowhere near enough. I still hear the clink of your keys when you toss them on the table, still tense at the thud of your shoes when you come closer to the kitchen. Still feel the fear slithering, snake-like, just under the surface of my skin. You have three moods lately: offensive, enraged, or violent."


This was a really enjoyable, compulsively readable thriller. It pulls you in nearly immediately and never lets you go--I was completely sucked up in the various stories. The book alternates between the points of view of Beth, Jeffrey, and Marcus. Beth is focused on escaping her husband, Jeffrey on figuring out what happened to his wife, and Marcus on solving the case. Each has their own unique voice, but you're never quite sure of who is telling you the truth or what is happening.


"People don't just fall off the face of the planet. They run, they hide, or they are taken. I should know, because I am one of them."


The result of hearing each person's individual take is a really exciting, twisty story. Where is Sabine? Who exactly is Beth? There are a bunch of fun "aha" moments throughout. I figured out some ahead of time; others were great surprises. No matter what, I enjoyed every moment and was kept interested and guessing. I especially liked and was intrigued by the character of Beth. (Please note that there is a domestic violence trigger in this book.)

Overall, this is a quick, suspenseful read that will keep you flipping the pages. I recommend this well-executed and entertaining thriller! 4+ stars.
  
The Prestige (2006)
The Prestige (2006)
2006 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Are you watching closely?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Are you watching closely? Christopher Nolan is shaping up to be one of this century's most successful directors, delivering hit after hit, quality upon quality. The only exception to that would be the tedious "Insomnia", but at his best he is a movie making genius, at his worst, an efficient director.

"The Prestige" was produced between projects, those being numbers three and four in my all time top ten, "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight". He claimed that he was making a small movie to tide him over but ended up with an all start blockbuster, and whist touching of a subject which had been dealt with before, I don't recall it ever having being done quite like this.

And that is the magic of a top director; That is to give the audience what they want but not on their terms, not quite what they are expecting. This film follows the obsession of two 19th century magicians, one of whom, Christian Bale, arrives at the conclusion that it takes total commitment to achieve the perfect trick, whilst Hugh Jackman takes a little longer to see that obsession will lead him down the same path.

This is a dark, Gothic thriller, lifting the lid of the magic of the day, whilst in true Nolan fashion delving deeper into the psyche of the protagonists, and the destructive nature of their respective obsessive battles, and those it hurts and destroys along the way.

But more than this, the film its self is effectively a mirror of the plot, told and presented as one long trick, with deception, red herrings and ultimately, eponymous the prestige. The only real problem I have with this film is that it thinks that it has everything so well wrapped up, that we, the audience, can't see the twists coming, which I felt a little insulted by as they were almost telegraphed.

But, this was a methodically well presented film, with a clear time and excellent performances throughout. Highly recommended.
  
A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
2015 | Horror
6
6.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
As far as anthology horrors go, A Christmas Horror Story is so-so. It tells four seperate tales, all connected to each other in someway, not to dissimilar to Trick R' Treat in terms of structure.

They vary in quality of course. One of them is a ghost story, as three students go about exploring the abandoned crime scene of two people murdered in ritual sacrifice on Christmas the year before. This one was plain boring. It was creepy in places, and is presented occasionally in a found footage style. The characters here are pretty unlikable, and doesn't really offer much to the overall film bar a couple of predictable jump scares.
Another revolves around a couple who's child goes missing whilst chopping down a Christmas tree for their home. They find the child, but eventually find out that he is in fact a shapeshifting troll. Chaos ensues. This one was ok, some good performances by Adrian Holmes and Olunike Adeliyi certainly help it carry more gravitas.
A third story revolves around Krampus preying on a family trying to make amends with some long lost relatives. Again, this one was ok. It's quite visually pleasing in its setting, but it's a pretty standard short revolving around a story we've already heard a hundred times. Krampus looks good enough considering it's a dude in make up.
And the the fourth story is easily the best of the bunch. It revolves around Santa fending off his elves in Christmas Eve when they succumb to a zombie style virus. Santa stomping around decapitating zombie elves by the bucket load is exactly what I signed up for. It also has the films best twist, which is pretty damn bleak, and features a Santa vs Krampus showdown. The film's worth watching for this segment alone!

Overall, A Christmas Horror Story is entertaining enough to justify a Yuletide watch. It has half decent production values (if you ignore the occasional piss poor CGI), some passable gore, and all the stories are inter cut by mother fucking William Shatner of all people, who actually seems to be having a good time here. Don't go in expecting a masterpiece and I'm sure you'll find something to enjoy.
  
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
1964 | Adventure, Western
A Solid Spaghetti Western
A Fistful of Dollars doesn't succeed because the film as a whole is perfect. Rather there are a number of memorable scenes that perfectly captivate an audience and make the film irresistible. There are moments of extended silence periods where only a guitar is playing while the camera pans back and forth from one face to the next. These moments are extremely powerful and quickly trains the audience into knowing that as soon as you see this happen, it's about to go down. No matter how many times director Sergio Leone relies on this effect, it never loses its excitement.

In mentioning scenes, a lot of favorites comes to mind. One scene in particular involves Joe (Clint Eastwood) walking past the undertaker who warns Joe that the men he's about to face will probably kill him. "Get three coffins ready," is Joe's badass reply. After killing the entire crew in what felt like a blink, Joe goes, "My mistake. Four coffins." Definitely put a huge smile on my face.

It's scenes like these that instantly make you fall in love's with Eastwood's character. The guy just bleeds badass. Nothing rattles him. Not only does he get out of tight pinches, but he does it with style. Towards the back half of the film, he takes his performance to even higher heights with some very cool action sequences. Action sorely needed after the film stumbled a bit in the middle with too much dialogue.

When Joe arrives in town as a complete stranger, his goal is simple: Pit two rival families against each other while making a lot of money in the process. The body count is high which keeps the excitement level even higher. Very enjoyable. I give the film an 89.
  
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis
1974 | Pop, Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This album is a real folly. I don't want to defend Phil Collins for a second, and when I see footage of the Slipperman [a naked lumpy monster with inflatable genitalia who emerged onto the stage by crawling out of a giant penis - Ed] I just chuckle at the thought that it just didn't make any sense to Phil Collins and it really pissed him off. He didn't like seeing Peter Gabriel in this costume. Gabriel didn't give a fuck though, he just wanted to do this piece of theatre. Just round the corner from here is the Palace Theatre, and that's where I saw them do The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, two nights running, when I was 15. We just used to sneak into all the gigs, me and my mates. We were desperate to get into this one because we'd seen them on the Whistle Test but we couldn't get in for love nor money. We were stood outside and the guy who ran Virgin Records on Lever Street was there. I used to go to that shop three or four times a week to buy all my albums, and at about five to eight he came to the door and he recognised me from the shop because I used to ask him for advice, and he beckoned me over and put a ticket in my hand. It was sixth row from the front, and I was just blown away by it. It was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. It was presented as theatre. There were a lot of props. There was a big mesh cage that Gabriel performed in, there were a load of strobes going off. How did they represent a wall of nothingness sweeping across Times Square? Just a bit of smoke I think."

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