Film: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

GENRE: Drama

RATING: R for language, graphic violence, drug use
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 58 minutes

STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio (Revenant, Titanic, Django Unchained)

Brad Pitt (Inglorious Basterds), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street)

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Hateful Eight, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill)

WRITER: Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Jackie Brown)

PLOT: A has-been TV actor and his stunt double/driver adjust as old Hollywood changes against the backdrop of the Sharon Tate murder.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m a big Tarantino fan.

STORY STUFF: Not my favourite Tarantino film. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic scenes with crackling dialogue, interesting camera angles, drawn out suspense, quirky flashbacks and killer song choices. Tarantino’s previous films have more gripping storylines where this one was more slice of life. Overall, the story did not captivate me, which is a shame. Also, the Sharon Tate storyline almost seems unnecessary. I would recommend reading a bit about the Sharon Tate murder before seeing this film to gain a better appreciation of what Tarantino does with it.

ACTING STUFF: Pitt and DiCaprio are stellar; they know how to nail Tarantino’s words and they create such vivid characters that are fun to follow. Everyone brings their ‘A’ game. I found Al Pacino (Godfather) an odd choice, it looked better suited for Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) but he still did well.

ARTISTIC STUFF: It has all the Tarantino touches that I love. The visuals, the props, the soundtrack, production design, the costumes. All of it almost makes me forget what’s lacking in the story.   

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You enjoy Tarantino films with a little less violence

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Hobbs & Shaw

Film: The Lion King

GENRE: CG Animated Adventure Drama

RATING: PG for violence and thematic elements
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 58 minutes

STARRING: Donald Glover (Solo, Community, Atlanta, The Martian)

Beyonce (Goldmember, Dreamgirls), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up)

DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau (Jungle Book, Iron Man, Elf)

WRITER: Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2, Catch Me If You Can)

PLOT: Young lion avoids responsibility after accidentally causing the death of his father.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Love the original.

STORY STUFF: It’s basically the original story with a few tweaks, so if you liked the 1994 version, you’ll be fine with it. There’s a little more story for Beyonce’s Nala this time around. The big question I have is “was this version necessary”. I’m not so sure.

ACTING STUFF: Good casting all around. Also loved hearing James Earl Jones (Star Wars) voice Mufasa again. The hyenas weren’t as goofy as the original which I missed. I thought Rogen matched the character of Pumbaa but the dude was struggling with the singing. Billy Eichner however was rocking the singing as Timon.  

ARTISTIC STUFF: Some beautiful visuals and realistic looking animals. The big thing missing though is the animated expressions from the original. These CG animals aren’t showing the facial expressions that add to the story. I feel bad for the original animators.  

VERDICT: Three and half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You want to hear new voices for beloved characters

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Film: Spider-Man: Far From Home

GENRE: Action Adventure

RATING: PG-13 for action violence, some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 9 minutes

STARRING: Tom Holland (Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners, Nightcrawler), Zendaya (Greatest Showman)

DIRECTOR: Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cop Car)

WRITERS: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (Homecoming, Jumanj 2)

PLOT: Peter Parker doesn’t want to save the world; he just wants to get close to MJ on the school Europe trip.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Tried to keep expectations low.

STORY STUFF: After a good first half, this sequel gets pretty awesome. I don’t want to spoil things though. Let me just say that the trailer does not do the film justice. I had some added enjoyment having been to London recently and been to Venice before. Solid action, solid acting, solid jokes. For my wife's sake, I enjoyed their comments on perfume allergies and large crowds. Also, the Netherlands are well represented. 

ACTING STUFF: Holland is fantastic. He’s hands down the best Peter Parker (sorry Tobey). Zendaya plays the awkwardness and strength of MJ perfectly. I felt she outshone Jacob Batalon’s Ned this time around. Gyllenhaal does a great job; better than I thought he’d be. Martin Starr (Silicon Valley) and JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) are far too inept to be chaperons on this ‘science’ trip. Also, some awesome cameos.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The visual effects are awesome, especially at the midpoint of the film. Also great use of European locales I thought the music wasn’t as good this time around, but that’s a minor point.

VERDICT: Five stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Spider-Man and a good time at the movies.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Lion King; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood