Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

If there was ever a director that I had a ton of respect for, that distinct honor would go to Quentin Tarantino who has directed some amazing films in his career like Inglorious Basterds, The Hateful Eight, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and so many more. That is why I jumped at the chance to check out his latest that he also wrote in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception) as faded Hollywood TV star Rick Dalton who along with his bodyguard Cliff Booth (Academy Award Winner Brad Pitt) are trying to find their place and achieve more fame in an Hollywood whose golden age is starting to fade away in 1969. The film also stars Margot Robbie (Birds Of Prey) as Sharon Tate, Emile Hirsch (Vincent N Roxxy) as Jay Sebring, Timothy Olyphant (Gone In 60 Seconds) as James Stacy, Austin Butler (The Dead Don't Die) as Tex Watson, Dakota Fanning (The Runaways) as Squeaky Fromme, Bruce Dern (Nebraska) as George Spahn, Mike Moh (Inhumans) as Bruce Lee, Luke Perry (Riverdale) as Wayne Maunder, Damian Lewis (Dreamcatcher) as Steve McQueen, Al Pacino (The Irishman) as Marvin Schwarz, Samantha Robinson (The Love Witch) as Abigail Folger, Damon Herriman (Justified) as Charlie, Lena Dunham (Girls) as Gypsy,  Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting Of Hill House) as Lulu, James Landry Hébert (Gangster Squad) as Clem, and Kurt Russell and Zoë Bell (Death Proof) as Randy and Janet Miller.

That list of actors doesn't even put a dent on how many actors, long lost actors, and really good actors were in this film like Scoot McNairy, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Danielle Harris, James Remar, Lew Temple, Rebecca Gayheart, Martin Kove, Clu Gulager, Rumer Willis, Clifton Collins Jr., Harley Quinn Smith, Nicholas Hammond, and so many more. I know a lot of people complained about the pace of the film, but I have to be honest in saying that you know what to expect from a Tarantino film. One is that it's always going to be slow paced and it's going to feature a lot of dialogue included in it usually. So, once you know those things, his films are actually quite enjoyable and you have to appreciate what he brought to the table with this film. The sets alone in this film are absolutely amazing and the way it's presented to you is fantastic. Part of me felt like I was watching a special from 1969 mixed with what was going on. While I loved what DiCaprio brought to the film, the real MVP in my opinion was Brad Pitt and deservedly so considering he won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his part in this film. He carried the film and he had all of the best lines and scenes. The film is kind of a slow burn for the final battle scene at the end that makes the wait very worth it especially if you love Brad Pitt. While I didn't care for the change in the history of what happened, I also didn't mind it either. That is why I am going to give the film an A+ for a final grade because it was awesome. The Bruce Lee scene is controversial (in a way), but it was also funny at the same time.

Inception (2010)

When I first did my 366 challenge back in 2016, the whole point of that challenge was to watch one film and after 366 films I never had bothered to watch the one film I set out to watch. I promised myself that even if I didn't accomplish the challenge this time around I was still going to sit down and at one point watch the 2010 film Inception and it happens to be today's film. The film was written and directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy) and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Cobb, a master thief who does his dirty work in the dream world thanks to dream sharing technology. Cobb is on the run for a crime he didn't commit, but he is tasked with infiltrating the mind of a CEO in a very dangerous mission, but if he accomplishes it he earns his freedom. The film also stars Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) as Eames, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Looper) as Arthur, Ellen Page (Hard Candy) as Ariadne, Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) as Saito, Dileep Rao (Avatar) as Yusuf, Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) as Robert Fischer, Tom Berenger (Sniper) as Browning, Michael Caine (The Dark Knight) as Miles, Pete Postlethwaite (The Town) as Maurice Fischer, Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies) as Mal, and Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks!) as Nash.

I honestly can not believe that it took me 10 years to literally watch the film Inception because what a movie this was. Christopher Nolan is definitely one of the best writers/directors on the scene and this was definitely one his masterpieces. First off, the story is amazing as Leo and co. push the boundaries of the dream world, the repercussions they can have, and just how delicate it is. The second thing they presents us with the plot which is to convince Robert Fischer to turn over his empire, they present all of the subplots, and all of the turning points in the film successfully do what it was they were supposed to do in the first place. The third thing is that they assembled a great cast for the film and everyone did absolutely fantastic with their amazing acting. The fourth thing is the idea overall for the sets had to be a painstaking experience for them especially with all the details and of the manipulation that was needed was just out of this world. I honestly do not know what else can be said about the film, but there is a nice twist at the end that makes you question some characters. If you have not yet seen Inception then you do not know what you are missing out on as this is definitely the best film of the challenge that I have watched so far. The film is currently available to watch on Netflix, but you need to devote some serious time with this one. I am going to give the film an A+ for a final grade because it deserves it.