A whole lot of fun and a new appreciation for filmmaking in Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood (2019) is among other things a whole lot of fun to watch, start to finish. It's a really good "buddy movie," about the evolving friendship between Rick, a nearly washed-up star of TV westerns now getting booked only as the "heavy" and in fear of losing his talent and his career, and his stunt double and faithful driver and gofer, Cliff; adding to the fun, these two guys on the downside of the business are played by two of the super-mega-stars of the industry, Leonard DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. QT gets great performances not only from these two but from a # of well-known and unknown actors in various cameo roles, notably Al Pacino as sleazy agent/dealmaker, Bruce Dern, and a scene-stealing child actor, Julia Butters. Most of all, the 1969-set film is a hilarious take on many facets of styles and genres of movies through the ages and particularly in the 60, notably the Spaghetti Westerns (hilariously poked in the title itself), martial-arts film (another hilarious scene in a portrayal of Bruce Lee "instructing" a group of extras), old-Hollywood westerns, and "new" Hollywood youth films of flower children and psychedelia. Even better, we get to see some fresh takes on movie-making, in particular some really good scenes of a troubled and hung-over Rick rehearsing and stumbling, in a long take, over his lines. On top of all else, the movie gives a "what-if" take on the Sharon Tate killings - not really credible, but the portrayal of the Manson clan itself is frighteningly believable. Every QT film has to have its share of violence, and he holds off until the climactic scenes before he lets loose - close your eyes if you must - but there's much more in the film to enjoy, not the least of which is some beautiful night-time cinematography, particular on drives through LA and poolside in the canyons; you'd think there's nothing more to be shown or said about these settings, but we end up seeing not only LA but the whole movie industry in a new light and with new appreciation.