Vivid imagination, storytelling skills steal the show in Tarantino’s tribute to ’60s Hollywood

Brad Pitt (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Not even the stellar presence of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” can take the spotlight away from director Quentin Tarantino’s vivid imagination and prodigious storytelling skills in his idiosyncratic tribute to Tinseltown in the ’60s.

High camp, hilarity and nostalgia merge as the film, set in 1969, follows the day-to-day activities of TV action star Rick Dalton (Leonardo) and his cash-strapped best friend Cliff Booth (Brad), his longtime stunt double who’s having difficulty getting hired after he was rumored to have killed his wife.

Rick has failed to transition to the big screen and thinks his career is on the wane, finally falling victim to the laws of diminishing returns.
Terrified by the prospect of acting in Spaghetti Westerns in Italy, he must prove there’s more to his acting mettle than his ability to brandish a gun or throw a mean punch.

Along the way, Rick and Cliff cross paths—and swords—with some of La La Land’s most fascinating denizens, as well as the loons who are drawn to them.

Foremost of these colorful characters are starlet Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), her boyfriend Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch), agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino), directors Sam Wanamaker (Nicholas Hammond) and Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha), actor James Stacy (Timothy Olyphant) and precocious child actress Trudi Fraser (Julia Butters).

Joining them in Tarantino’s crazy cinematic melee are actors Steve McQueen (Damian Lewis) and Wayne Maunder (Luke Perry in his final big-screen outing), stunt coordinator Randy (Kurt Russell) and kung fu legend Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) in a character rendering that is as entertaining as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

A sequence features Cliff’s terrifying run-in with members of the creepy Manson family, portrayed to sinister and comedic perfection by the compelling likes of Dakota Fanning, Margaret Qualley, Lena Dunham, Maya Hawke, Austin Butler and Damon Herriman as Charles Manson.

Members of this knife-wielding family will later be featured prominently in the production’s deliberately staged and urgently choreographed slasher-flick section.

In another must-see sequence, Cliff goes mano-a-mano against a pig-headed Bruce Lee, who learns a thing or two about humility and sobriety.

Don’t be put off by the film’s two-hour and 40-minute running time—you’ll hardly notice it pass you by as it whisks viewers from one snappily choreographed section to another. And speaking of choreography, Tarantino even manages to convince Leo to shake his movie-star bootie in a fleeting production number.

The film is as gorgeously photographed as it is quirkily told, with tongues of its terrific actors, led by the terrific duo of Leo and Brad, firmly in cheek.

More annoying than terrifying

While Andrea Brillantes and Khalil Ramos are likable leads, you don’t need to know rocket science to see what a mismatched pair they make in Joey de Guzman’s headache-inducing chiller, “The Ghosting.”

In the movie, college students Grace (Andrea) and Ken (Khalil) must find a way to lift the curse of evil forces who inhabit a red haunted house, which has taken the lives of its residents and the lead protagonists’ friends (Kiarra Capuz, JR Versales).

Khalil Ramos (left) and Andrea Brillantes in “The Ghosting”

Unfortunately, the film is more annoying than terrifying. It quickly succumbs to a meandering story that requires its characters to chat endlessly—and incoherently—rather than run away from the evil spirits who want them dead. The demon probably has had enough of the production’s loquacious characters.

It’s a classic case of the trailer much better and more coherent than the film itself.