Once Upon a Time There Was A Movie

Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the morning I can see them walking
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talking

~~ "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" by The Mamas and The Papas


Well, I've posted about it enough on social media and I saw it for the sixth time today, so I guess I should probably write about it. 

I'm talking about Quentin Tarantino's ninth (and supposedly penultimate) movie, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." How much do I love this movie? Let me count the ways. I'm going to start off with non-spoilers, but I'm going to end with a big fat spoiler...of course, I will warn you first! Trust me on this one...you'll want to see it without knowing the spoiler, so if you haven't seen it and plan to, stop reading at that point, okay? 

If you've been living under a rock, the movie takes place in Hollywood in 1969 and tells the story of actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Rick is getting a little long in the tooth and feels like he might not have much of a future in Hollywood. Since Cliff's career is kind of dependent on Rick's, they're both wondering what the future has in store for them. A lot of stuff is happening in 1969, and some of it is happening at Spahn Movie Ranch. So here are a few of the things I love about this movie and why one friend said that I might be addicted to it. (Guilty as charged!)

1. The cars. There are classic Mustangs everywhere in this movie and they look and sound amazing. There are also tons of Beetles, a beauty of a sky-blue T-bird, Cliff's Karmann Ghia (I wanted one of those when I was a teenager), and Rick's bitchin' Cadillac Coupe de Ville. 

2. The music. Lawd have mercy, the MUSIC. Tarantino always puts a great soundtrack to his movies and he might have outdone himself with this one. Everything from Paul Revere and the Raiders to Deep Purple. Two of my personal favorites are unfortunately not on the soundtrack release: the song included in this entry, as well as "Out of Time" by The Rolling Stones. 

Tarantino combines the cars and the music with some fun sequences of various characters driving on the LA highways. I've seen some criticism of that, saying that it's boring and doesn't add anything to the movie, but I don't feel that way at all. Cars, music, LA highways in 1969? That was a happenin' scene, man! I think it gives great flavor to that whole experience. I love it. 

Even the radio ads add to the experience. Tarantino said that it reflects his childhood when there were only a few radio stations and you didn't change the channel looking for something else. The big station where I grew up was WLS out of Chicago and it was the same for me. I get it. 

3. The scenery/clothes. Tarantino transformed a couple of blocks of Sunset Boulevard to look the way it did in 1969 and it's nothing less than amazing. The neon, the signs, the storefronts. I love all the groovy clothes, from Roman Polanski's blue velvet suit to the anonymous dancer at the Playboy Mansion and her silver minidress and go-go boots. Far out! 

4. The story within a story. The movie, at heart, is about Rick and Cliff. We get to see Rick in some amazing scenes while shooting the pilot for "Lancer," and we get to see Cliff in a super cool fight with Bruce Lee on the set of "The Green Hornet." Tarantino has also gotten some flak for his portrayal of Bruce Lee, including from Lee's daughter. I can't comment on that other than that I've read that Lee really WAS a little arrogant, and Tarantino has said that Cliff Booth is a fictional character, so he can make him do whatever he wants. It's a movie, folks, not a documentary. 

5. The friendship between Rick and Cliff. As it says in the movie, Cliff is a little more than a brother to Rick, and a little less than a wife. They've been together for a long time and their easy camaraderie and support for each other is really fun to see. It helps a lot that it's Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. They're pretty amazing together. 

Now we're going to get into the big spoiler. 

**SUPER BIG MEGA SPOILER AHEAD**

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU PLAN ON SEEING THIS MOVIE

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

The plotline that got a lot of press was that the Manson Family murders were part of the movie. Now, if you go to see this movie expecting that it's all about that, you're going to have a bad time. As I wrote above, at its heart, the movie is about Rick and Cliff. However, Cliff encounters one of the Manson girls on the streets of LA and ends up taking her back to Spahn Movie Ranch, where he shot some episodes of Rick's network show, "Bounty Law." He encounters people from the Manson Family like Gypsy (horribly played by Lena Dunham...sorry to all you Lena Dunham fans, but criminy, I could act better than that), Clem, Squeaky, and Tex Watson.

In one of those odd turns of events, Rick's house is on Cielo Drive, right next to the house Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski live in. The movie builds suspense beautifully, counting down the hours to when the Tate murders happened. We get to see Sharon and her friends enjoying their lives, Sharon is seeing her career taking off, and she is pregnant and happy. You feel a sense of dread as the clock ticks down because you know what is going to happen. These people are going to die horribly and it's going to happen soon.

But, but, but...Tarantino turns it all upside down. Instead of going to the Tate/Polanski house, Tex, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins go to Rick's house. There they encounter a tripping Cliff Booth who absolutely fucks their shit up with the help of his trusty dog Brandy, and when a damaged and screaming Susan Atkins falls into the pool, Rick breaks out his flamethrower from one of his movies and torches her. It's a stunning ten or so minutes of alternative history.

So why did that affect me so much? Why am I obsessed (if I'm going to be totally honest) with this movie?

I was only seven years old when these murders happened, so I remember nothing about them. I didn't learn about them until several years later when I read the book Helter Skelter. Since then, I've read quite a bit about it all. It seems to me that in conjunction with other things like the assassinations of MLK, Jr and Bobby Kennedy, the Manson murders were effectively the end of the '60s. No more peace, no more Summer of Love...just death and destruction. Altamont. Kent State. The deaths of Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin. They all followed in short order. It was a very dark time in our history.

For a few moments at the end of this movie, Tarantino makes that all go away. Sharon Tate theoretically goes on to have her baby and hopefully, she remains happy with Polanski for a long while. She goes on to have a lucrative career. Jay Sebring and the others in the house all live. They become friends with Rick Dalton. The horrible events of that night are wiped away by Tarantino's movie, thanks to Rick and Cliff (and Brandy!).

As someone who has been fascinated by the Manson Family and the murders for a long time, I found the final scene cathartic. I'm about the same age as Tarantino, so like him, those murders have been part of my psyche since I was a young adult. Until Manson's recent death, he had a real grip on the American psyche, in my opinion. I think Tarantino was exorcising his own demons with this ending, and while I'm not sure others feel the same way, he exorcised mine. Cliff and Rick don't just kill Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins. They make fun of them and take away the power and mystique they have had all these years.

Tarantino gave us a fairy tale that could only happen in...Hollywood. 

Movie time!

I have so much to write about lately and so little time and motivation to do so that I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment. Suffice it to say that it’s been a fun December, plenty of family and friend time, and more fun to come in about a week.

Oh, did I mention that we’re heading to Miami to go to the National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama? I’ll write more about that soon (at least that’s the plan), but it’s just been a little crazy with things to do and people to see. It’s been a lot of fun, but I need some downtime interspersed in there to recover from all that socializing, so I’ve been neglectful here.

After not writing about several things that have happened and upcoming events, I’m prompted to write now because of the movie we saw today: Quentin Tarantino’s latest, “Django Unchained.” My mind is still roiling with this movie, and I need to get some of this out or I’ll be up way too late tonight!

Whew. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. I’m a big fan of Tarantino, and “Pulp Fiction” is right up there in my top five movie list. I need to see Django again to be sure, but I came out of the theater thinking that I just might have liked this better than “Pulp Fiction.” It really is that good.

It is very gory and graphic; if that sort of thing bothers you, you will not enjoy this movie. But if that sort of thing bothers you, why would you want to see a Quentin Tarantino movie? That’s one of the things he is known for, and his movies remind me very much of Sam Peckinpah’s movies, but with more blood. What is probably more disturbing and much harder to watch is the brutal treatment of slaves. Tarantino shies away from none of this. The N-word is used liberally and often. The floggings, the inhumane treatment, the complete lack of basic human decency...it is very disturbing.

But I welcomed Tarantino’s brutal honesty. This is part of our history, and it is wrong to ignore it. I think he does an amazing job with making this terrible story uplifting, by using a combination of righteous vengeance and humor.

Yes, there were many moments that induced laughter. One of the things I love about Tarantino is that he can make you laugh at some of the most horrible things. There were moments of genuine humor in this movie, including the scene with the raiders wearing bags over their heads (a precursor to the Klan) and the big shoot-out scene with bullets ripping into bodies. Not funny, you say? If you go see this movie and don’t give a little burble of horrified laughter at that scene, I’ll buy you a beer. I wasn’t the only one in the theater laughing, so it’s not just me and my warped sense of humor.

The cast is simply amazing. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson were all fantastic. Lots of cameos (I won’t list them here...see if you can spot them!) that had me thinking, “Oh, that’s so-and-so!” And, like Hitchcock, Tarantino always makes an appearance. It’s a fun one here, mate!

The music is also fantastic. The Django theme was co-written by Ennio Morricone, who is the guy who wrote the music for the Eastwood spaghetti westerns; I’ve read that this is Tarantino’s homage to those movies. There is plenty of modern music in there as well, and it works well despite the anachronism. The scenery is stunning, with beautiful mountain views. The visuals are wonderful (Django reflected in a mirror reminded me of Andy Warhol’s Elvis prints...the shadows cast by Django and others are cool...the blood spatter on cotton bolls...the blood-drenched plantation house walls.) Even the titles and graphics are fun and reminiscent of “Pulp Fiction.” (Watch for the Mississippi scroll!)

This movie isn’t for everyone. Ken’s Mom asked if she could go, and we cautioned her that it was graphic and bloody. She still wanted to go...and she loved it. She was glad she went, and we were glad she joined us! It’s a long movie, two hours and 45 minutes, and we were all riveted. I didn’t even break open my Reese’s Pieces, because I was spellbound. For anyone who likes Tarantino or this style of movie, I honestly cannot recommend it enough. It is brutal, funny, upsetting, uplifting, stone cold righteous, and glorious.

Spoiled rotten

Ken and I aren't really into watching the Academy Awards, although I did enjoy looking at some of the pictures of the dresses this morning. There were some that were beautiful and worn very well, but just as many that were a train wreck. The lesson we can learn from this is that being an actor is no guarantee of sartorial good sense! And bravo to Sean Penn for his comments about protesters outside the theater holding anti-gay signs:

"I'd tell them to turn in their hate card and find their better self," Penn said. "I think that these are largely taught limitations and ignorances, this kind of thing. It's really sad in a way, because it's a demonstration of such cowardice, emotional cowardice, to be so afraid of extending the same rights to your fellow man as you'd want for yourself."

Nicely said, Sean.

Anyhoo, instead of watching the show, we settled in to watch a movie, one from the stacks. We generally lean towards sheer entertainment, whether horror, action, or comedy. We went serious this time, and watched "Blood Diamond" with Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, it's from 2006, and yes, we get really behind on our movies. We hope to watch "Slumdog Millionaire" by 2011!

Wow, I loved it, and thought it was very well done. But it was so disturbing and made me so angry to see the killings and horror that take place every day in our world. We complain about our politicians, the economy, our jobs, the weather, the price of gasoline and groceries. These are not invalid, because this is our world as we know it, and it's becoming a struggle for way too many. But most of us have a roof over our heads, and we're not starving. We also don't have to deal with armed soldiers coming into our towns and raping the women and girls, then shooting everyone down in the street. We don't watch as grenades are thrown at our Main Street businesses, or as missiles are launched at apartment buildings. We generally don't have to worry about being shot in the head as we go about our daily business, or wonder if we'll be able to drive to the next town over without being accosted by soldiers. And we don't have to sit back, helpless, as soldiers tear our families apart and take our children to be brainwashed and indoctrinated into a life of murder and bloodshed.

A few years ago at the lab, one of our students was from Rwanda. I liked Eugene immediately, and he was one of my favorite students. As he began to understand the workup of cultures, the pathway we take to identify organisms, I could tell that he was really excited about it. I'll never forget his big smile as he said to me, "I am learning! I am really learning!" (Those were the moments I loved.) Eugene went on to become an employee, and he is one of the kindest, gentlest, sweetest people I've ever known. (If any of my former coworkers are reading this, please give Eugene a hug from me, okay?) When I learned that much of Eugene's family was slaughtered in the Rwanda genocide, it hit me so hard...here was this great guy who had the most beautiful smile, and used it often, despite the horrors he had gone through.

As a society in general, we are very spoiled. We bitch because we can't afford our daily latte, or because we can't swing our usual movie night because it costs $50 to load up on all that yummy movie theater junk food. I'm not intending to come across as holier-than-thou, because I'm as big a consumer as anyone else. But I do try to remember how fortunate I am that I was born where I was and to have had the opportunities that I've been given.

There are obviously those in our society who we are letting fall through the cracks, and it has to stop. Everyone deserves a chance. Eugene was able to come here and get his degree, and he and his wife are raising their boys here. Who knows what he would have faced if he'd stayed in Rwanda? People want to come here for a reason. There is hope here, a knowledge that we can do whatever we set out to do. Or at least there used to be. We seemed to have lost it for a while, but maybe we're getting a little bit of it back. After all, the son of an African immigrant can become President. It's true!

If anyone thinks that we should become more isolationist and focus on our own problems rather than anyone else's, I can understand why you might feel that way. After all, we've got plenty of work to do in our own country. However, I disagree. We definitely need to TCB here at home, but President Obama spoke of America once again being a beacon of hope to those around the world, and I believe we need to get back to that. The last resort of intervention should be military force; our greatest achievements in diplomacy can come with humanitarian aid. Many people think nothing of paying $4 for a coffee or a few bucks for a big fat apple fritter (that one was for you, Marty!). Why is it so hard to give $10 for a mosquito net that could save an African family from succumbing to malaria? I believe it is our moral obligation as human beings to help our fellow man, whether it's here at home or halfway around the world.

I feel like I'm all over the place with this entry, but I hope I'm making at least a little bit of sense. It's so easy to sit here in our complacency and forget about what is happening in other places. We cannot afford to become an isolationist country. While I don't want us to become the world's police force, either, we do have a duty to lead and provide aid along with our friends and allies. We are the haves. We should help the have-nots. Seems pretty simple to me.

I know this is getting long, but one of the things that really got to me in "Blood Diamond" was the young boy that was taken away from his father, brainwashed (including the use of drugs), and forced to fight. It made me think of Sting's song "Children's Crusade." While that song is about WWI, I think it works for anyone who is appalled to see young people cut down in the bloom of youth, sacrificing themselves for war. Lyrics first, then video.

Children's Crusade

Young men, soldiers, Nineteen Fourteen
Marching through countries they'd never seen
Virgins with rifles, a game of charades
All for a Children's Crusade

Pawns in the game are not victims of chance
Strewn on the fields of Belgium and France
Poppies for young men, death's bitter trade
All of those young lives betrayed

The children of England would never be slaves
They're trapped on the wire and dying in waves
The flower of England face down in the mud
And stained in the blood of a whole generation

Corpulent generals safe behind lines
History's lessons drowned in red wine
Poppies for young men, death's bitter trade
All of those young lives betrayed
All for a Children's Crusade

The children of England would never be slaves
They're trapped on the wire and dying in waves
The flower of England face down in the mud
And stained in the blood of a whole generation

Midnight in Soho, Nineteen Eighty-four
Fixing in doorways, opium slaves
Poppies for young men, such bitter trade
All of those young lives betrayed
All for a Children's Crusade