ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)

(Before you read this I suggest you see the film. As there are mild spoilers towards the end of this writing) 


Written & Directed by: Quentin Tarantino 
Cinematography: Robert Richardson 
Editor: Fred Raskin 


Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch, Austin Butler, Lena Dunham, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, Damien Lewis, Mike Moh, Kate Berlant, Danielle Harris, Lorena Izzo, Harley Quinn Smith, Maya Hawke, Kansas Bowling, Parker Love Bowling, Sydney Sweeney, Rumor Willis, Martin Kove, Leslie Bega, Dreama Walker, Clifton Collins Jr., Rebecca Gayheart, Samantha Robinson, Scoot Mcnairy, Omar Doom, Brenda Vacarro, Mikey Madison, Nicholas Hammond, Clu Gulager, Lew Temple, Vincent Laresca 


Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

MERCENARIES (2014)

Directed By: Christopher Douglas Olen Ray 
Written By: Edward DeRuiter 
Cinematography By: Alexander Yellen 
Editor: Maureen Murphy & Bobby K. Richardson 



Cast: Zoe Bell, Cynthia Rothrock, Brigitte Nielsen, Kristanna Lokken, Vivica A.Fox, Nicole Bilderback, Tim Abell, Gerald Webb, Alecis Raich 


The President's daughter is captured and imprisoned while touring a war zone, so a team of elite female commandos is assembled to infiltrate a women's prison for a daring rescue.

THE BAYTOWN OUTLAWS (2012)

Directed By: Barry Battles 
Written By: Barry Battles & Griffin Hood 
Cinematography By: David MacFarland 
Editor: Sean Valla 


Cast: Clayne Crawford, Travis Fimmel, Daniel Cudmore, Eva Longoria, Billy Bob Thornton, Andre Braugher, Michael Rapaport, Zoe Bell, Agnes Bruckner, Natalie Martinez, Brea Grant, Paul Wesley, Julio Oscar Mechoso

VIDEO REVIEW - OBLIVION (2013)

Graphic Novel, Story and Directed By: Joseph Kosinski
Written By: Karl Gaiduser & Michael Debryun (Michael Arndt)
Cinematography By: Claudio Miranda
Editor: Richard Francis-Bruce

Cast: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Custer-Waldau, Melissa Leo, Zoe Bell

GAMER (2009)

Written & Directed By: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
Cinematography By: Ekkehart Pollack
Editor: Doobie White, Fernando Villena & Peter Amundson

Cast: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Terry Crews, Amber Valetta, Kyra Sedgwick Alison Lohman, Logan Lerman, Ludacris, Aaron Yoo, Johnny Whitworth, Michael Weston, Zoe Bell, Milo Ventimiglia, John Leguizamo, Keith David, James Roday, Lloyd Kaufman

WHIP IT! (2009)

Directed By: Drew Barrymore
Written By: Shauna Cross
Based On The Book By: Shauna Cross
Cinematography By: Robert D. Yeoman
Editor: Dylan Tichenor

CAST: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig, Landon Pigg , Jimmy Fallon, Zoe Bell, Eve, Andrew Wilson, Ari Gaynor, Juliette Lewis, Alia Shawkat, Har Mar Superstar

Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut is much like her personality. It’s cute, fun, funny and surprising. With a career in front of the camera for almost all of her life and working with so many talented directors and running her own production company. It really goes to show that while she was working, she was taking notes and paying attention because she definitely picked the right story to direct and is more successful then I believe most people would have thought.

The film based on the young adult novel by the same name it’s the story of a teenage girl whose mother always enters her in beauty pageants and doesn’t really fit in too much in her town then she discovers a all female roller derby league and enters into it and finally blooms and bonds with people.

This is the type of film you usually discover you see the advertisements and think it’s going to be one way but then when you actually sees it. It is totally different and it has an energy and mood that is infectious that you can’t help but find yourself smiling throughout.

It has a bunch of cliché filled scenes but the difference is they end in a totally different way. I’m not going to lie this film is a chick flick but not the typical one where the guys will be eyeing the exit and checking there watches. It has a girl power theme but can be entertaining to both sexes

The performances are all good but special Mention goes to Andrew Wilson as the girls coach. Juliette Lewis who whenever she is on screen in most movies puts a smile on my face and usually makes me laugh as bliss’s rival on another team and Kristen Wiig as bliss’s surrogate mother on the team. Drew Barrymore has a supporting role that is more comedic then anything and she really throws herself into as the member of the team who is always getting injured. Ellen page has seemed to corner the market on this type of role not exactly JUNO here not as wisecracking and more shy. But I can see why she choose this over the film DRAG ME TO HELL which she dropped out of to be in this film. This seems to speak more to her sensibilities and resume.

At heart the film is a coming of age film told from a female’s perspective. The film doesn’t clearly define exactly if the film takes place in the 90’s or the 2000’s. It also has her mother have the least likely job for a woman who is so obsessed with Pageant’s and being a lady.

It also has a very good soundtrack. This is a must see.

GRADE: B