Between Two Ferns: The Movie

Comedy is tough. It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud at a film. Between Two Ferns: The Movie made me laugh out loud, multiple times.
There is no reason for this film to exist other than it acts as a way to string a bunch of episodes of Between Two Ferns together (it's very self aware and we know they know).
If you are not familiar with the comedic genius of Zach Galifianakis, well it's time to get to know him. He plays that awkward guy with beard in The Hangover movie series. He has alone been in It's Kind of a Funny Story and Due Date - if you haven't seen these, they are worth your time. If you have never watched an episode of Between Two Ferns, watch this one with Brady Pitts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnF-zTrHvGs

Galifianakis deadpan insults his star guests with the most cutting and rude questions imaginable and they all sit there and take it. It's extremely funny and for some reason it doesn't get old, at least not in this movie. Catch it on Netflix. 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Nostalgia - it's the one word I would use to describe Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. As I write this, Tarantino is fifty six years old and I just turned forty nine. A seven year gap. But I'm old enough to remember old TV shows like Bonanza, Adam West's Batman, and have spent a good portion of my life watching the films of the 1960s; Steve McQueen, Bruce Lee, and the spaghetti Westerns of Clint Eastwood to name a few. Tarantino is a film geek; I say this with great affection because so am I. He has packed so much of the zeitgeist of the late 1960s Hollywood into his new movie, it oozes with polyester, sunglasses, and cigarettes. This is a homage to the stars and the films of that area. It's also the first film where Tarantino has shown some real depth of character with Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio). What's it all about? It's about Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) who chauffeurs Dalton around. Dalton is a former TV Western star trying to make it in feature films but only manages to land roles as the bad guy. He has a drinking problem and not a lot of prospects. Oh, and he lives next door to Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. I know what Charles Manson's family did, so when we reach the climax of the film, well Tarantino gives us his fictional version of the Manson-Tate events like he did in Inglorious Bastards. Why? I'm left puzzled by the ending. Perhaps by subverting the truth, he is giving us the "Hollywood ending" we all want - we want the hero to kick ass and win. Maybe this is Quentin's point. The ending is the only thing about the film I didn't care for but there is sooo much to like, it's worth your time to check it out, especially if you are a film geek like me. Catch it in theatres now.