Having caught a documentary before seeing the film on the real-life story that underlines this tale, it only hints at the depravity and manipulation that took place. Everyone has an agenda and they are all completely self-serving. The acting is also gloriously overstated and perfectly suits this fable of overindulgence. Lady Gaga is particularly adaptable at this excess.

There is entertainment to be had in several ways. It’s a lot of fun to catch the scenes that mirror some of the actor’s major meme moments, like Al Pacino’s famous Fredo declaration. Keeping the score of the actors dropping the faux accents is also very amusing. I’m looking at you AP. The ridiculousness of this level of entitlement pales in comparison to the actual reality of the super-rich.

Great art House Of Gucci is not but very entertaining it is and who doesn’t need an indulgent guilty pleasure right about now. On and by the way, those lost decades are calling and they want their fashion and hairstyles back.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

Spanning three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder, we see what a name means, what it’s worth, and how far a family will go for control.

House of Gucci stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, with Salma Hayek and Al Pacino, and will be released in Australian cinemas New Year’s Day!

www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

Spanning three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder, we see what a name means, what it’s worth, and how far a family will go for control.

House of Gucci stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, with Salma Hayek and Al Pacino, and will be released in Aussie cinemas November 25!
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

Based on the 2004 book, I Heard You Paint Houses by a former homicide prosecutor, Charles Brandt, it focuses on the life of mob hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran played by Robert De Niro. In a confession given after the book was published, Sheeran claims to have been the hitman behind the murder and disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa who is played by Al Pacino. Spoiler alert, his body is not buried under the turf at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The film is masterfully made and it exists thanks to the new paradigm of films being made for the streaming platforms. Scorsese is on record saying that no major studio would give him the running time or money needed to fully realise his vision and what a visions it is. No film in his canon has the main protagonists end up in such bleak conditions, as an anticrime film, it is vivid.

Given the uncommon extended screen time to tell a story that was decades in the making, it underlines how rare this opportunity is for fans of film. Even with its ultimate destination in your living room, you need to make the effort to get out and see it on the big screen (one measured in metres not inches) as few things improve upon the collective experience quite like the cinema.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/NetflixANZ

The former labor union high official and hitman, learned to kill serving in Italy during the Second World War. He now looks back on his life and the hits that defined his mob career, maintaining connections with the Bufalino crime family.

In particular, the part he claims to have played in the disappearance of his life-long friend, Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who mysteriously vanished in late July 1975 at the age of 62.

The Irishman will release in Australian cinemas for a limited run at Dendy Cinemas on November 7 before its Netflix debut on November 27.
www.netflix.com

The characters that inhabit this world are somehow softer, less hyper cool, more down to earth and less criminal. For those expecting the histrionics that QT usually fires out, this time that intensity is set to slow burn. The film’s final reel is classic violence overkill (quite literally) and will satiate those with a taste for the big red.

Most of the salacious appeal of the film is its connection to Charles Mason and his disciples and while they play a part, they are not the central theme. That belongs to the world of Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), an old school television actor speeding towards his use by date and his stunt-double buddy, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). It’s the relationship between these two old warhorses that really drives the story.

Some may feel that Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood might be too soft or not hip enough but nine films into his career (not counting the numerous guest spots) it’s fitting that Tarantino would want to do something a little different. When and if he indeed retires after ten, this work will make a fine addition to the canon. In the now, it’s still unlike anyone else’s work and should be seen and enjoyed.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS