Movie Review

Grindhouse

Blood, guts, glory, and guns. That pretty much sums up the first half of the double feature extravaganza that is Grindhouse.

Hot Chics, Hot Cars, Bad Intentions would be the theme of the second half.

For those of you unfamiliar with the premise behind the 3-Hour Plus festival here is a brief and simple explanation. Two of the most Popular directors of our times, Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) decided to team up and create a double feature experience that would pay homage to the exploitation flicks that they inspired them both to become directors.

Rodriguez directs the first movie (85 minutes) called Planet Terror. It's basically a zombie flick packed full of intentional bad acting, terrible dialogue, lots of explosions, and plenty of gore. The pace is quick and the action is nearly non-stop. Rose McGowan plays one of the main characters. She does so with a sexyness and sassyness you would normally find in a Tarantino leading lady.

The story is outlandish, no question about it. Planet Terror thrives on killing as many people as possible including men, women, children, and pets. No one is exempt.

By the time the film ends you will be checking your own face making sure you aren't infected with the zombie-creating plague and sprouting disgusting boils.

If you have a weak tummy, you aren't going to like this too much.

The second film, helmed by Tarantino is a much different beast. In famous Q.T. fashion the movie builds on tight dialogue and tighter shorts. It then boils over into mad action. Death Proof is sure to be remembered as one of Tarantino's weakest offerings. Does that mean it's bad? Not at all. Quite the opposite actually. I think it just shows the depth of Tarantino's mind and how it hurt him by now being able to see his vision in full 2 and a half hour form. Limited to just 85 minutes his half of the flick feels a bit incomplete.

Death Proof follows Stuntman Mike, a local mad man who uses his 'death-proof' stunt car to murder unsuspecting passengers. It begins very slowly and builds to an amazing scene halfway through. Then the movie shifts gears and has to regain momentum before finally going airborne into an awesome ending.

The problem...The movie lacks a middle. It has a clear beginning, a clear ending, but nothing to hold the two together.

The movie is full of grindhouse style film. Grindhouse is a term used to describe some theaters in the 70's that would show these types of exploitation flicks over and over and over again. The movie would grind through the projector so many times that it would become scratched or would be missing complete reels of films. Both Rodriguez and Tarantino spliced scenes from their movies and scrated up other ones to give it an older feel. The effect was successful, casuing the crowd to actually burst into applause, shouts, and boos at different times.

The directors even solicited the help of some director friends to direct some fake trailers for the intermission of the movie. Both Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) and Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween) gave faux trailers that were every bit as entertaining as the movies themselves.

These movies can't help but be compared to one another. So as I prepare to grade each of them and then the movie as a whole experience I have to remember what the directors were trying to accomplish; A wild thrill ride into a make-believe world while honoring films that made them the directors they are today. We should all be heading out to see Grindhouse and thanking the exploitation flicks of yesteryear because I for one can't imagine a world where these guys are making movies.

Planet Terror: A

Death Proof: B-

Grindhouse: A+