Planet Terror was the first film in the double feature so it gets to bat leadoff. My feelings towards Robert Rodriguez have warmed over the years. I can probably place my finger on Once Upon a Time in Mexico as the turning point, or maybe it was Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams because I always confuse those two movies. If I were to compare this to his past movies it would be the perverted offspring of The Faculty and From Dusk Till Dawn. Although this was definitely fun to watch there were just points where it became content with actually being a bad movie. That is the main difference between the two features; Tarantino can’t help but make a fully fleshed out movie while Rodriguez was happy to just make an homage to cheap monster movies from years past. Still any movie that contains scenes where both dogs and children get killed on camera, it is impossible for me to complain. Then you can add the machinegun leg, a guy collecting testicles from his kills, the babysitter twins, wrists breaking in door handles, Fergie being eaten alive, no-brainer, and all the other stuff that there isn’t room to list. The best performance should go to Michael Parks reprising his sheriff role from Kill Bill and From Dusk Till Dawn. His character should show up in any movie, television show, comic book, radio drama, oral history, or cave paintings that chooses Texas as the setting. Rose McGowan and Freddy Rodriguez are fine as the lead characters but much like Parks, it is the secondary players that shine. Michael Biehn and Jeff Fahey are perfect as the brothers plus what’s better than mutated Bruce Willis? So fun movie yes; great movie no; uplifting ending really?
7 out of 10
Now we can move on to what I paid to see, Death Proof. It is pretty much Candyland whenever a new Quentin Tarantino movie role around. Will anything ever top the Kill Bill films? That would be awesome but I have my doubts. Still there is plenty of room beneath Kill Bill but still above the good movie range and that is where everything the man has done lives. Tarantino has his standbys so if you haven’t liked his dialogue in past movies well what the hell are you watching this for? There will always be extended conversations in his films because that is where he shines. I could have watched the dinner scene if it went on twice as long. He has the ability to establish complete characters even if they only have one scene because usually that one scene involves the flapping of gums. The star of Death Proof is Kurt Russell and he earns that billing. His predatory nature is barely hidden throughout the first half of the movie before he finally reveals himself and kills his first set of girls. But his best work is when the second set of girls fight back and he just starts whimpering and screaming like a baby. It doesn’t get much better than his high-pitched wail after the final accident. Right behind Kurt Russell is the insane work of Zoe Bell. There was a specific reason why Quentin cast a stuntwoman as the main protagonist; they would spend a huge chunk of time hanging on to the hood of a speeding car. And so there was Zoe holding on for dear life live and in color. You would think that would be enough for a great chase scene but as the saying goes, wait there’s more. When the girls go for their revenge on Kurt Russell, it is a classic chase that just keeps going until the fantastic finish. Although the second half of the film is the better half, the first part starts slow but it ends with the crash to end all crashes. I can say this because I am fairly certain that I haven’t seen a leg severing or a tire to the face in a previous movie. Death Proof may have been slow and talky at some points but when the action kicks and is top of the line stuff.
9 out of 10
Grindhouse is obviously more than the two features. All the extras that surround the two movies help to enhance the final product. The 4 trailers include 2 great ones and 2 less than great ones. Machete feels like a movie that Robert Rodriguez would definitely make after Planet Terror, but who would complain if there was movie starring Danny Trejo being made? The other memorable trailer was Thanksgiving just because it was, for a lack of better term, totally fucked up. I am cringing just thinking about the trampoline scene and I think I have just erased the final seconds of the trailer from my memory. The Don’t trailer was a funny concept but grew tiresome while the best thing about Werewolf Women of the SS was Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu. Along with the trailers, all the little 70s advertisements and other bits and pieces all add to the overall insanity.
If you are crazy bastard like myself who is not frightened by the 3 hours and some pennies running time, then I cannot recommend this enough. It may not be the best movie that I saw even in April but there is nothing else like this out there. Just for the variety it should be supported. As for a final grade, well I am going to go with an overall 9 because the strength of Death Proof along with just the inclusion of fake trailers allow it settle on a low 9, like a 9.15 if you wanted to be specific.
9 out of 10
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